Pinworms Symptoms

Many people have pinworms and don't have any symptoms at all.

• The most common symptom of pinworms is itching around the anus. It is worse at night when the female worm deposits her eggs on the person infected. This can lead to difficulty getting a good night's sleep. This intense itching is felt to be due to an inflammatory response to the adult worm and her eggs in the perianal tissue. If severe scratching occurs, the skin may break down and allow development of a secondary bacterial infection.

• Pinworms can rarely migrate into the vagina or urinary tract causing irritation in these regions. Intense itching is again the prominent complaint. This location of infection is less common than the perianal region, and the infection usually goes away on its own. Case reports of E. vermicularis migration into the internal female reproductive tract have been reported. These infections are very rare.

• Pinworms do not cause abdominal pain, bloody bowel movements, fevers, or poor appetite. If the person has any of these signs or symptoms, they may have a more serious condition and should call a doctor or visit the hospital's emergency department. Adult pinworms have been found in inflamed appendices removed at operation; however, whether the pinworm infection was the cause of appendicitis is controversial.

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Pinworms

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