How often to deworm

[Moominmoomoo]

My DD keeps getting terrible tummy pain and I think it's worms -the whole house doses up as per the packet (1 dose followed by another 2 weeks later), Im washing everything as best I can each time and this tends to work, but then a couple of months later she's complaining of really bad tummy pain again. She's good with hand washing, youngest not so good with it - when with me does wash hands well but probably not very thorough at school. I know you're only supposed to take ovex once every 3 or 4 months, but we need it every month or so - my DC are all young and at infants/junior school so I think this is where its being picked up. does anyone have any suggestions?

We have been through the Dr to check allergies, coeliac etc but nothings been found.

Why do you think it’s worms? I mean we’ve never had worms - once a month!!!

Have you ruled out constipation? It’s more likely. If it’s not this I think you need to make a GP appointment for her.

Do you actually have a reason for thinking it’s worms @Moominmoomoo?

According to NhS threadworms rarely cause stomach pain unless a severe infection

Constipation? Abdominal migraine?

Just off the top of my head. It's not worms.

Never heard of regularly de-worming children!
Are you in a country where this is common practice?
Otherwise why have you jumped to this conclusion?

If she had worms, her bum would be incredibly itchy at night. That's the only symptom, as far as I can remember. As a child I never had stomach pain with worms. You shouldn't give ovex just because you think it might be worms...

@Xmaswomble @Inyourwildestdreams I've tried everything I can think of to get to the bottom of the tummy pain, been to the gp several times. The only thing that seems to do anything is the ovex. I've looked at old threads and seen that where there are bad cases they are hard to shift.
@Returnsreturnsandmorereturns she's pretty regular every day and never has a problem going to the toilet.
She's terrified of going back to the Dr's as she's had lots of blood tests. But, even if it is something to do with worms we should probably go back.

If you think it’s worms regularly you need to get a worm count done on some poo samples.

I’ve never wormed my children or myself!

Have you ever seen the worms?
Either in her bum or in the toilets

Pop an ice cream tub in the loo get her to poo in it and check for worms

I do regularly deworm my child BUT his school has an issue with worm outbreaks he is a nail biter and he touches everything so I treat him every six months

I wormed every few months. I know people like to wait until kids are in tears and fuck about peering up bumholes with torches in the middle of the night on here like. I worm the cat every month, kids got wormed every few. They're both gross creatures really.

You shouldn't need to do it every month though. The cycle should break with ovex and I don't think it's possible for reinfection to show itself so quick. If the meds are working, I'd look into any anxiety they might be having. The meds being a placebo type of thing.

Maybe use a placebo instead?

I may try a placebo @gamerchick anxiety and abdominal migraine had crossed my mind @AnnaMagnani but it didn't seem to fit with when she said she had the tummy pain. I don't want to cause undue stress as she's adamant she wont go to see the Dr again, but maybe another trip to the GP if we don't get anywhere.

Does she get an intensely itchy bottom usually in the evening or wake with it in the night?

If not, it's probably not worms.

We've had them a few times, never tummy pain though, only the itchy bums. If it's bad, you will see them in the poo.

I don’t want to minimise in case there’s something actually wrong but stomach ache in children - without any cause it’s pretty common. Have a quick Google of reasons why

I'm following OP because my DD complains of tummy pain often and I've never gotten to the bottom of it.

I have used worming medicine a couple of times over the last year, but only in response to DD complaining of itching at bedtime.

I've seen our GP a couple of times. They suggested a coeliac test and checked for appendicitis. But none of those is the cause.

I'm interested to know how common this is among kids!

I’ve reached the grand old age of 45 and having checked with my mother I can confirm I have never needed worming medication, neither has DB and my DD is 4 and hasn’t either.

DH believes they may have all had to have a dose at his school (boarding). But he’s not sure. It certainly wasn’t regular.

We are not zealous handwashers either - have horse, hens and kittens and spend a lot of time filthy too. Can’t believe how many (think they) need it. Weird.

In many species worms are becoming very resistant to treatment, we only worm now off the back of worm counts (apart from the kittens when they were tiny). Don’t shove wormer in to anything unnecessarily- they will become resistant!

Have you kept a food diary to look for intolerances? Is the timing of the pain consistent eg after a particular meal or before something she finds worrying like a school test?

Unless there are specific symptoms ( including an itchy bottom) then why treat her for worms? I have three teens and we have never had to treat for them. It just isn't the norm. There could be so many causes for lots of tummy pains, why do you think it's worms?

Also, @AlltheFs is right. Overuse of these drugs just causes resistance. You shouldn't just dose kids or animals up with no reason.

This is literally the only place I've ever read about worming, or even been aware it's an issue. I'm 36 - I've had lice, ringworm, constipation, pox, impetigo etc, mostly as a child - but never worms. And I was not raised to wash my hands.

I'd definitely check for actual worms before going down a monthly, presumably heavy med route! My ds is often complaining of tummy ache. Sometimes it's gas, needs to poop, hungry, d&v, tonsillitis/strep A (alarmingly often) or is forgotten 2 minutes later. He's almost 5.

Dr Google says ovex can cause diarrhoea. Any chance it's clearing her out/de-gassing her? Don't mean to minimise.