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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to give up and let the bum worms win?

141 replies

BumWormFatigue · 08/02/2025 19:56

Seven blissful weeks ago, I'd never heard of pinworms / threadworms. Then our toddler was beside himself trying to itch his bum one night, and after researching and looking in everyone's poo, I confirmed pinworms in all four of us 🤢.

Bought Ovex and dosed the household. Cut nails, boil washed everything, thorough showers and fresh towels every morning for everyone. Shampooed the carpet, bought new pillows for the children etc etc. We all take our shoes off and wash hands when coming home anyway, but also bought a nail brush for added thoroughness.

10 days later, toddler up again trying to scratch. GP recommends early 2nd dose, which we all have. Same again two weeks later. We still all have pinworms.

I am sick of laundry and getting up early to shower two furious small children before nursery. The cure is beginning to feel worse than the disease, seeing as three of us are asymptomatic, and the toddler is only bothered periodically. A bit of piriton and sudocrem on his bumhole seems to sort it on nights he is bad. Also, I've spent an absolute fortune on Ovex, which is money we don't have.

So AIBU to just ignore the problem? Or should I carry on all the extra cleaning / getting up early / Ovex indefinitely?

Any miracle cures for the little buggars appreciated too, if anyone has one.

OP posts:
MixedBananas · 09/02/2025 07:30

TammyJones · 09/02/2025 07:26

With regards to Nits - old hand here - forget all your expensive lotions and smelly potions. - lots of condition and comb hair either a fine tooth comb then rinse.
Do this for 3 or 4 days
Then make a habit of using a fine tooth comb on after washing hair
As kids we never even got nits ever- dad got this job and he did a very good job

Show quote history

We got nits from school. And a family neglected her so even though we would treat at home she would come in for years with nits. I remember the nurses at school placing a shopping bag over her head one day becuase it was so bad.

Pippinsdiary · 09/02/2025 08:03

It’s strange you can’t get rid of them. My toddler has brought them into the house twice where we all got them and 2 doses did the trick, no extra washing or anything

ChompandaGrazia · 09/02/2025 09:03

SpringChickenGiblets · 09/02/2025 00:53

Then he needs to stop biting his nails. It’s grim for a grown man to continually get worms, my vagina would be zipped shut until he learns to wash his hands, stop biting his nails and learn how to stop getting infestations of worms.

Show quote history

He stopped biting them once he realised what was causing worms!

Original poster
BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:27

Wow what a lot of replies, thank-you all! And it seems I am being unreasonable, fair enough. I was hoping for some stories of "dirt being good for the immune system" or similar, but apparently not...

Most of the stuff suggested we do already do - hand washing after loo everytime (singing "Happy Birthday dear Sonic" and using a nail scrubber), ditto with waking up, washing hands before breakfast.

I always wash underwear, bedding and towels at 60 - always have done, even long before bum worms.

Will definitely email the nursery though. I suppose rather than the usual 10% of children there having them, maybe they all do? Hopefully they'll have a procedure in place for such an event.

Very interesting to hear about being able to give Ovex more regularly. Will also get a GP appointment to see if I can get some prescribed because of the cost! I did previously have an over-the-phone consultation, but he wasn't very interested. Just said that taking a 2nd dose at 10 rather than 14 days wasn't a problem 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:
Original poster
BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:28

But thinking about it, perhaps that should have set alarm bells off. If pinworms take 6 weeks to reach sexual maturity, it would suggest that the first lot of worms weren't irradicated by the Ovex... because even if they had hatched the next day in the toddlers stomach, they shouldn't have been wiggling to his bum until weeks later 🤔

OP posts:
Original poster
BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:30

@violetcuriosity The maggots. OMG 😱I suppose it could always be worse!

OP posts:
Original poster
BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:33

FumingTRex · 08/02/2025 22:38

Dont give up! Have you washed teddies, dressing gowns and other things the kids regularly handle? You also need to clean all round the beds, wipe them down and then vacuum all round. Pants at night and shower in the morjing.

