Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Pinworm infection is the most common type of intestinal worm infection in the United States. Pinworms are thin and white, measuring about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (about 5 to 13 millimeters) in length.
While the infected person sleeps, female pinworms lay thousands of eggs in the folds of skin surrounding the anus. Most people infected with pinworms have no symptoms, but some people experience anal itching and restless sleep.
Pinworm infection occurs most often in school-age children, and the microscopic eggs are easily spread from child to child. Treatment involves oral drugs that kill the pinworms and thorough washing of bedclothes, bed linens and underwear. For best results, the entire family should be treated.
- Parasites and health: Enterobiasis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/DPDx/html/Enterobiasis.htm. Accessed Feb. 16, 2012.
- Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1608/0.html. Accessed Feb. 16, 2012.
- Fact sheet: Pinworm infection. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/pinworm/index.html. Accessed Feb. 16, 2012.
- Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2012. 5 Books in 1. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05611-3..C2009-0-38601-8--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05611-3&uniqId=291436269-101. Accessed Feb. 16, 2012.
- Pinworm infection. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/pinworm/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed Feb. 16, 2012.
- Gardner AS. Vulvovaginitis and other common childhood gynaecological conditions. Archives of Disease in Childhood: Education and Practice Edition. 2011;96:73.
- Stermer E, et al. Pruritus ani: An approach to an itching condition. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. 2009;48:513.
Find Mayo Clinic on