Help! - Personal/family experiencer with threadworms please? (tmi alert!)

[Wormymummy]

Help has anyone had threadworms? Tell me your experience please? I feel so dirty

I started to suspect my DD had threadworms on Friday. She had scratched a few times and has has the odd pain in her stomach. She has also been waking much earlier than usual.

Spoke to the pharmacist and he agreed that it could be that or thrush (sometimes kids can get confused with where the itching is )
Got a family pack of Ovex tablets and my daughter and I had ours yesterday lunchtime. I thought they would work that day and have a kind of laxative effect so dp took his last night when he got home from work.

None of us had to go to the toilet yesterday (sorry for the tmi ) but I had to go this morning and found two THEY WERE STILL WRIGGLING!! HELP! Is this normal with Ovex? I was hoping they would be dead when they came out.

Dd has not been to the toilet yet and can see none on her bottom. What should we expect over the next day or so? Will there be loads and will they still be alive?

I have spent half of yesterday and the whole of today cleaning, boiling underwear, pyjamas and bedding. What else can I do? Have also cut all nails and am supervising hand washing.

She should be at nursery tomorrow, should I send her and should I tell them?

Thank you and sorry for the gross thread

there are lots of previous threads on this if you do a search. ovex takes a couple of days to work. it's fine to send her to nursery and you don't need to tell them. all of the things you've described here are totally normal. chill!

Thanks Lalaa I did search some threads but couldn't find whether or not it was normal not to be sent running to the toilet after the meds. Some of them seem to do this but not Ovex?

DD is really uncomfortable now, it's a nightmare trying to get her not to scratch. She is weepy and won't eat.

Not sure whether to send her to nursery or not as she will be going on a trip so there longer than normal.

This is normal with ovex, and they will die (die, little wriggling bastards, die!)

Just don't forget to use the second tablet

The pharmacist didn't give us or tell us about a second tablet, is this after one week or two weeks?

second tablet will finsh them off. And the eggs will be everywhere I'm sorry. On doorhandles at nursery, on walls etc etc. They are then transferred to the mouth when fingers go in mouths.
Our immune systems do deal with most internal parasites but kids do seem to get worms a fair bit. I always used Ovex once or twice a year (and a child having nigtmares or sleep issues is a sign of infestation) and grapefruit seed extract. Thats a bit yucky for children though.
My older 3 have all done worms (and head lice) but youngest dd hasn't. She cant get her hands in her muth due to her CP so has never had worms.

DD is a thumb sucker so not surprised she has them tbh!

Have disinfected every surface I can think of plus light switches handles keyboards remote controls etc. She has gone to bed very upset, she is shattered.

don't worry
it is all normal
just a right PITA (in every sense).

hope your stress is not transferring to DD, she may feel very frightened if you make too big a deal out of it.

Not all tablets come in 2s. We had only 1 the first time (can't remember brand) it said buy another lot if you need to.

then the second time we had them, about 18 months later, there were 2 in each packet for each person (different brand).

it is just a hazard of going to school/nursery I think.

we have dealt with this this week as well.

we had a liquid form of medicine, but icant have it because im pg.

everyone has taken a while to go to the loo, and we had a worm today from ds2, but dead. took med on friday night.

i have made them wash hands loads, boiled beds/pyjamas etc.

Don't worry, I've had them 3 times! Ds has had them 5 times (over a couple of years!)

Its the cleaning that pisses me off, rather than dealing with the worms, thats easy with the tablets.

But the mountain of washing....sheesh

Thanks everyone for your replies, it's nice to know I 'm not alone.

Will check the leaflet again about the 2nd dose but I guess it wouldn't hurt.

I am trying to remain calm about it in front of her. She is used to me cleaning a lot anyway but I think she must have picked up on my stress a bit.

She has been complaining of feeling very cold all afternoon, covered in goosebumps and shivery so I think she may be coming down with something else too

First time my DD got them she felt very ill, was sent home from school with a tummy ache about 2 days before the evidence emerged, and she was weepy and shivery and had horrible itching.

Second time round she seemed much less troubled by them.
Hope your little DD is OK!

my dkids had them, and the over the counter stuff didn't seem to work. I then got liquid fromt he gp and that cleared it up no probs.

dd had terrible itching with them and that was about it, she didn't say anything about tummy ache.

Don't feel dirty, I think most kids go through it!

