Threadworms - how many have them?

[Mumof3darlings]

Dear All,

I feel like I am going mad!

1 week ago I noticed DS (age 4) scratching his bum a couple of times, I immediately thought he might have worms. Checked that night by looking up his bum with a torch and immediately saw a wriggling little blighter which quite honestly made me feel sick to the stomach! My DS is a clean little boy, ie washes his hands after loo, not always before eating though and we have a very clean home but I try not to be too OTT with the kids about not touching mud/sand etc while we are in garden etc as I feel like they have gotta play/get germs etc!!!

So I gave kids and me and DH medicine... Next day checked DS no 2's nappy whilst changing him and noticed a worm in there too!!!! agggrrr!!! This sent me over the edge tbh as I felt like the medication was my only hope!!!

OK so in last week I have checked DSno 2's nappy probably a dozen times and nothing... Also checked up DS1's bum while he sleeps every night and it's clean as a whistle.. I need to give the medication again after 2 weeks but to be sure I gave us all it again yesterday just in case.

I have a doctor who advises both on natural and mainstream medicines and he advised we could all take an aloe vera drink each morning which is preventative.. so we are taking this (which I feel is more for my mind than anything else)..

I have cleaned bedding, hoovered, washed, towels have been washed after every wash - the amount of washing I have done this week is as much as a busy launderette!!! Poor little DS1 is marched home from school and told to wash his hands immediately... I am watching other kids in his class and noticed one of them scratching his bum the other day - I am thinking about this subject 100% of the time - I honestly feel like I have become obsessed with it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had threadworms as a child quite a few times and I have had them as an adult too - immediately treating the problem. It always freaks me out everytime but this time seems worse as I noticed it in both my kids... what am I doing wrong???

I think the worst thing about this is that I feel so alone with it as nobody has EVER told me that their kids have this... Do people just not realise? or is it just that we are unlucky and get it more than others... Today I decided (after 1 week) to tell my DS's teacher. I found it so difficult to do as I am so embarrased and feel so guilty about it. I was hopeful she would tell me that she had seen it a hundred times before - she's been a teacher for about 15 years - but she didn't!!!!!!!!!! She was very nice, very understanding but said she had never known of a child having it before - OMG made me feel like a freak!!!

Help me - please tell me either what I am doing wrong or why it is that people don't discuss this????

Thanks for reading!!

x x

[IneedAsockamnesty]

do not dose regularly if you do not have them, it can cause quite unplesant side effects.

dried pumpkin seeds and cucumber seeds can help as well.

and the eggs do not spend hours floating around in the air, they can be shaken and transfered to a different place and they are very keen on things like loo flush handles door window handles taps anything that people often touch with out washing hands.

but they do not float around in the air for ages waiting to be breathed in. however a hard shake of a sheet (it would have to be hard they do stick to things) can possibly dislodge an egg and you could breathe it in but it really isant likly.

the way most of the eggs get into you is via hands (normally under nails) being placed in mouth, its why nailbiters nose pickers thumb suckers and children tend to get them more.

the itch you get in your bum is not just the actual worm its also a irritant on the eggs themselves this is designed to make you scratch to put the eggs under your nails, untill they then go in your mouth.

it would be highly unusual for outdoor playing in mud to infect you with thread worms, however some of the other worms (usually found in animals) will be cought this way. threadworms only infect humans not animals.

if you are pregnant and past 3 months and have allready tried the cleaning treatment for at least 6 weeks with no sucess. a gp can and should be percribing and paralising and senna combined treatment, if they wont see another docter.

given that on average about half of under 10's have them at anyone time anybody who says there child hasnt is either a liar or has cleaning standerds so high that the deep clean treatment method is done on a day to day basis thus treating with out knowing.

any place where under 10's frequent should as a matter ofcourse be cleaning toys ect and if they dont thats an issue,if they get all ickky with you when you tell them then they are probally far to sensative to be hanging out with under 10's.

its nothing to get excited or dramatic about its a very matter of fact part of life. that is actually very easy to treat if you do so correctly.

[DoubleDoubleTwigletTrouble]

Oh that makes me feel SO much better, Nipit and Sock! But this begs the question - if the eggs die after 2 weeks and the second dose kills those ingested in the meantime, then why do we need to spend all that time hoovering and dusting and washing?

