Has anybody had experience with a child having pinworms? I've just heard that my five-year-old granddaughter has them. I think she must have been exposed at kindergarten. What is the best thing to do?
Grannyenem

Granny, I don't have any modern information but when I was a child I got pinworms and the doctor gave me a medication that took care of it. I remember that it was terribly itchy. We were told that it was from close contact with dogs.

A single dose of mebendazole, albendazole, or pyrantel pamoate, repeated after 2 weeks, effectively cures pinworm infection. Many doctors recommend treating the entire family. Despite drug therapy, reintroduction of the disease is common after treatment. Clothing, bedding, and toys should be washed and the environment vacuumed to try to eliminate any eggs. Anti-itching creams or ointments applied directly to the area around the anus may provide relief from itching.

Granny, I don't have any modern information but when I was a child I got pinworms and the doctor gave me a medication that took care of it. I remember that it was terribly itchy. We were told that it was from close contact with dogs.

Pets do not carry pinworms UNLESS they pick up eggs from a human and carry them in their fur, just like the eggs can be found in bedding etc. Pinworms are transmitted between people, mainly children, and this is why it is so common in schools, daycares and the like. Make sure she knows to wash her hands frequently, especially after using the bathroom, and not to put her fingers in her mouth. The doctor will prescribe the proper medicine and may want all the family members, especially other children, to take it as well.