worms - any more tips please?

[mckenzie]

Hi all

I've read the old postings on this topic and have now...

• put all DS's pants and pjs on a 60 wash
• changed his bedding again (already washed at 60
• banished all the bath toys to a bowl full of Dettol
• got the tablets from the chemist (how am i going to get 3 year old DS to take it??)
• changed all the hand/bath towels again

Is there anything else, other than generally being extra extra careful about hygiene, that I should be doing please?

Trim all his nails,crush the tablets between two spoons and put it in some yohurt or something.or you can get liquid medicine for them

keep doing what you're doing and if in doubt check the nhs direct website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Just had this with my boys, did everything as you mentioned, and treated whole family with tablets.
Told ds's , 4 and 6, that tablets were special vitamins{they tasted mildly of orange} they chewed them with no problem!

I hid the tablet (broken into quarters) in his dinner and it all ent down no problem.
Thanks for the NHS website suggestion although i now feel awful as it seems I muts have cuased it by giving DS undercooked meat so i feel a bit crap about that. I'm going to take the cat to the vet tomorrow I think to get him checked as well as a precaution.

I just hope and pray that the tablet works. I feel quite 'dirty' now and so very sorry for poor DS. Good job he likes washing his hands as I think we washed them about 5 times in a half hour period this evening!

mckenzie don't blame yourself or the cat. Is it threadworms? They only have one way of living and moving from host to host - females lay the eggs outside the anus, child scratches bottom, touches toys, doorhandle, mouth, eggs get swallowed and hatch in the small intestine, whole cycle starts again. They only like human hosts (though you should worm the cat monthly anyway for the other nasties) and have nothing to do with undercooked meat.

thanks geekgrrl, the NHS Direct website was a tad misleading then but maybe it was talking about worms in general - DS definitely has threadworms, I can see the little blighters!
Should I wash all his toys now? (I do them every now and then anyway but ususally a few at a time. All in one go will be a mammoth task.) DS does sometimes still suck 2 fingers when he's tired which I suppose will be adding to the problem wont it? I'm going to make sure he is in someone's full sight for the next few days to make absolutely sure he doesn't put his hands down his pants to have an itch!

another question please on this horrid subject.

How soon should I notice that the itching has stopped?
DS had the tablet with tea last night.

Try grapefruit seed extract (2 drops in apple juice daily), pumpkin seeds and lots of garlic as a preventative.

with my kids it takes 2 days or so for the worms to disappear once they've taken ovex. I don't know about washing all the toys - i mean, there's only so much cleaning you can reasonably do. I try to wipe down all the surfaces in their room & living room, wipe doorhandles and mop floors. I also wash any cuddly toys that they take to bed. We've had threadworms twice or three times, brought home from nursery or school - it's a good precaution to wash hands when they come home, haven't had them for a while now.
H & M/Hennes do one-piece, footless sleep suits in your ds's size and bigger, I think they're very good for stopping any nighttime bum-scratching.