It's not the gross-out factrr that bothers me (though it did at first), I just can't cope with having DD crying in pain for 2 nights in a row and the lack of sleep for 48 hours! Also I'm never sure if we've got them or not which I find irritating - one time I was sure DD had them but I never found any trace on her but I had one myself that same night. So if I hadn't had one myself I would have assumed she didn't have them and wouldn't have treated. All the times we've had them (and I know we have) I've only ever seen one live worm. I wish there was a quick POAS-type test to tell for sure if you had them!

[SoupDragon]

I wish there was a quick POAS-type test to tell for sure if you had them!

I guess SIAB (shitting in a bucket) might work

[helpful]

[IneedAsockamnesty]

the deep clean method is only essential for 6 weeks if you are also not using medication.

if you use the medication its only needed for 2 weeks.

just to reiterate

medication + deep clean for 2 weeks

no medication and or natural treatments(seeds/oils ect) + deep clean for 6 weeks.

just so you know hard plastic toys that babies have should also be cleaned (remember they go in mouths lots as well as eggs sticking to them)

[IneedAsockamnesty]

double if shes crying in pain,you may want to check that she hasnt hurt herself scratching or got a secondary skin infection from the scratching.

remember cotton close fitting knickers are your friend.


every familiy member should take itchy bums as a possible infestation inc husbands (in my experance they are next to useless about thinking they may have either worms or nits and tend to get silly about them and ignore symptoms as do some mums or other adults)

i have a friend whose kids constantly have them shes always treating them but point blank refuses to treat herself and her dh as they are adults so cant get them shes the same with nits. but you can actually see them in her hair.

[nipitinthebud]

Doubletwiglet I don't think the eggs do die within 2 weeks - they can linger for much longer. But they would be concentrated in the bed sheets, around the bed, on towels, near toilet and on things touched like door handles, toys etc. The regular cleaning is to get rid of the eggs and each time its done the egg load goes down, unti I guess the risk is negligable/non-existant.

Its true though a POAS thing would be a great idea - or something that you could just touch to your bottom and it would detect the goo secreted by the worms?

have you told your DD's nursery or school? Cos if you keep getting reinfected regularly then possibly they need to change their sand/playdough/have a deep clean.

I seem to remember I put Metanium on my DS bottoms to help with the itch. That might help with the sleeplessness for your DD....poor thing. It was ridicuously itchy...but more so I found within the first 48h of treatment (that's distinguished it from the times I kNOW we've had it - and seen one live worm - and times when its probably not been.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

the longest an egg can live is 3 weeks, most infomation places say 2 weeks but a couple say 'up to 3 weeks' however

even the nhs say the medication + 2 week deep clean is enough

[BeatTheClock]

Poor you op

I totally understand why this has freaked you out but they are v v common and no reflection on you or anything you may or may not have done. I was the same.

I was appalled by them and was shovelling in Ovex like Smarties. Also napalming the house and drinking the foulest thing in the world called Citracidal. It tastes like drain cleaner but I was swallowing gallons of it and was thinking about the whole thing far too much. I just couldn't believe that as they are so common and easy to catch that we wouldn't be afflicted again and again forever after. But it hasn't happened at all I'm grateful to say.

Reading mn helped put it in perspective. You just have to deal with it and forget it and move on otherwise you'll drive yourself nuts. It's a right of passage (in more ways than one! ) as a parent. Just one of those things. I guess people don't mention it much because who wants to be the first to talk about bums at the school gate?

If anything I think they must be easier to zap than nits.

[bacon]

deep clean is a waste of time. Its in the air so unless you get the industrial cleaners in and clinically scrub its a waste of human resourses. I have done it but read on many forums its pointless as you cant trap air particles.

I have had it myself and DS2 has had it numerous times. I found repeating the dose every 2 weeks for 3 times or so works but unless the other children in class are de-wormed then they can get it.

I dont buy the medicine far too expensive I crush the tablets in yogurt/icecream.

[CaseyShraeger]

I've never seen a worm on the DCs but I routinely Ovex any of them I catch scratching or complaining of itching.

[Thelobsterswife]

To those worried about worms in pregnancy, DD1 became infected whilst I was pregnant with DD2. I was under consultant care anyway, and I mentioned to him and he just laughed. He used to work somewhere abroad - can't remember where - and he said all the pregnant women had it and they just stopped treating them as it was impossible to stop reinfection. He said just chill. It won't harm you and it won't harm baby if they should catch them. He didn't know about treatment but suggested not taking any medication during pg or bf. I didn't catch them but nesting plus worms resulted in a very clean house for a while!

[IneedAsockamnesty]

bacon

that is not true. they can travel through air if a blanket or something is shaken hard but they will not remain airborne and will not live in the air.

