Don’t panic. If you discover your child is itchy and has pinworms symptoms, this is what you can expect.
1:57am
Number one, out of sheer humiliation and panic this article is being submitted anonymously.
Number two, BCP says they’re the big sister we all need, so of course, at 12:26 a.m. I type “pinworms” into their search bar fully confident they’ll walk me through this one.
Spoiler alert: I’m met with nothing remotely helpful enough! One post that comes up in the search lets me know what I should stock in my medicine cabinet – including one pinworm medication recommendation that I don’t have on hand.
But I needed more tips.
So, I’m going to journal my family’s struggle with this nuisance and share what I can with you. Please, fellow moms, help me by leaving comments below in regards to what has helped for you.
In my limited Googling at 1 a.m., I discovered that pinworms are pretty common in children, especially girls. It’s extremely catchy. Important preventative measures include keeping nails short and clean as much as possible, and washing hands with soap and water after using the bathroom and before eating. For context, I pride myself in being a clean and efficient balabusta. We wash our linen weekly, shower nightly, and change towels daily. We also cut nails every Friday. So I’m feeling pretty despondent and a little grossed out.
The most effective and common treatment seems to be Reese’s PinX – and like BCP shared in this post, and as they noted, it would be wise to keep a bottle at home because pinworms tend to reveal themselves during the night. See? Between Carpools WAS being a good big sister. I just feel like we can have a longer conversation about this! (A friend later tells me PinRid has a much better flavor and comes in chewable form.)
I also read that it might be wise to treat the whole family at this point since pinworms are highly contagious. I also read that some pediatricians recommend taking the dose again in two weeks to prevent further infestation. But now let’s continue and see what my doctor said in the morning.
How did I know that my child has pinworms?
(Note that pinworms can also occur in adults. My friend had pinworms post-birth and her Dr. said it sometimes gets picked up after a hospital stay.)
Typically the patient will wake up during the night with extreme itchiness. If you shine a flashlight to the itchy spot, it’s likely you will see a worm (or worms) crawling out of the vaginal or anal areas (or both). Do not panic–that will not help. If you have the medicine at home, you’re lucky. We didn’t since this is our first rodeo. I did not tell my precious princess that she has pinworms; she’s 7 and I don’t see how that’s helpful information for her to have at 1 a.m. Or ever.
After trying to hold her hands while laying next to her, I see she’s really suffering and I give her a MeloChew (use at your own discretion) and a dose of Benadryl. This stops the itching and helps her fall asleep within the next few minutes.
Ok, she’s asleep, maybe I get some sleep too? Mind over matter. I can forget the visual of that worm for now–can’t I?
9:08 a.m.
“Hi Dr. Roth ? My daughter has pinworms–help!”
The medication is delivered within the hour and my daughter takes her first dose right away. The nurse said to give her a second dose in 7-10 days. She doesn’t think we need to treat the whole family at this point. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Seeing as I laid in her bed last night, I’ll definitely be taking the over-the-counter dose. I think her brother who’s closest to her age will be taking it too.
I stripped everyone’s linen to reduce the risk of any stray eggs working their dark magic again.
10:30 a.m.
I’m so grateful we got through this with only one night of drama. I’m so grateful my daughter slept the night. In the last two days I learned that high sugar intake increases the likelihood of pinworms since they feed on it. It seems that pinworms live in the intestines and a known natural remedy is garlic which can be taken in vitamin or suppository form. I welcome any feedback from moms who’ve tried that or anything else that has helped.
We now keep PinRid on hand. Somehow I feel like if we have it, we won’t need it. We survived this right of passage.
We used Reese’s Pinworm med until we heard from friends and checked with our Rav that it’s better to use Cara PinAway for Kashrus reasons. Super important tho is that the dose MUST be repeated 2 weeks later (even if no symptoms) bec it takes 2 weeks for the pinworm eggs to hatch, so you won’t entirely be rid of the pinworms unless you knock out those now-hatched eggs. BUT as per Dr. Shanik you can NOT take 2 doses closer than 2 weeks apart, its extremely unsafe as the medecine is very potent. Also NOT for anyone under 2 or pregnant.
