When your children start scratching their bodies suddenly, it can be distressing for you and them. Itching around their anus is particularly uncomfortable. If the itching worsens at night, they’ve likely contracted a pinworm infection.
Pinworms are small and slender, measuring no more than 12 inches in length. They’re light gray and white. Female pinworms lay their eggs around the anus area after leaving the intestines at night. Is it possible for the pinworms to live on the couch? Let’s see if this is possible!
Do Pinworms Live On Couches?
Pinworms are thin and small enough to hide in your couches undetected. If there is no interference, they can survive on your couch for two weeks. Infected people get the pinworms to the couch by carrying them with their fingers.
It becomes unpleasant when pinworms lay their eggs around the anus. When this happens, most people’s immediate instinct is to scratch the affected area. The eggs will fall onto the underwear and then onto the nightwear or stick on your fingertips as you scratch.
The same people will wake up and go straight to the couch instead of bathing. They will eat their breakfast before getting ready to go about their daily routines. Some eggs will fall on the couches and stay there for several days if you don’t do any cleaning.
How Do Pinworms Get on Couches?
Pinworms can easily get onto your couches. Take a look at how they get on your couches so quickly.
- Scratching an anus that pinworm eggs have infested causes them to stick to your fingers and fingertips.
- Your fingers will transfer the eggs to anything they contact, including your mouth, skin, food, and furniture. Because of their tiny size, pinworms can become airborne, and people can inhale them in some cases.
It’s important to remember that they’ll easily get onto your couch once they stick on your fingers and fingertips. After scratching, the infected person will touch the couch, and the eggs will fall off the upholstery.
Pinworms can also infest your couch if your children sit on it while still wearing their night clothing. The best thing to do to prevent the spread of pinworms is to advise afflicted persons to change their underwear and shower first thing in the morning.
How To Clean the Couch After Pinworms?
If you want to get rid of pinworms from your couch, the first step is to ensure the afflicted people take medication for pinworm infection. Pinworm Medicine is available through Amazon, Walmart, or a local pharmacy over the counter.
NB: You should not self-medicate if you are pregnant or breastfeeding or if the afflicted child is under the age of two. You should seek medical advice from a doctor.
After the afflicted people have received their treatment, you can proceed to clean the entire house, not just the couch. Here is how to clean the couch;
- Vacuum your couch’s upholstery and other areas where infected people may have sat. Ensure that you vacuum daily, replacing the vacuum bag with a new one after removing and discarding the old one.
- Put them in the washing machine if the couch has removable material that you can wash. Add a drop of distilled white vinegar to the hot water in the washing machine. To destroy any leftover pinworms, use hot air drier for the covers.
- Don’t shake the covers before placing them in the washing machine to stop pinworms from falling to the floor. But just in case, use the same mixture of distilled white vinegar and warm water to mop your floors daily.
You’ll need to clean various other things if you want to make sure the pinworms don’t return to the couch.
- Other surfaces: Clean the toilet seats and all shared surfaces such as faucet handles, door knobs, toilet flush handles, etc. Cleaning will prevent the eggs from being transferred to the cleaned couches.
- Clothing and beddings: Bed linens, towels, blankets, duvets, and nightwear will need to be soaked in hot water and washed. To kill any remaining pinworm eggs, use hot water in the washing machine and hot air in the dryer. You’ll have to clean the toys your children have been playing with.
- Infected persons: It would be good if everyone washed their hands frequently and thoroughly, not just the afflicted. They should keep their fingers trimmed short, and everyone should be reminded not to scratch. Showering instead of bathing is better to avoid possible contamination of bath water.
How Long Do Pinworm Eggs Live?
Pinworm eggs can live on surfaces such as couches, toilet seats, clothing, and linen for two weeks. The eggs are so tiny that you can only see them under a microscope.
Where Do Pinworms Come From?
Pinworms, commonly known as threadworms, are parasitic worms that live in the rectum and intestines of affected persons. They’re known to be brought on by a lack of proper hygiene.
Pinworms are widespread and can affect people of all ages, but they are more common in children. Adults and caregivers interacting with the diseased children are at a higher risk of infection.
