Please help - threadworms

[fivecandles]

My dd has been complaining of itchy bottom for a while and when I had a look I saw threadworms. Thing is she's complaining about her front bottom. Is it possible the worms have spread to her vagina (I read this is possible) and if so will the over the counter pills get rid of them or should I take her to the doctor.

The normal pills, along with hygiene measures (changing sheets and towels) will sort it out - they can't replicate in the vagina.

Yes tabs from chemist for whole family and hygiene measures that are detailed in the packet.

they can get into the vagina, but don't lay eggs there.

Just get over the counter medication for everyone in the family, repeat a week later and be scrupulous about hand hygiene.

Are you sure? There's no way they can get themselves into other parts of the body and wreak havoc?

No, they only live in the gut.

They actually secrete their eggs anywhere they can, but the eggs have to travel through the digestive tract to hatch. They won't hatch in the vagina or vulva.

NQC, how do you KNOW so much about these things?

Because we've had them. So I have to know how they work.

How are you, greeny?

The worms will be in her vagina. They can lay eggs in the vagina. The eggs cannot however hatch in teh vagina. They tend to get airborne or trapped under fingernails and ingested where they hatch in the gut.

The worms will live for about 5-6 weeks before dying. I guess it may take some time before the ones in her vagina die as I am guessing they won't get exposed to teh meds to kill them. They will be quite mature before they get to the vagina though. It is an educated guess though.

Close fitting kncks in bed and short fingernails and good hygeine and it is a self limiting condition anyway without the meds.

I'm OK, apart from the bickering whiney children hanging off me all bloody day

I looked forward to the Easter holidays so I could do fun wholesome stuff with them. Well I've done it, and now they can sod off back to school

Are you feeling any less drained than you were earlier?

Our Easter Break was 4 weeks. Gah.

I am still pretty drained. I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow.

Annoyingly, the two teenaged sisters that the boys prefer aren't answering my SMSes. The teenager they had today, they don't want again (she called DS1 bossy or something ... they don't hate her, they just prefer the other ones) ... I think I'll see if she's fair and resort to bribery to keep them sweet. Fuck it.

Thankyou that's a relief oh knowledgeable ones.

You can use vaseline or similar to ease the itching, while you wait for the meds to sort her out. You do need to be careful about all the hygiene things (changing sheets, get her to sleep in pants, trim her fingernails short, etc etc ... oh, and if she's a thumbsucker or similar, expect to keep getting them ).

I wouldn't use vaseline on the vulva, though, maybe just regular oil?

And/or Sudacreme.

I don't think they can live long in the vagina, no matter how mature they are - they migrate there by mistake (no sat nav ) and get lost. And presumably die. My friend used to gently swab them out of her dd's vagina with damp cotton buds if they were driving her mad - but once treated, the itching went away within 24 hours so they either died a natural death or were somehow got to by the meds, regardless of habitat.

Your poor dd, hope she feels better soon.

I think they die a natural death, they're not meant to live long outside the gut.

I'd suspect a bath would sort them out, surely? A bath with bicarb in it would be good for itching, too. Or oil. Either.

Our GP suggested showering morning and night. Showering in the morning will wash away eggs laid in the night. Apparentley its possible to get rid of them this way. HTH.

My dd is a thumb sucker ...threadworms are a perpetual problem in our house. Tablets do work she just keeps getting them over again despite my verging on neurotic cleaning, bed changing, knicker wearing, nail trimming,etc,etc!!! I'm sure she's picking them up at school