How to Find Pinworms With Tape

Pinworms infect the intestines and colon, and the eggs are spread from person to person or through contaminated food, bedding, clothes or other items. A person touches a contaminated item, and the eggs are swallowed when the person touches his mouth before washing his hands. According to the National Institutes of Health, these types of worms are the most common worm infection in the United States, and they are found most often in school-age children. Symptoms of a pinworm infection include an intense urge to itch around the rectum, difficulty sleeping due to the urge to scratch and irritated or infected skin around the rectum caused by scratching. After a diagnosis of pinworms is confirmed with a tape test, the treatment for this type of infection requires a single dose of antiparasitic medication, with a follow-up dose two weeks later.

Things You'll Need

• One pair of gloves
• Flashlight
• Clear adhesive tape
• Glass slide
• Biohazard bag

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Instructions

• 1

  Provide privacy for the person. Wash your hands with soap and water. Dry your hands well. Don a pair of gloves.

• 2

  Assist a person who is naked from the waist down into a position in which you are able to see his buttocks by having him lie on his stomach or on his side with one or both knees drawn up to his chest.

• 3

  Spread his buttocks apart and shine a flashlight onto his rectal area to look for the presence of pinworms. The best time to inspect the rectal area for pinworms is about two to three hours after the person has fallen asleep, as pinworms are more active and likely to be visible at this time. The pinworms are white, thread-like worms about the length of a staple. Pinworm eggs are oval, flattened on one side and so small they may only be seen with a microscope, so the only visible evidence will be the worms themselves. Also inspect the person’s underwear and pajama bottom for the presence of pinworms.

• 4

  Begin the tape test by removing a 1-inch piece of clear adhesive tape from the tape dispenser. Pinch an end of the tape between the forefinger and thumb of each hand. Female pinworms lay their eggs outside the rectum at night, so the tape test should be performed in the morning before the infected person bathes or uses the toilet.

• 5

  Press the tape, sticky side down, onto the rectum for two to three seconds. Use a firm, but gentle pressure. Carefully peel the tape off the rectum.

• 6

  Press the tape, sticky side down, onto a glass slide. Package the glass slide in a biohazard bag according to laboratory protocol and send it to the laboratory for processing.

• 7

  Remove gloves and then wash hands with soap and water.

• 8

  Repeat the test on three separate days to increase the chances of picking up the eggs.