Also at the end of the day, the best prevention is keeping nails short and frequent handwashing. I know of those who caught pinworms while pregnant and could not take the medication. By keeping nails very very short and washing hands all the time they were able to be rid of the pinworms thought it did take time. Gluck everyone!
I feel like this sums up pinworms very inadequately. And doesn’t give much information on whats out there. This was very surface level and doesn’t sound like coming from a lot of experience dealing with pinworms. It takes a lot a lot of work to get rid of them
Agree
So so hard but you’re handling it like a champ! Changing underwear every night/morning, hand washing and the meds twice is key. When my kid had it I treated the siblings too although none had symptoms thank Gd. Have her munch on pumpkin seeds and worms can be caught from animals that have them. Good luck!
So I had a whole slew of children that never had pinworms. Until this summer. My three year old was having frequent accidents – something she has not done in the past. We went to the pediatrician twice and took a urine culture both times- which came out negative. The next part is quite gross, so skip if wish, but a couple of days later I happened to notice a lot of white ‘things’ in her stool.
It was clearly pinworms – and chat gpt confirmed. I was so so very grossed out. But i quickly got her reeses pinworm medicine and gave her a dose. The next time she used the bathroom there were oh, so many worms, paralyzed from the medicine, that were now sent out the next time she used the bathroom!!! I was very uncomfortable with the whole situation but also happy that i was able to help her!!
After giving her the medicine, I examine my baby’s diaper. I noticed that he had pinworms as well. I treated him too.
I wanted to continue giving doses because i wanted to know they were gone, but as one reader above says, the medicine is very potent, even though it over the counter and can damage the liver if given more than closer than 10 days apart.
So that is my pinworms saga that i hope to never deal with again.
I am sharing this becasue prior to this I knew about itchiness and pinworms. However, my very verbal and articulate daughter did not complain about itchiness at all. Is it possible that this is due to the worms being more internal than close to the openings, or external.
Either way if this is helpful to someone, I’ll be happy.
Hatzlacha!!
Just note that a lot of children pick up pinworm eggs in play sand at pre school
The first time I experienced pin worms with my daughter I didn’t even know about them. My daughter woke up saying she was itchy and she couldn’t sit still. She was freaking. I called the on call nurse and she said try desitin so I did. No luck. Called back an hour later she said maybe pin worms.
I had no meds in the house… I saw the worm and decided to try to wipe her and try to get it out. I was successful and she slept! No pharmacy was open at 2am and I’m not sure I was going out but I called the doctor the next day and they said the medicine to do. Now I keep 2 bottles in hand! My daughter is 5 and I think she gets it almost every summer. Since she’s toilet trained…. It’s annoying! She showers every night wash linen once a week also and I did tell her – if u wash your hands the worms don’t come. I hope they don’t come back!!
My daughters had pinworms for a year and a half straight. None of the canned internet advice works, fingersnails, changing bed sheets etc …all the time..did all that and it didnt help.
What really worked for my kids was something very simple.
Take the pinworm medicine (any) and then every single morning without fail, use a baby wipe to wipe the kids from any pinworm eggs (no you wont see the eggs) and change the kids underwear. Take the second doze of medicine as recommended. And continue with this morning routine for a long time. I did it for a few months.
also tea tree oil mixed with olive oil (1 part tea tree oil 3 or 4 parts olive oil) is very effective for itching relief.
I have to agree! Whatever you do or whatever you give, prescribed meds or OTC or natural remedies, you must give second dose in 14 days and be ocd with cleanliness for those 14 days. Washing hands frequently. Washing bottom every morning. Wash linen pjs underwear every day. Vacuum floor next to bed. I did a TON of research and read that pinworm eggs are even airborne! And it can survive for a very long time on surfaces and reinfect your child or someone else. In my experience OTC meds didn’t help as much as albenza from the Dr. But unfortunately my insurance pays for it only once a year. It’s very easy to say after a few days yay the pinworms are gone but the trick is keeping them away for the long term because if they are not truly gone they will come visit again and again and again…
To stop the itching right away until the medication starts to work I’ve found it very helpful to clean the area very well with a baby wipe & then put a large blob of vaseline over the anal opening – this paralyzes the pinworms and prevents itching.
