Please help anxious mum - worms

[Abigwhale]

My kids have never had worms and it’s my biggest anxiety (I have ocd and it’s a huge trigger). Was just changing ds2 nappy and found a white fibre in it. It didn’t look like a worm, not curvy and not moving. My question is if I found a worm in his nappy how obvious would it be? Could this be one? Thanks (please be gentle I’m really anxious)

They wriggle and there will probably be several. How old is your oldest child? Have they any symptoms? Could they have caught it from them? Has your baby been unusually distressed at night! I would wait and see what happens at next nappy change.

My eldest is 5, no one has had any symptoms. It looked more like a fibre from food, it was completely straight, but ocd has no logic sometimes when it makes you panic.

Best way to find out for sure is quite grim but necessary.

Wait until very very late at night when DC have been sleep my for hours. Grab a torch and check their behinds. I can guarantee you'd see a wriggly bugger if they have them. You can get treatment for the whole family on the children's minor ailments scheme at the chemist (or buy the medicine OTC)

Boil wash all the bedding, hoover every bit of the mattress and bedroom. Wash stuffed toys too. Don't share towels. Clip fingernails really short. I also run a disinfectant soaked cloth over every surface just in case.

Don't be too upset if they do have them. I read that up to 40% of children under 10 have them at a time and are unaware. The eggs are everywhere we go. We will never eradicate them. They are more common than head lice. 🤢

Thanks. The thing is I’m pregnant so can’t be treated. Have you ever seen a worm? Do they clearly look like worms? This looked nothing like a worm...

But I’ve read they look like bits of cotton so was just hoping someone could give a clear explanation..:

Like I said I have ocd and spend a good amount of my day worrying about worms and so I could probably convince myself anything was a worm.

They're like small pieces of thread, about 5mm long maybe? I did find some in my DD's nappy years ago and had to google them to make sure. I was also pregnant at the time and couldn't be treated. I just did everyone else and we were fine. I'd never caught them.

Why on earth would you be in such a state about such an insignificant issue? If the whole family had worms its no big deal. Tends to be mostly toddlers as they put their hands in soil them mouth, don't wash hands before eating. Unlikely the baby or the pregnant lady would do either of those things. Most kids will get them. Just deal with it, Get your brave girl pants on and woman up

Most mental health issues don’t have a logical explanation, if they did then I imagine most people would choose that over struggling!

I will keep an eye on him but pretty confident it’s mostly my ocd and not worms

Doesn't sound like worms. They would also be super itchy. Good practical advice on here for if they ever do get them.

Thanks. Yes I will save it for future reference. I do know they are common and no big deal and I could get rid of them without medication if very strict on hygiene. It’s just blown out of proportion in my head

In future, they look like little white wiggly things, slightly thicker than a thread and yes about 5mm long or less. If you squeeze them they pop.

You would know one if you saw one. They are quite short, thicker than cotton & they wriggle. There's really no mistaking them.

Oh. Being pregnant has always made me much more anxious. Are you getting any help with the anxiety? Like a total eejit, I waited until it was unbearable with dc3 before I asked for CBT. It was super super helpful. I can't recommend it highly enough, but with the caveat that mine was done by a NHS psychologist, not someone off the street with a CBT certificate of dubious merit.

On the bloody worms thing, did you know that having worms is good for preventing allergies and hay-fever? And that pepper (as in black pepper) works pretty well to eradicate them? Humans and worms have a fairly symbiotic relationship!

Thanks, yes I’ve been having help for about a year with a psychotherapist doing CBT but I think the pregnancy hormones have kicked things to another level

OP I'd freak out with worms and I don't even have anxiety!!
Even the word scares the hell out of me!
No need to wear your big girly pants (stupid comment!), your emotions are absolutely normal!!

Worms were and still are my most hated fear.

Dd has had them and gave them to me🤮l was terrified of going for a poo🤮. Then she got them again and have them to me again. I was less terrified that time.

The ones l saw were more like 1 1/2 cm long. And wriggly🤮

@Confusedbeetle, you have probably never dealt with anxiety?

Ah we've been there. It's very common so nothing to be ashamed off. My DD had it when she was 4. We all had to take 1 pill (everyone in the household, mainly as a way of precaution), then another one a week later. They were little white wriggly things that were crawling out of her poop (TMI, sorry). My DD got it from playing in the sandpit at school. Apply your CBT techniques: what's the problem (worms), what caused it (not me, just bad luck), what can I do about it (pop a pill), what does that say about me (I'm getting it sorted, it's not my fault). Good luck!

Thanks everyone. I guess its scarier at the moment because you can’t take the medication when pregnant. I worry I’ll get them and have them forever!

Ooh I didn’t know worms help prevent allergies! That’s good. I have allergies and it’s miserable, I shall feel better about the DCs bringing worms home from school!

OP they are a bit thicker than cotton thread and definitely wriggle! They are easy to treat with medication and washing. Another tip if you get them is to put some Vaseline around your anus area at night so they get stuck in it and not so easy to lay eggs. Clean your bottom thoroughly in the morning .
But none of my DCs got them until they started school, never as babies.

OP sorry to hear about your anxiety. I know worms must seem awful but please be reassured i’ve dealt with them a few times now and it’s not so bad. MNetters are a wiz on dealing with worms, you’ll get lots of advice.
Remember the human body is designed to cope with all these things! It’s what we evolved to do. 🙂

Black pepper & worms?

Yeah, apparently one of the main medications is based on the same compound found in black pepper, and a good peppered steak would probably clear them out. And actually does because we're all getting them on and off mostly without knowing. 30%of primary age kids have them.
There have been worm eradication programmes in Africa where the incidence of hay-fever and related allergies spiked when the worms went. And there's a lot more evidence on the link to allergies. Embrace the little fellas! Or eat a lot of pepper...

Sunflower seeds too (or is it pumpkin?)

I think the worms thing was more serious parasites but I might be wrong.

I'm fascinated by the black pepper thing now. However, according to good old Wikipedia:
Piperazines were originally named because of their chemical similarity with piperidine, part of the structure of piperine in the black pepper plant (Piper nigrum). It is important to note, however, that piperazines are not derived from plants in the Piper genus.