Threadworm and Anxiety - how much actually needs to be done?

[spectacled]

My family got a threadworm infection in June last year and it really floored me. I have a phobia I guess of parasites, so my response isn't measured or reasonable. Six months on my oldest has them again and I am struggling.

My brain says our house is simply covered in eggs which rings the alarm bells for me and gets me panicking. My question is, how much cleaning and bedding changes etc do you think really needs to be done? The internet is full of mixed messages and I'm struggling to find a balance between knowing where to stop and feeling like I'm tackling the problem. Some people saying just change the beds, take the meds and be done, others saying I need to be scrubbing every inch of my house and putting children to bed with gloves. I just can't manage it all.

Everyone in the family, bar me, is a nail biter/finger chewer so any tips on getting shot of that habit also welcome!

The my kids got them. I did the treatment and washed their bedding. Cut their nails short. Put them to bed in pants. And that was it.

It's the nail biting that's doing it. Once you've done the bedding, and if the house is kept reasonably clean, that should be enough.

You'll be fine with this;

Seeing actual threadworms, itching -

In the morning

a. Off to bathroom, wash hands, shower if that's normal for you, do teeth
b. Base sheet, towels and flannels into hot wash, pyjamas and underwear if they wear it at night into a warm wash
c. Encourage to wash hands well through day - use clean flannels for hand and intimate drying to save time when washing and drying things.
d. Bath at night, wash hands, brush teeth
e. Clean Pyjamas and underwear if they normally wear it at night, bed.

Changing the base sheet after another three days is quite enough as long as you do the clean hands, clean bodies and clean clothes. Do that for say, two weeks (so two sets) and unless they're constantly coming into contact with them at school/nursery, it'll be grand - I know there's the ick factor, but it's not Bubonic Plague, you just need to give the medication a chance to do its thing without them necessarily reingesting further eggs shortly after it's been processed by their digestive system.

DD2 had them once, took the medication, I did the sheets twice that week and the next, she washed her hands slightly more often, never saw them again. Never did stop biting her nails, though.

Yep, treat everyone, short nails, new pjs, sheets and towels, ideally own towel for a week, and pants and bum wash first thing for a few days after giving meds. If worried give another dose after a month.

Thanks for your replies everyone. it’s certainly a struggle to keep up with the washing. It’s good to hear people have got rid without extreme measures. I find this whole situation so bloody hard