This guide is intended to give you help and information about worms in stool in children. Summer has come to the country. Gardens and fields green and mature. We are happy to be able to serve our children our own fruit and vegetables and do not think about the dangers that children can face from eating a single raw carrot or even just playing in the garden soil.
Signs & Symptoms
A worm infestation is often not even noticed in children. This is especially true for the worm diseases that occur in Germany. The organism is usually able to fight the worms completely itself. Nevertheless, symptoms and even complications can occur. Typical symptoms are pain in the upper abdomen, loss of appetite alternating with cravings, cravings even after eating, constant fatigue or restlessness.
The most important indicator of worm infestation in children is severe nocturnal itching in the anal region. The excruciating itching of the bottom can lead to sleep problems and, in the long term, to concentration problems. Other symptoms rarely occur in Germany. However, there are species of worms in warmer areas that can also cause flu-like symptoms.
These include fever, cough, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Worm infestation in children is usually very treatable. As already mentioned, the organism can fight the worm infestation in most cases without therapy. However, complications can occur in individual cases. The worms can get into various organs and sometimes cause life-threatening damage there.
It is possible that appendicitis, lung diseases or intestinal obstruction may occur. Due to these residual risks and the fact that the children can get infected again with the worm eggs by scratching their buttocks, worm treatment should always be carried out in the event of worm infestation.
From this precise description, the pediatrician can easily see that this is an infection with roundworms. It is now his job to explain the biologically highly interesting relationships to the parents. Wherever there is insufficient sewage disposal in the houses, where human excrement (septic tanks) are used to fertilize the meadows and gardens in the immediate vicinity of the homes, children run the risk of becoming infected while playing with roundworms.
Roundworms
Because with the human excretions, fertilized roundworms got into the earth, but also on top-fertilized vegetables. Just eating a garden carrot that is eaten raw and unwashed brings roundworm eggs into the child's gastrointestinal canal. There, within 4 days, small larvae ¼ mm long hatch out of the eggs, which very soon pierce the intestinal wall and thus enter the human bloodstream.
On the bloodstream, the larvae reach the heart and also the lungs, in turn pierce the smallest blood vessels and then travel up the airways of the lungs to the throat. The larvae are then swallowed again after their long migration and now develop into sexually mature roundworms in the human small intestine. Your females can grow up to 40 cm long and lay around 20 million eggs, which are now excreted in the stool.
This biological process, in which our children are usually involved through the carelessness of their parents or through unsanitary living conditions, does not only cause severe abdominal pain in sensitive children.
The worms can also lead to intestinal paralysis or an obstruction of the intestines. In rare cases, the adult animals migrate not only with the stool, but also out of the child's mouth.
The pediatrician is also able to determine whether a child is wormed if the roundworms have not been observed with certainty. The infection is detected with the help of the X-ray procedure and by examining the child's stool for worm eggs. The worm treatment that is then necessary is best carried out in a hospital in order to achieve certain success. Much more important, however, is the requirement that no child eats unwashed raw fruit or vegetables, especially in rural areas, where contact with the excrement of animals and people is more likely.
Pinworms
Much more harmless than roundworms, but much more common are pinworms, which are very often observed as small, flexible white threads of about 10 mm in the excretions of children and adults. Often school and kindergarten children, but preferably home children, are affected, while infants are mostly spared. The pinworms live in the lower sections of the small intestine in humans.
If they are not excreted with the stool, the females migrate out of the anus during the first hour of sleep of the child under the influence of the warmth of the bed to lay their eggs, about 11,000 in number. In the presence of oxygen, these eggs mature within a few hours and become viable. The worms crawling around causes a violent and annoying itch, the children then scratch their buttocks and bring the worm eggs under their fingernails. The worm eggs are further smeared by the fingers and finally get back into the mouth and thus into the child's gastrointestinal tract.
In this way, the child himself takes care of his new infection again and again, because new pinworms develop from the swallowed eggs. Other children or adults can become infected through bed linen, house dust and toys, but also through handshaking of the children.
A mother or father must always think about the presence of pinworms when their children stand out due to their pale appearance, fidgety demeanor, over-excitability and poor sleep. The wide rims of the eyes and, above all, the itching every evening that makes the child scratch, are important indicators. If the worms themselves are observed in the stool, in the laundry or directly on the anus, then the child belongs in the hands of the doctor, who today can remove these intestinal parasites with extremely effective drugs without great difficulty.
In order to maintain this success and avoid new infections, however, the greatest possible attention must be paid to ongoing personal hygiene. The children's fingernails should be cleaned several times a day with a hand brush and cut very short with nail scissors or clippers. In addition, wearing small, tight-fitting linen trousers, which have to be boiled every day, prevents scratching during the night and thus re-infection.
Furthermore, if a child is wormed, the siblings must always be examined in order to take a cure for all family members at the same time, so that mutual re-infection of the siblings does not occur.
Tapeworms
Finally, the tapeworm has to be mentioned, which is usually a beef tapeworm and can affect children even after eating raw or insufficiently fried beef. This intestinal parasite is very feared because of its length of 4-10 cm and its rapid growth. The tapeworm reaches a length of 6 meters within 70 days. The mother or father becomes suspicious if a child loses weight with the best nutrition despite a good appetite.
