Dear Reader, 

By some estimates, close to one-fifth of all children in the United States have pinworms at any given time. In fact, pinworms are probably the most common of all worm infestations in humans — infective pinworm eggs can live indoors for up to two weeks, presumably in hope of being taken in by a human host. Young children tend to be most effective at ingesting and spreading pinworm eggs. Most likely, then, you're correct in guessing that your wife picked up these little buggers in her classroom.

The length of time that you've had pinworms should not affect the treatment or make it more difficult to get rid of them. It's not as if the pinworms will erect an entire city in a year's time, versus a squatter settlement if given only a few weeks. The mebendazole is one of the most effective drugs out there for getting rid of pinworms, as well as other helminth relatives of the pinworm. To treat pinworms, you only need to take one 100 mg tablet at first. Two weeks later, you take one more tablet. After that, it's best to wait about three weeks before deciding whether or not to take a third dose. If symptoms do not reappear, you probably got rid of them and don't require any further treatment.

If the symptoms persist after two or three doses of Vermox, it would be a good idea for your wife to see a health care provider. The test for the presence of pinworm eggs is very effective and relatively simple — scotch tape is applied to the anal area (preferably in the morning before bathing), and then what is picked up on the tape is put on a slide and viewed under a microscope. This is usually done a few mornings in a row to be absolutely certain that eggs are present. Many people who think they have pinworms actually end up finding out that the anal itching they've been experiencing is caused by something else, such as an allergy to perfumes and dyes in toilet paper, hemorrhoids, and other conditions which are difficult to diagnose and define. Of course, in your wife's case, it sounds like you had some pretty hard evidence indicating the presence of the worms.

Keep in mind, too, that it's possible for your wife to be reinfected with pinworms. One step she can take to prevent this from happening is to inform the parents about pinworms — how they're transmitted, what symptoms to look for (primarily, itchiness and/or a tickling sensation in the anal area), and ways to try to prevent infection with pinworms, such as keeping fingernails short, and being vigilant about washing hands after each trip to the bathroom. Your wife can also make sure that the classroom, including desks, toys, and other surfaces the children come in contact with frequently, is thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis.

Beyond being annoying and uncomfortable, pinworms are a benign parasite that will not compromise your wife's health. Alice hopes you will not worry too much about it and, more importantly, that you're successful in treating the problem!

Alice