The washing and cleaning is killing me! Not seen any more since sunday night but she has had a high temperature, sickness and an upset stomach. It never rains but it pours!

Sorry but another gross question!

If the medicine (ovex) worked should a lot have appeared in the loo by now? I haven't seen any more so am wondering if it has worked or if we didn't have them that bad.
(we had the ovex on sat lunchtime)

Thank you

I never saw any in the loo.

DD said she saw a couple on toilet paper. I once saw one on me (using a mirror). At night I could see them on DD. This only lasted 36 hours then they were gone. I never saw any on DS at all, but he was in nappies the first time so not really putting his hands to his anus.

Once you have done a really thorough wash and clean, then IMHO it is probably enough to wash everyone's bottoms as soon as they get up, clean pyjamas every day, wear pants in bed, and scrupulous handwashing all the time. Cut nails short. I know that some people recommend daily changing of bedlinen but that is such a heck of a lot of work.

If you think about it, it is amazing really that we only get these things occasionally. We must all be pretty good at fending them off generally!

Thanks for your reply iheartdusty. I have done the thorough cleaning and have been washing like a madwoman. Changed all beds again today.

I can't see any more on DD but have just seen another two when I went to the loo. ALIVE!

Should I take another treatment. I was hoping they would be dead by now

How do you know when they are all gone? 3 full days since med.

ds2 took ovex on friday and im still getting them in his nappy, one was alive today. pharmacist said it just depends how quick your body pushes them out, iyswim? i was told 2 weeks for another treatment.

I've caught them probably from my teenage son as we works in a dirty environment but he won't admit to it. We both took an Ovex tablet on Wednesday teatime. He says he has nothing but I'm riddled with them. I suffer from constipation (despite a healthy diet) so they probably had quite some time to thrive.

I've taken laxatives to get rid but and last night they seemed to be dead but today even after chewing nothing but handfuls of Pumpkin seeds and raw carrots (they hate raw carrot and Pumpkin seeds are supposed to paralyse them for a time so they can't lay eggs and then you can get purge through laxatives) it's as if I've taken and done nothing, there must be 1000's of them as lively as ever.

It's absolutely horrendous, keeping me awake half the night and as everyone says, all the washing and cleaning.

I don't know whether to take another tablet but I felt really quite poorly for the following 2 days and I'm worried about having some kind of worse reaction if I retake too soon.

My appetite has diminshed a little though as I found myself really hungry and unusually craving sweet foods for the last week or so. I know these are effects of the worms.

Is it safe to take another tablet in a few days if they've still not gone? I just can't stand this.

dd1 had them nearly two weeks ago (second dose due on Monday morning!). I saw a few in the toilet bowl (at least 1.2cms, and wriggly, horrid) after an unusually loose BM, but she had had very few symptoms. Not really disturbed at night, or scratching - just itching in the bath, I imagine the warmth brought them out

We all took Ovex (liquid), and washed sheets/towels etc and have been wearing pants and pjs at night, changed daily. I do NOT boil wash - I wash (doctor's advice) at my normal 60, then tumble dry and/or iron pants and pj bottoms. Sheets changed daily for a couple of days, then every few days for dd and once a week for dh and I.

I haven't seen a single worm since, either in the loo or on dd. I've looked with mirrors whenever I've had a tickle or itch (but then again I have chronic piles since dd2 ) and nothing.

Either the bastards are SuperWorms and hanging in there, or there weren't too many and they're all well dead

I did tell pre-school, because I want them to do a better job of handwashing and toilet hygiene (they're known for not being brilliant at that) and because I reckon its time people talked about it more. I also told dd's playmates' Mums, who swapped stories of headlice (yet to meet those) and were glad to be informed.

Don't forget to wash cuddly toys, blankets etc!

Crazy, I've been told that Ovex is pretty harmless - its a dye that basically hardly gets absorbed by the body, just the worms. It does get absorbed a teeny bit, which is why to be safe pregnant women and babies are told not to take it in this country (they do use Mebendazole in some third world countries with no proven ill effects on the foetus, apparently).

I've not noticed any laxative effects, but the anxiety about worms OTOH.....

Oh, and the stuff the GPs give (Vermox) is exactly the same as Ovex. What isnt' as effective (but is ok for children under 2, and sometimes pg women) is piperazine, which paralyzes the b instead of killing 'em