DC has worms! Medication side effects.

[Lochroy]

DD has worms. She had been complaining for a couple of evenings and tonight I saw them 🤢

She's in Reception and back to school today. I'll pick up the medicine from the pharmacy but I know it can be pretty rough on tummies.

I'm just wondering how long before side effects kick in and how long side effects last? Trying to work out when I should give it to her (and other DC who will also need doing)?

you need to treat tjhe whole family, wash bedding, through out play dough, keep fingernails short. etc

last time we had worms in the house no one had side effects from the tablets.

We've never suffered any ill effects of worm medicine. Give it to everyone as soon as you can.

Our routine was also to strip beds, vacuum mattresses, boil wash bedding and towels, and make sure nails are trimmed and clean.

Thank you, I only know one person who has used it and they all got very upset tummies. Plus that's listed as a common side effect by the NHS so it's good to know it's not universal.

Yep, aware of the need to basically decontaminate everything and that DH and I also need doing.. Such a joy on the day I'm back at work too.

Ugh. The enormity of what we have to do is dawning. DD has also slept in our bed in the last few days so I'll need to strip that too.

I've no idea how to deal with her room, toys, books and especially soft toys which can't go in the machine.

I had to treat the whole family over Christmas. No real side effects here either.

Get the easy stuff (bed linen, towels, underwear) done first. Cut her nails short and make sure she is washing hands properly. Lots of soft toys can actually go in a gentle cycle even if they say they can't. It will be ok!

Just strip and wash bedding, pjs and underwear and all take the medicine. Lots of regular good handwashing. The tablets are easy to take. The most I've found is that they can prompt a big poo but not in an uncomfortable way.

Never had any side effects. Over the years, my dc have both had a lot of worms as constantly digging in the mud, so we use it a few times a year. Only side effects were from the infestation itself (which is awful!).

Drink lots of water to flush it through. I always felt like I had a dry poo

I’ve also never deep cleaned the house. Sure, wash bedding and pyjamas, but that’s a good job to do at the start of the month anyway. I’ve never hoovered or cleaned carpets or toys. The worms live in the body. There won’t just be random eggs everywhere because there aren’t worms just crawling around laying them. And even if there were, this is why you take another dose in 2 weeks. Kills any that were missed. There really is no need to freak out and deep clean.

You do need to clean. Eggs can survive outside the body for up to two weeks.

From the NHS website

Do
wash hands and scrub under fingernails – particularly before eating, after using the toilet or changing nappies
encourage children to wash hands regularly
shower every morning
rinse toothbrushes before using them
keep fingernails short
wash sleepwear, sheets, towels and soft toys (at a hot temperature) every day for several days after treatment
disinfect kitchen and bathroom surfaces, using hot water
vacuum and dust with a damp cloth
make sure everyone in the household wears underwear at night and changes it in the morning

Don’t
do not shake clothing or bedding, to prevent eggs landing on other surfaces
do not share towels or flannels
do not bite nails or suck thumbs and fingers

Dunno if the tablets are the same over there as they are in my country but the ones here are coloured red and I did not realise they can colour their poo. Had a panic that my DS had blood in his faeces until I realised it was the worm pills!

I've never washed bedding - the tablets are effective if you repeat the dose 10 days later.

Thanks for the further replies. £30 to get enough to treat the four of us twice 😟.

I just don't know what to do in terms of cleaning. I'd already read the NHS guidance, but I think it will break me to clean the whole house. (Or just mean no sleep for two or three nights). Obviously I'm going to do linen, clean DC's room, bathrooms and so on, but she's been everywhere round the house over the holiday.

We've had it before
We all took the tablets, then I washed all the bedding and dirty clothing and hoovered and that was it
It sorted the problem for us

You only need to clean soft toys if they are in her bed with her. You don’t have to clean every toy she owns! Just take the meds, change your sheets and pop on fresh pjs. If she sleeps with a Teddy at night whack that in the wash too. If it can’t be washed, bag it and stick it in the freezer for a few weeks. Job done.

And please warn your child’s teacher, a) so that she can remind the other children to wash their hands ( no need to specify why) b) so she can avoid holding your child’s hand for a few days c) make sure table surfaces/ shared resources are well wiped and cleaned and d) put out a message on the classweb site or WhatsApp to alert other parents.

Agree with others. I stripped all beds, washed her main teddy she slept with and PJs and we were all good.

No side effects from the tablets/medicine and at one point her nursery was that rife with them she kept getting re-infected so for a few months I dosed both of us regardless until the kids in school broke the cycle.

tbh I found worms easier to deal with than head lice...

DD had them. Washed bedding, towels, pjs , pants. Didn’t do the soft toys, but I did throw away the play doh/slime anything sticky fingers based. Changed pants twice a day, and kept her clothes in a bag separate from everything else, possibly unnecessary. Short nails.Treated everyone , lots of handwashing. Got rid of them and no side effects for anyone.