Health
Why parents should deworm children regularly — Paediatricians
Paediatricians have advised parents to deworm their children regularly, warning that failure to deworm children can impair growth, nutrition, and overall development.
The child health specialists explained that children are particularly vulnerable to worm infestations because of frequent contact with contaminated soil, poor hygiene practices, and exposure to unsafe food or water.
They noted that intestinal worms can deprive children of essential nutrients, leading to anaemia, poor weight gain, stunted growth, and abdominal discomfort, among others.
The World Health Organisation lists parasitic worms in humans to include roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms.
“Those living in poverty are most vulnerable to infection, which can impair nutritional status by causing internal bleeding, which can lead to loss of iron and anaemia; intestinal inflammation and obstruction; diarrhoea; and impairment of nutrient intake, digestion, and absorption,” it added.
The WHO stated that preventive chemotherapy, or the periodic large-scale administration of anthelminthic medicines, can reduce the burden of worms caused by soil-transmitted helminth infections.
In Nigeria, every year, the Federal and State Ministries of Health engage in a deworming exercise targeted at school children to prevent the spread of schistosomiasis and tackle Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis infections.
Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Healthwise, a Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist, Dr. Meshach Olawuyi, explained that children are particularly susceptible to worm infestation.
He explained that children can come into contact with worms through food, such as beef and vegetables, that are improperly cooked and unhygienic practices.
Olawuyi said that worms can be in the digestive system, skin, eyes, and urinary bladder, among others.
“Typically, worms can reside in different parts of the body, depending on the type of worm. However, most worms that we are familiar with reside inside the gut, within the digestive system.
“When worms are there, they can remain for many years. If they don’t come out, it may not be obvious,” the paediatrician said.
He recommended twice-yearly deworming for children.
“Children need to deworm because worms tend to consume the nutrients that children have eaten. The worms can remain inside the child, consuming the nutrients the child eats. Over time, the child can become malnourished as a result.
“Typically, what we advise is that children should be dewormed every six months. That way, in the event that they have ingested worm eggs that later develop, making deworming a routine helps to eliminate the worms before they become a bigger problem,” he said.
He said abdominal pain, vomiting, or passing worms in stool, passing drops of blood after urination, are possible signs and symptoms that may suggest a child has a worm infestation.
On risks for children not dewormed regularly, he said, “If children are not dewormed regularly, then there is a risk that the child may develop worm infestation. That is the medical term we use.
“There is a possibility that the child may have a worm infestation without showing any obvious symptoms. The only thing you may notice is that the child is eating a lot but is not gaining weight.
“What this means is that the worms are occupying a part of the intestine where digested food is supposed to be absorbed into the body, but instead, the worms absorb those nutrients for themselves. So, a child who is not dewormed regularly is at risk of having worm infestation, and that infestation may continue silently without obvious symptoms”
Also, the Head of Paediatrics at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, Dr Abdurrazzaq Alege, explained that deworming is a way of removing intestinal worms from the body.
He said failure to deworm a child can lead to a shortage of blood, loss of iron in the body, and stunted growth.
“Evidence of malnutrition can be seen in a child who has too many worms in the body. Once the child is malnourished, the child will not grow well and will appear stunted. So these are complications that can happen as a result of having too many worms in the body,” Alege said in an earlier interview.
The paediatrician warned that failure to deworm children puts them at risk of developing worm balls, which can block the intestine and lead to intestinal perforation.
Alege said a child with fewer worms in the body experiences better growth.
“A child who is dewormed regularly will have a better outcome in terms of growth and cognitive function.
“It is important to not just deworm a child every six months; the government and health communities also have a responsibility to reduce the risk in the community by having schools administer necessary medications for deworming,” he said.
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