Help, I've got worms!

People sometimes use "threadworms" these days as a generic term when what they mean to say is "worms" generally. The OP used the term broad term "worms" in the title. A person may not know for sure exactly what type they have - and they may have more than one. Pinworms/threadworms are host specific, and are known for causing an itchy butt, so if you have an itchy butt then it's a pretty good indication that you do indeed have thread/pinworms. But humans can get all kinds of other types - hookworms are the ones, for example, that you can get from running around barefoot in the dirt.

Fortunately the active ingredient in Ovex kills multiple types of worms - not just threadworms/pinworms. Sounds like it would be harsh for it to be able to do that doesn't it? But actually it works by making it impossible for the worm to ingest glucose, so it then dies from lack of nutrients. Of course the meds don't treat the eggs - which is why it's important to wash all the linens/underclothes etc etc. And to cut fingernails to get rid of any lurking eggs.

Getting pin/threadworms is not necessarily a sign of bad hygiene - you can breathe the eggs in, as well as getting them from not washing your hands. But of course the chances of ingesting them are much lower if you do wash your hands etc.

They are really common and often people don't realise they have them.

Take the medicine. Take another dose in two weeks time (this is now recommended by some pharmacists) to get rid of any stragglers.

Clean all your bedding and hoover and dust everywhere. They lay thousands of eggs that are very light weight and can easily be moved around when you strip beds etc.

You and DD should be wearing pants to bed and washing your bum each morning for a couple of weeks.

Ideally, cuddly toys should be in quarantine for a couple of weeks but it's understandable if this is not possible. Try hoovering them if DD needs them to sleep.

I don't think freezers would kill worm eggs. The eggs can survive for 2 weeks, so you need to quarantine the soft toys for at least that long.

They are human-specific as a PP said, so you can't get them from animals. My son is also in Y1, OP, and we've had threadworms once a year for the last three years (I think the first lot was from my older child).

I, like you, find it really really gross, and the first time I discovered that we had them I absolutely freaked out. But I've had to change my thinking so that I don't drive myself mad!

Keep nails short. Nailbrush scrub before food, for everyone. Hoover daily for the next few weeks. Wash all bedding immediately, then wash it again a couple of days after taking the tablet (it takes a while for the worms to die off), then wash it at least once a week.

It is true that a lot of the population have them without realising - especially those with under-10s in the household. I've accepted we'll probably get them again in a few months' time. It's so grim! But it's just life. It's fine. x

You sound very authoritative on this, but I'm not sure you're right. Everything I've read says very rarely do people catch worms from pets/animals...

Sympathies @harryetta we had them recently. My skin was absolutely crawling with the idea of it.

Dd 3 was the only one with symptoms, I checked after she stared crying over her itchy bum. My son 6 never had any symptoms, but sure enough after a few nights with a torch after I'd already dosed everyone, there they were.

I did meds at day zero, 7, 14, 28, assumed i woukdnt catch all the eggs in my home (my kids were formerly allowed to run naked as they love to be naked - now we have a pants rule) so kept dosing until they would have been dead. I deep cleaned, quarantined stuffies that couldn't be washed in bin bags for 3 weeks. I will be adding a monthly bum check into my routine now (with a torch when they're asleep) as we have nursery, school, and my son is an anxious chewer of anything in sight...

Good luck op. With my daughter, the itchy one, I gave her meds in the am and she was already calmer that night.

Its higher. It’s something like 80% of the population have some sort of parasites in their gut at one time. So yeah, that’s a high percentage. They live on a lot of things. It’s not that we should routinely treat, but it’s recommended that we treat ourselves once a year or every six months. People can argue this all they want, but it’s true.

Is that true?!!!

I thought something like 45% of the population gave them but are unaware of it.

I thought threadworms weee human specific and can not be caught from dogs or animals??

Exactly this: little children are rubbish at remembering to wash their hands - and also remembering not to touch dirty stuff. And, even if your child is good at hand washing at home it may well be the case that they have little buddies who are not and are sharing all kinds of stuff when they are at school. That's just bad luck really.

Hopefully you'll just have to do the treatment once, wash all the bed linens /underoos/towels etc and be done with it. It's a pain in the ass (literally) but could be a bunch worse. If you want to see what "much worse" can look like then google the size of a tapeworm that can live in a sperm whale's guts.

You could put the cuddly toys in a hot car in the sun - the inside of a car gets so dang hot that it'll kill many a bug. Other than that the freezer idea is the way forward. Worm eggs can happily survive for a while.

As for treatment - people have given you the name of the OTC drug people normally use, though you can always as your GP if that one doesn't work.

As for how to avoid this stuff: handwashing, keeping nails short, making sure your kids/you don't walk around outside in bare feet on dirt (especially if you have wild animals in the area), and make sure all outdoor shoes are left downstairs and aren't worn around the house. You don't want to be overly upset about it - kids can be freaked out at the notion of worms! - so I'd probably keep that diagnosis to yourself rather than worrying the kiddos with it.

Do you have any pets? It's important of course to always de-worm pet dogs and cats (and certain other pets too). If you live near/on a farm the chances of getting worms are higher because many farmyard animals have them - it's particularly fun at this time of year because all the new lambs need to be treated for the damned things - and any sheep that are moved around need to be treated too. Horses and cattle can also have them - so there are a myriad of vectors for the darned things. And then there are the wild animals that frequent gardens/play parks etc etc.

I think some people will frown at the notion that everyone gets worms at some point, or that people should be treating their family every year for them. That simply is not true. It may be the case that some people are more prone to them based on their lifestyle (again, working with farm animals, not having good hand washing facilities, playing very muddy sports on fields that are also used by dog walkers etc etc) but using medication when it isn't needed is a bad idea.

No of course we don't. Not much point if you currently don't have them...

Can you pop the soft toys in a bag and put them in the freezer? Or will that ruin the knitting?

Do we? 😳

Would freezing the toys kill worms?

So these would likely be from your child then, touching things around the house with unwashed hands, for example, then you touching those same things after and picking up the eggs that way.

Recently dc had them they are in p1 I was shocked to see them but they complained of a sore tummy the day before. Treated whole family with ovex and a second dose 2 weeks later. I read multiple threads that apparently u can take it up to three days in a row and some countries in Europe prescribe like this. I washed all bed sheets daily for the first 3 days and put Vaseline around his bottom the worms come out at night to lay eggs to plenty of Vaseline stops this. Also wash bums every morning with soap and warm water. Vacuum daily for 3 days, separate hand towels bath towels etc wash bath towels after every use but the most important thing is washing hands before eating and being so careful not to put them to ur mouth. DC cleared up after about a week and luckily no one else caught them. i may have went OTT but this was the advice gathered from me reading numerous previous threads to ensure they completly go away

Would putting the toys in the freezer kill the eggs?

We do not ALL get them, thanks. Worms are caused by poor hand hygiene after going to the toilet. I had them a few times as a kid. Why? Because I didn't always wash my hands - and I'd also bite my nails. Basically, the eggs live under your nails, you ingest them when you bite and they turn into worms.
After a few doses of the hell that is Pripsen, I became an obsessive handwasher and, unsurprisingly, haven't had them since.