[Lifebeginsat41]

Hi we've had them a few times and have turned the house in to a laundry shop.
I would also recommend washing their comforters and any soft toys they sleep with. We were also recommended that when cleaning nails make sure you get right underneath them. I know this hurts but it can break the cycle.

Op you must feel better knowing you are not alone. Good luck

[surfandturf]

I'm a childminder and since starting the job a year ago we have had them every 3 months without fail. The medication is almost bankcrupting me!!! We are a clean family, I keep my house as clean as I can given the rafts of children traipsing through every day, I change pj's and bedding regularly and wash everything on a super hot wash. I have however on several occasions noticed the children don't always wash their hands after using the toilet ( I'm talking 7 and 8 year olds). If I catch them they are promptly frog marched back into the bathroom! I've had to resort to putting signs up in the loo to remind them and I've asked parents to reiterate the importance of hand washing at home too. I hate it but I guess it's a hazard of the job. I think they are much more common than people let on and although not pleasant they don't actually do any harm - just keep your awake all night with the uncomfortable itching. Sounds like you are doing everything right to me. What is the aloe drink thing you use out of interest?

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

I just routinely treat the DC's every 3 months. I boil wash all bedding and towels every wash routinely too. Plus nail brushing every day, after school. Each person has their own nail brush.

Haven't had worms once since I started routinely treating though.

We ensure our pets don't get worms, so I can't understand why more humans don't use worming treatment routinely too.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Pharmacist told me that once a month was too often, but every 3 months was fine. Seems to have worked, with no odd side effects here.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

I also use Milton liquid in the bathtub to sterilise all plastic toys of DS3, fortnightly as a routine.

But I'd always done this ever since DD was a baby, because if you wouldn't let them put an unsterilised bottle in their mouth, why would you let them do that with their toys?

Maybe I am unwittingly treating infections routinely?

I'm known for being quite a slattern but whereas mess doesn't bother me, these things do. Guess there is a good reason for prioritising the jobs that I do!

[IneedAsockamnesty]

couthys correct 3 monthly in the absence of any side effects should be fine.

but and i cannot bang on about this enough.

people who never put fingers in mouths rarely get worms.

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

OMG! Is the garlic up the bum thread still in Classics?

[CouthyMowEatingBraiiiiinz]

Strangely, sock, it is DD, my thumb sucker, that has never had a problem with them, and DS2, who has never needed any sort of mouth-based comforter (he hugs carpet samples...) that has suffered the most with them.

[duvet]

Removing them with a tissue when you spot them seemed to clear them up quickly in this house as well as the exhaustive laundry.

[girliefriend]

My dd has had them a few times, although I can't honestly say I have ever seen a worm up her bum!! However she goes off her food a bit and then complains about an itchy bum esp at night. The tablets seem to work and I wash everything

I am a nailbiter as is my dd

They are gross and I can not understand why in this day and age we can't routinely deworm and deflea our children like I do the cat!!! Would be so much eaiser to put a couple of drops on her neck every 3 months

[DuchessOfAvon]

CouthyMow - its the same here too. DD2 is a finger-sucker and has the world's mankiest muslin comforters but has never had a bout yet. DD1 gets worms regularly - but that's DD1, she never gets ill but she does get infested.

Mind you, DD2 is pretty much toileting independantly these days so may be her time will come.....

[notheroldie]

You lot are making me itch!
I HAVE taken Ovex when pregnant. And when breast feeding. I know it isn't recommended but I was freaking out. My friend announced she had wormed all her kids as we were all rummaging through the biscuit tin.
I have never seen a worm on any of my DC but if anyone at school-preschool etc mention it, I immediately dose us all up.

I dont know what side effects are in pg or BF but my dcs are all ok Ithink

[IneedAsockamnesty]

couthy.

does he chew the carpet samples as well? (i ask as i actually do have a carpet and jumper chewer).

for him to get worms he has to be putting something in his mouth,he apsolutly has to. the eggs have to be inside you to hatch the only way they can get inside you is via the mouth. its not possible for them to hatch outside the body and a worm to crawl up a bum. (its potentially possible for him to be breathing them in after shaking something containing them but highly unlikly to happen repeatedly)

i know it may sound very very strange but is it possible hes a secret mouth sensation craver?

i once cought my son rubbing a nail brush he had just used to clean his nails against his tounge (same child i cought cleaning nails with tooth brush)

anything that he rubs fingers in, think fabric/upholstery/string that he may later chew even a teddy or the tail of a toy?