Threadworm

pmyoung · 04/06/10 - 18:35

I have just noticed that my 2 year old girl has worms. (after doing a poo on the potty). After looking it up I can see that she has threadworm. Little white strings about 10mm long. We then gave her a bath and have washed and dried her bedding. We have just checked around her bottom and there are 3 or 4 worms there. Do we wipe them away? Also, do the 'Over the Counter' treatments work or would it be better to wait and visit the doctors on Monday? She isn't actually complaining, although she is irritable, but this could be due to the fact that we had a long journey back from France yesterday.

Abbasolutely 40 · 04/06/10 - 18:45

irritability is one sign , the itch drives them mad . One good tip is to smear loads and loads of Vaseline around her anus , they wont be able to lay eggs in it then and it helps to relieve her too .
The pharmacist should be able to give you the medicine to use , keep a good eye out for any more and Yes wipe any you see away and flush them .
Keep her fingers nails short so she wont get them under her nails and put a vest on her that buttons between her legs to stop her getting to her bum to scratch .The problem with scratching is that she gets the eggs under her nails and re ingests them casusing a viscious circle of infection
Good Luck !! Been there done that !!

SeasideLady · 04/06/10 - 18:47

Yes the over the counter treatments are effective -everyone in the family will have to take a tablet at the same time. Keep your little girl's fingernails cut short and clean all the time. The worms come out of the anus to lay their eggs. This is where your little girl has felt the wriggling and tickling her, so she will have scratched there, and transferred the eggs under her nails into her mouth at some point. This continues the cycle. The tablet you take paralyse the worms in the gut, killing them outright. You will see them all dead in the next stool she passes. You might have to repeat the process again if she has a bad infestation.

hugsie · 04/06/10 - 18:49

Abbasolutely 40 wrote: »

irritability is one sign , the itch drives them mad . One good tip is to smear loads and loads of Vaseline around her anus , they wont be able to lay eggs in it then and it helps to relieve her too .
The pharmacist should be able to give you the medicine to use , keep a good eye out for any more and Yes wipe any you see away and flush them .
Keep her fingers short so she wont get them under her nails and put a vest on her that buttons between her legs to stop her getting to her bum to scratch .The problem with scratching is that she gets the eggs under her nails and re ingests them casusing a viscious circle of infection
Good Luck !! Been there done that !!

Is that not a little extreme? :eek:

Judge Mental · 04/06/10 - 19:12

Yes remember them well, little buggers! You've had good advice so far. Treat all of you together - be very careful about washing your hands if you've been near her bottom. Don't share towels - and put them on a hot wash after you've used them.

pmyoung · 04/06/10 - 20:57

Just checked, my wife has also got them

bornfree · 04/06/10 - 21:44

pmyoung wrote: »

Just checked, my wife has also got them

:eek:Didn't know adults could get them. Are they dangerous?

Deb Arkle · 04/06/10 - 22:04

bornfree wrote: »

:eek:Didn't know adults could get them. Are they dangerous?

Anyone can get them. They're not dangerous, just itchy - in the same way as head lice, it's the thought of them which is worse.

[Deleted User] · 04/06/10 - 22:38

I'd check yourself as well if I were you pmyoung.

You should be aware that the eggs can survive for up to 2 weeks outside of the body. You're going to want to steam/shampoo your carpets/rugs, hot wash any bedding, ensure that soft toys are washed as well. Clean all surfaces thoroughly, especially around the bed. You need to do this whilst attacking the infestation, otherwise you'll all end up re-infected over and over.

Abbasolutely 40 · 04/06/10 - 22:44

Joey_M wrote: »

I'd check yourself as well if I were you pmyoung.

You should be aware that the eggs can survive for up to 2 weeks outside of the body. You're going to want to steam/shampoo your carpets/rugs, hot wash any bedding, and ensure that soft toys are washed as well, you need to do this whilst attacking the infestation, otherwise you'll all end up re-infected over and over.

I think steaming the carpets is really going a step too far . I have never known anyone who needed to do that . A good hoovering maybe but I have had a problem with thread worm a few times when the kids were small and never steamed the carpet s

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Threadworms.htm

[Deleted User] · 05/06/10 - 00:31

Abbasolutely 40 wrote: »

I think steaming the carpets is really going a step too far . I have never known anyone who needed to do that . A good hoovering maybe but I have had a problem with thread worm a few times when the kids were small and never steamed the carpet s

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Threadworms.htm

Poor wee thing. Just what I was going to post. Seems like good advice.

Radiomaniac · 05/06/10 - 00:42

Abbasolutely 40 wrote: »

I think steaming the carpets is really going a step too far . I have never known anyone who needed to do that . A good hoovering maybe but I have had a problem with thread worm a few times when the kids were small and never steamed the carpet s

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Threadworms.htm

I've also never heard of anyone having to go that far. (Pet fleas, yes).

I once was horrified to have these hideous wormy jokers myself. The thought is revolting. I remember being given a huge tablet to take, with extras for anyone who lived with me to also take, in case they'd picked it up too.

I asked the doctor how I got them, as I was very clean, washed my hands after going to the toilet etc - she assured me I could have picked it up from a handle etc, so anyone can get them.

Hey there!

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