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General health

how do kids get worms?

10 replies

spod · 31/07/2005 13:02

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smellymelly · 31/07/2005 13:09

Not sure how long it takes, but touching things they shouldn't (like bottoms!) and then not washing their hands is a sure way to pass things on like worms. It is very hard to keep fingers away from mouths when they are so young.

Did all the kids wash their hands after touching the animals??

Is it a proper family visiting farm?

I'm sure farmers and certainly farms you visit on days out would regularly worm any animals that would need it. I'm not even sure if farm animals get worms?

You should be extra specially careful about Ecoli, with farm animals, I think.

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spod · 31/07/2005 13:13

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happymerryberries · 31/07/2005 13:17

You can also breath in the microscopic eggs which are then swallowed. I got worms not long after my kids did and I can assure all readers that my personal hygine is excellent!

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Chocol8 · 31/07/2005 20:20

When I was younger, my sister got worms - from picking her nose and eating it - mmmmm, that's what we were told anyway, but the whole family had to be medicated.

At the time, it was a blood-red medicine which was ABSOLUTELY foul tasting and we had to take more than her even though she was the one who had it! Very unfair!

Apparently young children can get them from not washing hands after using the toilet and from pet excreta (especially dog). I know there was a reason why I am forever going on at my ds about washing hands after the loo.

It looks like it is very easy to get worms from children playing closely together as HMB says, the eggs enter the mouth. Then they grow into adult worms in the gut (apologies if you are eating!).

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spod · 31/07/2005 20:21

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edodgy · 31/07/2005 20:22

urgh chocol8 i remember getting worms when i was little and had to have that red medicine it was foul wasnt it.

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Miaou · 31/07/2005 20:23

They take quite a while from ingesting eggs to developing as worms, IIRC. Dd2 got them a couple of weeks ago but I think "incubation" period is about two weeks, so we guessed it was not because of her weekend visit to a farm a few days earlier!

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spod · 31/07/2005 20:24

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Chocol8 · 31/07/2005 22:24

Would defo avoid her for a while if possible! There may be a natural remedy available Spod - maybe worth asking about?

I can still remember the FOUL tasting medicine even today - and it was about 30 years ago Edodgy! It used to stain our lips and tongue bright red and my sis used to have 1 teaspoon, I had 2, my brother had 3 and my Mum and Dad had 4 - twice a day! Think they've come up with something a lot better now though!!!!!!

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spod · 31/07/2005 22:33

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