This suspicion is confirmed by the loss of about 2 cm long white tapeworm limbs, which look like noodles and which must be shown to the doctor, because the very strenuous tapeworm cure, preferably in a hospital, can only be expected of a child under the condition that the evidence of a tapeworm is completely assured. Even if finnish meat is discarded by a veterinarian meat inspection, only those who never eat raw or insufficiently fried meat can protect themselves from tapeworms with certainty.
Many parents worry about whether they can be responsible for buying a dog as a playmate for their small children because they fear infection with the life-threatening dog tapeworm. However, such a dog tapeworm is very, very rare. One can therefore say that with a clean and healthy dog that is regularly dewormed and examined by the veterinarian, the advantages of raising children to love animals and caring for those in need are much greater than the very rare risk of infection through the eggs of the Dog tapeworm.
A hygienic lifestyle, proper care for children and the painstaking cleaning of fruit and vegetables can largely prevent worm infestation in humans. In this respect too, the health of children is primarily in the hands of their parents.
Complications
If worms are observed in children's stools, they are mostly harmless pinworms. There are usually no complications. However, there are very rare exceptions where this does happen. The pinworm infection known as oxyuriasis mostly affects young children. Often the only symptom of this worm infection is an unbearable itching of the anus at night, because female pinworms then crawl out of the anus and lay their eggs there.
The child will scratch and often re-infect themselves with the eggs if they put their unwashed fingers in their mouth or if they don't wash their hands before eating. In this way, an initially successful treatment with antiworm agents can be thwarted again and again. Small children suffer from severe sleep disorders due to the agonizing itching of the anus.
As a result, it can lead to concentration and behavior disorders. In addition to worm treatment, some children are therefore also dependent on psychological treatment. In doing so, the children should also learn behaviors that prevent re-infection.
Serious complications are extremely rare. If the worm eggs get into the vagina in girls, a painful inflammation with discharge can develop there. Furthermore, in extremely rare cases of massive intestinal infestation, life-threatening intestinal perforation is possible.
When should you go to the doctor?
A doctor should be consulted as soon as activity is noticed in the child's stool. Movements in the feces are considered warning signs of the organism and should be discussed with a doctor. If the child complains of itching of the anus, if bleeding or spotting is noticed at the exit of the intestine or if other irregularities appear when using the toilet, the cause should be investigated.
Consult a doctor in the event of internal restlessness, behavioral problems, aggressive behavior or mood swings. If participation in social life falls, changes in the child's play instinct are noticed or sleep disorders occur, the abnormalities should be investigated. If there is an increase in complaints or new irregularities, a doctor's visit is necessary. A reduced level of performance, internal irritation, diarrhea or constipation are signs of impaired health.
Symptoms should be assessed by a doctor so that a diagnosis can be made and a treatment plan developed. Consult a doctor in the event of loss of appetite, pain in the upper abdomen, concentration disorders as well as nausea, vomiting, fever and cough. A changed complexion, tiredness or a continuous decrease in well-being are further complaints that need to be clarified. Change in weight, painful inflammation, or flu-like symptoms should be discussed with a doctor. The child needs medical care to relieve the symptoms.
Aftercare
A wormer works against adult worms in the stool. Eggs and larvae are not eliminated. Therefore, a repeated microscopic examination of the stool three to four weeks after the end of therapy is essential. If worms are discovered during the check-up, the attending physician will again administer a worming agent.
The prescribed duration of the medication must be adhered to for a successful therapy. A follow-up examination of all family members is also essential. In addition, thorough hygiene must always be observed. In order to counteract a renewed illness, care should be taken that the child does not put his hands or toys in his mouth.
After using the toilet, after playing outdoors, and before meals, the child's hands should be washed thoroughly with soap. The fingernails are kept short so that no dirt can get stuck under the nails. Keeping the child's anal area clean is very important.
Lukewarm water with a mild detergent has proven its worth. Bed linen, as well as the child's underwear and pajamas, are changed daily over a longer period of time. Washing in the washing machine at at least 60 degrees makes sense in order to specifically kill pathogens. Disinfecting toys and door handles is also recommended.
You can do that yourself
Basically, the hygiene of worms in the stool should be checked and optimized. Worn clothing and bed linen must be replaced and should also be disinfected. Children should be washed thoroughly and their nails cleaned.
In the event of a worm infestation, it has been shown that the consumption of garlic and onions can relieve the symptoms. Parents can feed their offspring raw garlic cloves as a direct food supply. Alternatively, garlic and onions can be boiled and added to meals.
Crushed pumpkin seeds are also helpful in combating worms. These should be mixed with a little honey and eaten in the morning before the first food intake. Carrots have proven effective in combating worm eggs. When the vegetables are consumed, the body receives more vitamin A. This vitamin combats the eggs of the pathogens and prevents the germs from multiplying.
Tapeworms and the eggs of the worm genus can be prevented from spreading in the organism by using cloves. The cloves are ground into powder and poured with hot water. This creates a tea. After about 10-20 minutes, the tea made from cloves can be drunk. Consuming the tea three times a day over a period of one week has proven to be effective.
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