Yes, washed all of these. Also sofa throws, shower mats etc in Zoflora (have never used so much Zoflora - our house stinks of chemicalorange).Only teddies that they sleep with though, I might banish all the others to solitary for a bit.

OP posts:
Original poster
BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:34

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 08/02/2025 23:15

Some people apparently can’t feel them. Just saying 😱

Show quote history

Me and my OH can't! Lots of dead ones in our poo all the time though. Of it wasn't for the toddler itching, we might never have known...

OP posts:
VickyEadieofThigh · 09/02/2025 10:37

Reading just one page of this has given me an itchy bum.

Original poster
BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:40

@ByWaryCrab That's interesting about the fridge handle - thank-you I never knew. I do periodically clean it - probably once a week or so. But will be sure to do daily.

OP posts:
GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 09/02/2025 11:08

BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:34

Me and my OH can't! Lots of dead ones in our poo all the time though. Of it wasn't for the toddler itching, we might never have known...

Show quote history

I think my exh is one of those people. His Mum said that her kids never had them as children (unlikely) and I’m pretty sure my DS has brought them back from his house before - exh has a toddler at nursery who might pick them up , but he (exh) has a random habit of sleeping in all the beds when people aren’t there so I think he’s spread them!

Lovelysummerdays · 09/02/2025 11:12

BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 10:27

Wow what a lot of replies, thank-you all! And it seems I am being unreasonable, fair enough. I was hoping for some stories of "dirt being good for the immune system" or similar, but apparently not...

Most of the stuff suggested we do already do - hand washing after loo everytime (singing "Happy Birthday dear Sonic" and using a nail scrubber), ditto with waking up, washing hands before breakfast.

I always wash underwear, bedding and towels at 60 - always have done, even long before bum worms.

Will definitely email the nursery though. I suppose rather than the usual 10% of children there having them, maybe they all do? Hopefully they'll have a procedure in place for such an event.

Very interesting to hear about being able to give Ovex more regularly. Will also get a GP appointment to see if I can get some prescribed because of the cost! I did previously have an over-the-phone consultation, but he wasn't very interested. Just said that taking a 2nd dose at 10 rather than 14 days wasn't a problem 🤷‍♀️

I don’t know if it’s the same where you are but here the pharmacist can prescribe it to you/ family under minor ailments. They also
prescribe Hedrin which has saved me a fortune over the years.

Lovelysummerdays · 09/02/2025 11:24

violetcuriosity · 08/02/2025 22:43

This worn anecdote is rank so read at your peril.

We had the worst week of my parenting life when my 11m old at the time got worms (and we've been through some bad times) We actually ended up at A&E twice in the middle of the night because I couldn't work out wtf was going on and nor could they, she was screaming like something out of a horror movie for hours on end. An unexpected part was 24 hours after the first dose of the treatment I changed her nappy and assumed it was full of uncooked rice. Thought it was a bit odd, went to work and it was playing on my mind so I went home and looked at the nappy again to see that sone of the 'rice' was actually moving a bit. Took it straight to the GP who said it was a larvae infestation and didn't let us leave, she called somewhere in london for advice and sent it off to them. Turns out that it was actually unrelated to the itchy bum and that was just good old thread worms but the other one had also been killed and dumped by the ovex. We actually had to take 4 doses of the ovex and we now take it every 3 months just to be safe. I can't go through that again. Good luck.

That is pretty awful. I do think the pandemic was a bit of a lost opportunity for threadworm eradication. Imagine if the whole population had been wormed at the same time. Without mixing it wouldn’t of been passed around and also if all kids had been combed through for nits. We could of gotten rid of the two itchiest problems for parents in one go.

Burntt · 09/02/2025 11:38

You said your toilet is in a separate room? Is there a sink in there? If not people are touching the door handle with dirty hands in the way to the room with the sink and potentially multiple other things before washing hands. Therefore everyone going into the room with the sink touching the door handle can be picking them up

rumtumtuggeris · 09/02/2025 11:43

She laughed and said she had a granddaughter who got pinworms a lot, and that some children just did

YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR CHILD'S NURSERY. WITH THIS ATTITUDE NO WONDER YOU ARE GETTING REINFECTED.

