Patient's question:
Recently, I suddenly noticed small white thread-like worms around my child's anus at night. They don't appear frequently—I only saw one in June and then another one yesterday. Could you please tell me what kind of worms these are and what might be the cause? How should I address this? Thank you.Doctor's answer:
Hello: It's not roundworm, but pinworm can be treated with pinworm ointment. Pinworm disease is a common intestinal parasitic disease in children. Its clinical features include perianal and perineal itching, as well as restlessness during sleep. The infection rate is highest among children aged 2 to 9. Pinworms are milky white, very small, and thin like a thread; males are 2-5 mm long, while females are 8-13 mm long, hence they are also called threadworms. They live in the human cecum, colon, and rectum. After mating, both male and female pinworms die shortly and are excreted with feces; the female worm then descends. At night, when the host falls asleep, she crawls out of the anus 1-3 hours later, lays eggs in the perianal folds and perineum, and then most of them die.