Does my child have worms?

 Chances are he/she does! The most common type of worm infesting children, the pinworm, is very common, spreads easily among children, and is very difficult to prevent.

Fortunately, the pinworm is essentially harmless. It causes no serious health concern. Pinworms tend to cause itching around the anus, especially at nights. In girls, it may cause vaginal itching and a vaginal discharge.

Often an infected child scratches, picking up an egg, and then transfers it to a toilet seat, or toys, where another child unknowingly picks up the egg and later transfers it to his mouth. The eggs are swallowed, later hatch, and the pinworm makes its way to the anus to, again, deposit its eggs.

Pinworms are easily treated with over-the-counter medication.

Tips to prevent pinworms include:

Encouraging your child to wash hands, including under the nails, carefully before meals and after using the bathroom.

Washing toys frequently.

Encouraging your child to wash hands after playing with a house cat or dog, since these pets can carry the eggs in their fur.

Hookworms, on the other hand, can cause infections in the intestines.

Children are at high risk because they often play barefoot in areas with contaminated soil. In soil, hookworm eggs hatch and form larvae, which then burrow through the skin of a person's foot and crawl into the blood. The blood carries the larvae to the lungs, where they enter into the air sacs.

The hookworms then crawl up the breathing tubes to the throat, where they are swallowed. The larvae pass through the stomach and mature into adult worms in the bowel. The worm holds onto the bowel wall with hooks, which cause minor bleeding. Adult hookworms live in the bowel and lay eggs that are passed out in the stool.

Most children with hookworm infections have no signs or symptoms. Some children may have mild diarrhoea and stomach cramps. An itchy, red skin rash (ground itch) can appear on the feet where the larvae entered the body. While the larvae are migrating through the lung, cough, wheezing and, rarely, fever may occur. Chronic infections can lead to iron deficiency and anaemia, loss of appetite, weight loss and poor nutrition.

Visit your doctor if you suspect your child may be infested with hookworms. The diagnosis can be made by sending a stool sample to test for the hookworm eggs and your doctor will prescribe the recommended medication.

Tips to prevent hookworms include:

Encouraging your child to wear shoes when outside to prevent the larvae from entering the body through the feet.

Ensuring that if your child goes barefoot, he/she avoids contact with soil that may be contaminated with human faeces.

Dr Carleene Grant-Davis is a consultant paediatrician and head, Department of Paediatrics, Cornwall Regional Hospital; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.