Swallowing the pinworm eggs allows them to spread from one person to another. The female pinworm lays thousands of eggs around the anus or vagina and produces irritating mucus.
The itchiness will make you scratch your anus/vagina or wipe it when going to the toilet. Your fingers and fingertips will get the eggs. After leaving the toilet and not washing your hands, transfers them to your mouth or any surface in your home.
Pinworm infection is widespread in places where people dwell, such as schools, preschools, and daycare centers.
If you have the following symptoms, the chances are that you have pinworm infections;
- You will notice vaginal discharge or irritation around the vaginal area if you are a female.
- Pinworms lay their eggs around the anus at night, and you will experience significant irritation and itching.
- Pinworm-infected people will have trouble sleeping at night due to anal itching. You will lose concentration and be fatigued all day if you don’t get enough sleep, contributing to weight loss.
- You might notice white worms oozing out of your child’s anus at night.
However, you could be infected even if you don’t have any symptoms. The best thing you can do is make sure you take medication if any of your family members are afflicted.
Can Pinworms Live On Furniture?
Pinworms do have the ability to live on furniture. Remember that if you don’t get rid of them, they can survive on surfaces for two weeks. Contaminated fingers will spread pinworm eggs across any surface they touch.
Pinworm eggs will fall from your bed sheets and night garments onto the beds and even the bedside furniture. The eggs will drop on couches, tables, bathroom fixtures, and kitchen countertops that contaminated people have touched.
Can Pinworms Kill You?
You will not die from a common pinworm illness. Pinworm infections can cause urinary tract infection (UTI)(in women only) in rare circumstances if left untreated. If you have a lot of pinworms in your stomach, you may experience stomach pains.
Pinworms can enter the vaginal canal after laying their eggs around the anus area. After entering the vaginal canal, they can affect the fallopian tubes, uterus, and other pelvic organs. Vaginal infection and endometritis are two more illnesses caused by pinworms.
When you have a significant number of pinworms in your body, there’s a chance they’ll drain your body’s nutritional resources. Losing weight can be caused by a lack of healthy and sufficient nutrition in your body.
Can Pinworms Infest Your House?
Pinworms can easily infest your home. Controlling the spread of pinworm infection becomes considerably more difficult when you have an infected child in the house. It’s challenging to keep a child under control, especially when they’re irritated and want to scratch.
You won’t be able to keep an eye on them the entire time, and preventing them from scratching will be difficult. After that, the child may pick up a toy to play with and then put it on a different surface. There is a chance that the pinworms will fall everywhere your child goes.
Your house will quickly get infested with pinworms. Couches, clothing, beddings, furniture, children’s toys, kitchen utensils, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, and even toothbrushes are among the items that will now have pinworm eggs.
Pinworms are solely found in human feces and never in animal feces. However, if an infected person strokes your pet, the eggs can spread via their fur. If another person rubs the same pet, the pinworm eggs will stick to their fingers.
Can Pinworm Infections Be Treated?
Anti-parasitic drugs that do not require a prescription can treat pinworm infections. You will need to take the medication orally and take the initial dose right away. After two weeks, you’ll need to take the second dose to ensure that all worms are gone.
You can take the following medication to treat pinworm infections:
- Mebendazole
- Albendazole
- Pyrantel pamoate (most commonly used to treat pinworms, and you can get it over the counter)
Pinworm eggs can be found in the feces of infected people for up to a week following medication. To avoid reinfection, take precautions such as washing hands right after scratching or using the bathroom.
If the infection recurs, you and your family should seek medical advice from your doctor. You, your family, and your contacts will likely need to retake medication.
There are several home remedies for treating Pinworms. You can use raw carrots, garlic, and coconut oils, among other treatments. You can find more about these home remedies here.
Conclusion
While pinworm infection is an uncomfortable condition, we have found that there is no need to be worried. You can use various methods to keep a full-blown infection from spreading throughout your household.
There are medications available for purchase, as well as some home remedies. Clean your house regularly, and ensure everyone in the family observes proper hygiene.