Contrast that attitude with

@PabloTheGreat s post:

If you haven't, notify the nursery
Our toddler got jis in there and the manager was very grateful I let her know as soon as I discovered them. She initiated a deep clean that day and replaced the play sand. She said that they nearly always only find out when it's at epidemic stage because people are too embarrassed to let them know

Original poster
BumWormFatigue · 09/02/2025 11:52

Burntt · 09/02/2025 11:38

You said your toilet is in a separate room? Is there a sink in there? If not people are touching the door handle with dirty hands in the way to the room with the sink and potentially multiple other things before washing hands. Therefore everyone going into the room with the sink touching the door handle can be picking them up

Good point! It's just a toilet, and the sink and bath are the other side of the kitchen. All downstairs. Very odd design, but about half of our street has it. Very old ex-council houses.

OP posts:
ByWaryCrab · 09/02/2025 11:55

tellitonthemountains · 09/02/2025 07:24

God she sounds annoying.

So they don’t plan to do anything to address it? 🤨

Show quote history

They need to regularly wash toys including balls in ball pools. They don’t have to be near his bum for them to be infected. Transmission is touch(to toys and infect/ re-infect occurs) and air borne, so watch out for irritated coughs too.

coldcallerbaiter · 09/02/2025 12:02

No they are itchy, you’ve got to get rid.

This is how you do it. Forget ovex, as Uk worms are now immune in this country, so it is temporary and they come back via eggs.

Get the foreign version. Different ingredient. Combatrin, get it online from US or Oz. Promise you it works and it doesn’t come back via reinfecting yourself. If reinfecting is via nursery, I would change nursery personally. Worms aren’t benign, they can in serious cases affect the nervous system.

ByWaryCrab · 09/02/2025 12:24

coldcallerbaiter · 09/02/2025 12:02

No they are itchy, you’ve got to get rid.

This is how you do it. Forget ovex, as Uk worms are now immune in this country, so it is temporary and they come back via eggs.

Get the foreign version. Different ingredient. Combatrin, get it online from US or Oz. Promise you it works and it doesn’t come back via reinfecting yourself. If reinfecting is via nursery, I would change nursery personally. Worms aren’t benign, they can in serious cases affect the nervous system.

Edited

Nobody mentions the airborne infection route either, child develops a dry irritating cough, eggs expelled in water droplets on to surfaces and breathed in if your close enough. Yikes!?! You should be getting your meds from your gp, not the internet.

GoldFishPocketWatch · 09/02/2025 12:30

Pants and long trousers at night. Shower bottom first thing. Become a hand washing psycho. Wipe everything incl door handles. Wash or quarantine soft toys. It's the only way!

Lighteningstrikes · 09/02/2025 12:32

Over is very good and should work.

Garlic (say half a glove child full glove adult), cut up and straight down is absolutely excellent.

Wash hands with soap properly when they come in from nursery/school etc., every single time.

I take it you’ve used bleach wipes for door handles, remote control, toys etc.

TorroFerney · 09/02/2025 12:40

Finetoday · 08/02/2025 23:36

WHAT THE HELL ARE BUM WORMS ?!!!

Oh my word, how do you all know so much and I’ve never heard of them !!!

I had them for years a child/teenager and it never occurred to me to tell anyone as I was really ashamed. I used to scratch my bum and get one on my finger and watch it move around. I’d no idea they were a thing and assumed it was just me. I generally reside in a state of shame due to my childhood!

as an adult my daughter got them on holiday in Kuala Lumpur so on my birthday we had a trip to a Malaysias pharmacy with google translate. Good times!

Hankunamatata · 09/02/2025 12:43

They are like nits iv found. Takes 2 or 3 diesel spread apart at to get rid of them

Dont leave them as they lead to stomach aches and bedwetting

Hankunamatata · 09/02/2025 12:43

Doses

Hankunamatata · 09/02/2025 12:46

Oh never did shower each morning. Just change underwear and bath at night and fesh pjs