Diagnosis

Your doctor can confirm the presence of pinworms by identifying the worms or eggs.

To help your doctor make a diagnosis, you can perform the tape test. As soon as the person you suspect has pinworms wakes up and before he or she uses the toilet, washes or gets dressed, press the adhesive side of a piece of transparent tape to the skin around the anus. The eggs stick to the tape.

For best results, perform the tape test three days in a row, and then take the pieces of tape to your doctor. Your doctor can look at the tape under a microscope to see if there are any pinworm eggs.