How does someone get pinworms?
Pinworms are spread when an infected person, most often a child, has scratched his/her bare anal area and the eggs get under his/her fingernails. Pinworms can then be spread in the following ways: • By an infected child not washing hands after using the bathroom. If the child then touches playmates or play toys, he/she may pass on the eggs. • Pinworm eggs can also be transferred to the fingers from clothing or bedding, and then spread around the home. • Eggs may be inhaled from the air or deposited onto food and swallowed. • Pinworms can survive up to two weeks on clothing, bedding or other objects, if kept at room temperature. The eggs may hatch while still attached to the skin around the anus. They then move through the rectum to the lower intestine, where they grow to adult size within two to six weeks. Pinworm infections can be spread as long as either worms or eggs are present.
