Most of our pets are infected at some point in their lifetimes with parasites, and there is a real risk that they could be transmitted to children and pregnant women.

Intestinal parasites are contagious to other animals and humans. Because they primarily inhabit the GI tract, larvae, or eggs, are passed in the feces. The infective larvae then inhabit the soil around the feces, leaving other dogs, and children, vulnerable to accidental ingestion and subsequent infection.

Dogs and people can become infected by accidentally swallowing roundworm eggs from the environment. In addition, worms can cross through the placenta, milk, or colostrum of a mother dog, passing the infection to her puppies.

Additionally, you may see dead worms in your dog’s stool for a few days following treatment, or your dog may have diarrhea as they digest the dead worms. Most of the time, regardless of what you see in their stool, recently wormed dogs behave like normal.

The transmission of intestinal parasites from pets to humans, predominantly children, is something we’ve been aware of for a long while. But until recently, quality information – backed by good science – was unavailable. Numerically, the odds of you or your children getting worms from your dog or cat are quite low.

Coughing, diarrhea, vomiting and lethargy are the general signs the dog has worms. Other symptoms depend on the type of worm. For example, if your dog has a tapeworm, clear identifiers can be rapid weight loss or what appears to be grains of rice in their stool.

The tapeworm eggs can live in the environment in grass and soil, carpets and dust, so it is hard to eliminate the process of infection as we cannot keep this permanently clean.

How Do You Get Rid of Pinworms in Your Home?

1. For several days after treatment, it is important to clean the bedroom floors, either by vacuuming or damp mopping.
2. After treatment has been administered, you should also wash all bed linens in hot water.

Treatment generally consists of a general dewormer and environmental cleaning. Indoors, the floor should be vacuumed and cleaned with an all-purpose cleaner. Litter boxes and bedding should be scrubbed and laundered. All animals in the house should be dewormed together to ensure all infected animals are treated.

These eggs are also able to cling to bedding, clothing, toys, doorknobs, furniture, and faucets for up to two weeks. Pinworm is the most common of all the parasitic roundworm infections.

Once inside your dog or cat, the worms live out their entire lifecycle — from egg to larvae to adult — that is until you and your veterinarian send them on their way with an effective dewormer treatment.

These eggs must develop in the environment for 2 to 4 weeks, after which the eggs are able to cause infection. The eggs are resistant to most environmental conditions and with adequate moisture, can survive for years.

Most chemicals do not kill roundworm eggs; however, heat kills the eggs instantly. Treat feces-soiled decks, patios, and other surfaces with boiling water or a propane torch (please contact your local fire department for regulations and safety practices).

. Upon reaching the small intestine, they develop into adult worms. Between 2 and 3 months are required from ingestion of the infective eggs to oviposition by the adult female. Adult worms can live 1 to 2 years.

Roundworms in your intestines can cause:

1. nausea.
2. vomiting.
3. irregular stools or diarrhea.
4. intestinal blockage, which causes severe pain and vomiting.
5. loss of appetite.
6. visible worms in the stool.
7. abdominal discomfort or pain.
8. weight loss.