Pinworms and anal itching

Both pages describe a worm infection whose common sign is itching around the anus. ahem has not examined anyone and does not sell a medicine. Skin-care steps for anal itching, and the disagreement about wipes and hydrocortisone, stay on anal itching, and the home steps the pages share. Those cream instructions were not copied onto this page.

Mayo Clinic dates its pinworm page December 16, 2025. Opened October 30, 2026, it says pinworms are thin and white, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch, about 6 to 13 millimeters. Infection comes from swallowing or breathing in eggs that are too small to see. It happens most often in school-age and preschool-age children. Female pinworms lay thousands of eggs in the folds of skin around the anus while the person sleeps, which can cause anal itching and restless sleep. Many people have no symptoms. The "thousands of eggs" count and the inch length are Mayo Clinic's.

The CDC dates its about page September 9, 2024. Opened October 30, 2026, it says pinworms are small, thin, white roundworms, and that on average a single pinworm is about the size of a staple. Itching around the anus is the typical symptom. Female worms leave the intestine through the anus while the person sleeps and deposit eggs on the surrounding skin, which can cause itching. Some people have trouble sleeping or feel restless. Some report abdominal pain. The staple comparison is the CDC's. It was not converted into Mayo Clinic's inch measurement.

Mayo Clinic's risk section says pinworm infections are most likely in children ages 5 to 10, and that they are not common in children younger than age 2. Eggs spread easily to family members, caregivers, and other children at school or child care. People in crowded institutional settings are at higher risk. The ages 5 to 10, and the line about children younger than 2, are Mayo Clinic's.

The CDC says anyone can get pinworms, and that infection primarily affects children, people in long-term care facilities, and household members and caretakers of a person who has pinworms. It says pinworms are the most common worm infection in the United States, and that infections often occur in more than one person in a household. The CDC page does not print the ages 5 to 10.

Mayo's longer symptom list, opened October 30, 2026, adds itching of the vaginal area, insomnia, an irritable or restless mood, teeth grinding, occasional stomach pain, upset stomach or vomiting, and bedwetting. It says infections often cause no symptoms. The CDC says that occasionally pinworms move to the vaginal area and cause irritation, and that repeated scratching can make the skin red and puffy and lead to a bacterial skin infection. Rarely, Mayo Clinic says, many pinworms can infect the female genitals, and other rare complications include urinary tract infections, weight loss, and infection of the peritoneal cavity.

Mayo Clinic says that once eggs are swallowed they hatch in the small intestine and grow into adult worms within a few weeks. Scratching moves eggs onto fingers and under fingernails, then onto toys, bedding, toilet seats, food, clothes, or other people. Eggs can survive on indoor surfaces for 2 to 3 weeks. Much less often, eggs get into the air and are inhaled and swallowed.

The CDC says that 2 to 3 hours after the worms lay eggs, the eggs can infect another person who swallows them. Eggs on diapers, clothes, bedding, food, or other items can survive 2 to 3 weeks if those items are not washed or cleaned. Breathing in eggs and then swallowing them is described as rare. The 2 to 3 hours is the time until eggs can cause a new infection, on the CDC page. The 2 to 3 weeks is how long both pages say eggs can remain on objects. Those are different clocks.

Mayo Clinic says treatment involves anti-parasite medicines that kill the pinworms, and that everyone in the family of the person with the infection should be treated. Bedding, pajamas, and underwear should be washed in hot water. It does not print a number of doses or a gap between doses.

The CDC says over-the-counter and prescription medicines can treat pinworm infection, and that a healthcare provider should make the diagnosis. It says to treat everyone in the household and caregivers at the same time. Treatment is two doses. The second dose is given two weeks after the first. The medicines kill worms and cannot kill eggs, so the second dose is meant to catch worms that hatch after the first dose. That two-dose, two-week schedule is the CDC's, dated September 9, 2024 and opened October 30, 2026. This page does not add a brand or a milligram amount. Neither opened page printed one in the sections used here.

Washing steps the pages share, or nearly share, are:

• Wash hands with soap and water after using the toilet, after changing a diaper, and before eating or handling food.
• Wash the anal area in the morning. Mayo Clinic says showering instead of a bath may keep eggs from spreading in bath water. The CDC's prevention section stresses handwashing and does not print the shower sentence.
• Change underwear daily. During treatment, Mayo Clinic also says to change bedding daily.
• Wash bedsheets, pajamas, underwear, washcloths, and towels in hot water. Mayo Clinic adds drying on high heat.
• Try not to scratch. Mayo Clinic says to keep fingernails short so eggs have less room to collect.

The CDC lists three ways a provider can look for pinworms, with the person's help: looking for pinworms around the anus 2 to 3 hours after the person who may be infected goes to sleep, a tape test to collect eggs around the anus, and looking at samples from under the fingernails. That 2-to-3-hour look is the same window the CDC gives for eggs becoming infective. Mayo Clinic tells a person with serious itching to talk with a healthcare professional and does not describe the tape test on the symptoms page.