Enterobius eggs are laid at night onto the perianal area to which they adhere. Specimen is best collected first thing in the morning and can be collected by a member of patient's family.
- Peel back Sellotape from glass slide with the tab to expose sticky surface of the tape.
- Dab the anal area several times with the sticky surface to collect eggs if they are present (they are too small to be visible)
- Fold down the tape onto the slide.
- Place in a labelled slide box or equivalent and submit to the laboratory.
Up to 4 specimens may need to be submitted over 4 consecutive days, to rule out infection with pinworms.
Faeces may be collected into a sterile faecal container and sent the same day, although this is not the preferred method.
