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Original poster

Does an itchy bum always mean worms?

18 replies

OnionRing · 19/01/2014 14:44

My DD (4) was up for hours last night screaming and crying about an itchy front bottom. It looked a bit red but not dramatically so. I washed her with plain water and put some Sudocreme on her but she was still crying and thrashing about two hours later. She said her legs and back itched too so I gave her piriton to no avail. She finally went to sleep at 2am. Her bum (front and back) looks entirely normal today, she is not itching and it's as if I imagined the whole thing.

I fear she has worms. Anyone had this with similar symptoms?

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:

heather1 · 19/01/2014 14:46

Possibly thrush?
My Ds gets a very itchy bottom when he is very tired, I have absolutely no idea why!

Pregnantberry · 19/01/2014 14:49

Could it have just been 'chapped' from her not wiping after a wee properly/having a small accident?

VivaLeBeaver · 19/01/2014 14:58

I'd worm her to be safe. The fact it was so bad in the night but fine in the morning would make me suspicious.

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ChazzerChaser · 19/01/2014 14:59

Just bum, or her bum and vulva? If its more than just her bum then worms doesn't sound likely. Not that I'm any kind of expert.

ButEmilylovedhim · 19/01/2014 15:16

I've had exactly this with DD5, even the screaming and thrashing Really nasty for them, poor things. I took her to the GP in the end. The doc prescribed the worm medicine just in case but didn't think it was that as I had looked at her poo and her bottom at night when itching and nothing there. She also gave her some cream with corticosteriod and canestan in, to cover thrush and reduce the itching. The cream did the job I think personally, but not immediately. We still had quite a few more nights of crying inconsolably.

In my DD's case I think it's any bubble bath or soap in the water that sets it off. I think it dries out and irritates the area. DD had had a bath bomb in her bath just before she started with the last lot. Now she just has plain water or the oil soap substitute in her bath, apart from hair washing once a week. She doesn't get very mucky so it seems to work fine!

Incidentally DD was the same, almost no hint of it in the day time, all looked ok etc. I think they get hot at night and nothing to distract them once it starts! We read an awful lot of books in the middle of the night to get her to calm down. Shadow finger puppets with the torch was the most effective for that! Hope she feels better very soon

Original poster

OnionRing · 19/01/2014 15:17

Bum and vulva and then mostly vulva. It was hard to distinguish. She was very distressed. I read to examine her bum with a torch but she was thrashing about so much I'd never have managed that.

No discharge or smell so I didn't think thrush. I wondered about a UTI but she's weeing normally and painlessly - I know can be asymptomatic though.

She's had a sore vulva before from not wiping properly but has always been dealt with by a bath and a bit of sudocreme.

I've no experience of worms but read they can cause great distress at night and this was two hours after she'd gone to bed. I'm a bit horrified really. Will DD2 get them? She's only 9 months.

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Original poster

OnionRing · 19/01/2014 15:20

emily, that's interesting. We use very little of anything in the bath. I was panicking last night that maybe I hadn't rinsed it properly after cleaning it earlier that day. She had pyjamas on but I swapped them for a nightie to try and get some air on her bum but she was clawing at herself by that point. I am dreading tonight.

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Original poster

OnionRing · 19/01/2014 15:23

I was wondering about trying to catch her next poo to examine it? I scrutinised dD2's pooey nappy earlier and couldn't see anything. The internet says you often don't see anything though.

OP posts:

pleasesleepallnight · 19/01/2014 15:35

DD1 suffered like like this, thrashing about, crying in pain. Went on for ages, 2 visits to GP and a prescription for caneston in case it was thrush. Nothing helped.

Came on here and worms were suggested - the day after the first treatment and it stopped!

Definitely suggest worm medicine even if just to rule it out.

ButEmilylovedhim · 19/01/2014 15:44

Sounds so spookily like my DD, onion. Even swopping pyjamas for a nightie to little avail. I know worms sound beyond awful and so disgusting but it is just another of those things associated with children, unfortunately. To me, it doesn't sound like worms anyway. Have you had a look at her poo when it's in the toilet? You should see worms if she has them. (My ds had them many moons ago)

It is normal to treat the whole family normally if someone has worms, but my GP only treated DD as it wasn't confirmed. I'm not sure what procedure is for a baby. My DD had no discharge either so didn't look like thrush. I think the corticosteriod did the job this time, but she had other episodes which have gone away by themselves over a few nights. My DD said sudocreme made it worse. Does it help your DD? Before we got the prescription cream we were putting a plain emollient on. Didn't seem to do much but it's so hard to do nothing isn't it? Also gave her nurofen syrup for the anti-inflammatory side off of it but again didn't seem to quiet her much. I think if your DD has another bad night, the GP is the way to go. I wish I had taken mine earlier than I did. The joys of little girls , eh?!

gracegrape · 19/01/2014 15:48

My DD was up twice this week screaming about her sore "front bottom". It took 3 hours to settle her. I was suspicious that it was only at night time and eventually I had a good look and spotted a couple of worms. I think some had crawled into her vagina too, and seemed to be causing her a stabbing pain. She had Ovex yesterday and was fine last night. I don't think you've got anything to lose by giving her (and yourselves) a dose. I also have a DD2 who is 15 months but she doesn't seem to have been affected.

Original poster

OnionRing · 19/01/2014 16:52

grace, yes it took hours to settle her too. One thing that was odd was that she said she was itching all over as the night progressed and she became more lucid. DH is saying it's not worms (but a general itch caused by pyjamas) so I have reluctantly agreed to see what happens tonight but if she starts again I'll be belting out to the all night chemist. I can't bear to see her in such distress.

OP posts:

gracegrape · 19/01/2014 22:51

I thought it couldn't be worms either as she has a history of being a bit sore around that area but I'm fairly certain it was the dreaded things this time. Now I'm wondering if any of the previous times she's complained of a sore bottom it was in fact worms! I have also found that putting a good thick blob of sudocrem around her bottom before she goes to bed helps. If it is worms, it will hopefully stop them wriggling round so much and if not then it might help with the general soreness anyway. Hope she's ok. We found the best thing to settle her was to bring her downstairs and distract her with tv!

Original poster

OnionRing · 20/01/2014 09:49

Well last night was completely fine, not a murmur. I've just stocked up on worm tablets though so at least I'm prepared!

OP posts:

lougle · 20/01/2014 10:28

Some children are more sensitive than others. My DD's only ever get one or two worms because when they do get them, the only way to settle them is to get the worm out of where it is. They won't sleep until it's gone. Then, after dosing them with a worming tablet, the rest of the worms get killed before they can do their work!

If you look at her vulva and see slimy discharge, then it's more than likely to be worms, because it's that which makes them red and sore, and the worm wriggling that makes them itch and hurt.

It's horrible and worse for girls because there are nooks and crannies a worm can hide in

DD2 gets them quite regularly because she sucks her hand. It's improved a bit since we made a rule that just before bed she washes her hands again (after she's done everything else to get ready for bed).

Original poster

OnionRing · 20/01/2014 13:22

Your poor DD2, but how frustrating about the hand sucking. I am totally hard line about hand washing and she doesn't suck her thumb or fingers but they seem so easy to catch.

OP posts:

ButEmilylovedhim · 20/01/2014 13:23

Glad she had a good night onion.

gerbo · 20/01/2014 14:06

Sounds just like my daughter ....couldn't sleep for thrashing around, crying, saying her front bottom was sore, etc. it was quite distressing. Son after we discovered worms in her poo upon close inspection. It's a bit gross at first but you get over that! And it's super common. Get a prescription or just over the counter...think we used ovex. All the family take a dose and you wash all sheets, damp dust all around her bed and room, etc. did the trick for us. In the end she gave it to her brother too! It was so horrible seeing her in such pain at both bedtime and later in the night when it would wake her up, and we had no clue what was going on.
Def. treat her for worms.

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