My daughter gers pinworm after every siyum, purim and simchas torah- whenever she eats alot of sugar. I am not a fan of all these medications as they aren’t healthy. I smear the whole vaginal area with Vaseline as this suffocates and kills all the worms. I then take a small piece of fresh garlic and coat it in Vaseline and stick it in like a suppository. The kid cries for a second but the garlic kills all the worms and clears the child. I’ve tried this many times. It works like a charm. Furthermore, you will see the garlic coming out later later in child’s stool disintegrated from killing the worms. I apologize if this may sound gory.
Doesn’t sound gory, it sounds unhygienic and cruel to the child. Garlic isn’t a sanitary thing, friend. It has its own microbes and can grow mold just like any other produce. Please don’t do this to your child. Seek the advice of a pediatrician and do what is medically safe. If medicinal everything was superior, it would have been a great cure for the bubonic plague during the Black Death in Europe. Just saying.
There is garlic suppository that you can buy in the pharmacy specifically made for pinworms. I think the company is para herb
Thank you for opening up the conversation. I’ve been struggling with this and tried searching BCP for answers too,. Hatzlacha to everyone dealing with this
“All these pinworm remedies help on the 4th of never”,
Some blog i came across 3 am trying to figure out a cure for pinworms!
You can be super clean ,short nails, shower, wash laundry like a crazy person but some people are just prone to it. Some of my kids never have, some always. Reeses usually helps for a bit. I find the chewable to be less effective. The guy in the health store told me it comes with strep and strangely the kid who is constantly reinfected with pin worms is the kid who can’t get rid of strep. So there must be some kind of connection.
I cope by trying not to think too deeply abt the ick factor and just keeping meds on hand.
Iyh this too shall pass!
Not a doctor, but maybe ask your doctor about putting the kid through a round of probiotics? If the kid is having strep a lot, ans taking antibiotics, antibiotics kill beneficial bacteria in the gut (which is why they recommend to take probiotics if you have to do a course of antibiotics). So while the strep bacteria is being killed, the good bacteria is as well, making the gut imbalanced and a friendlier place for..parasites. Like worms.
yes, actually my p.a. recommended we go on kbliss probiotic (avail on amazon) to help with the recurring strep.
The hardest part for me was knowing if it’s pinworms or not- not wanting to give the meds needlessly.
If anyone knows a way to know for sure…. I did not see anything.
I ended up doing the meds after a couple of weeks bc was so stressed but feel like it was risky and maybe spread (I treated everyone).
You can do a tape test. Dr gives sort of a piece of tape and you stick it onto opening of rectum and remove it right away first thing in morning. You take it back to Dr and lab can see under microscope if it has eggs stuck unto it.
Its true that some kids are more prone then others. Usually their immune system is weaker, and you can try boosting it with probiotic. I tried the medication for my daughter and it came back even after 2 doses (my other 2 kids very close in age to her did not catch it) I then used a homeopathic. Im in Uk and used a remedy from Goulds Chemist called Cina mix Its more annoying to take then the medication because has to be twice a day for 5 days then repeated. BUT the thing that has helped the MOST – insert a raw peeled garlic clove with vaseline into the anus. IT WORKS INSTANTLY!! She’s only had it once again since i’ve used the garlic and that was right now after simchos torah (no suprises there). I haven’t found info on this anywhere online but a neighbor told me and apparently half our town now does only that! Best of luck to all!
Was she ok with the garlic / Vaseline? Did it burn? I heard of that remedy but always scared it would be highly uncomfortable .
She actually giggled, said that I tickled her. I didn’t tell her that I was putting something inside just that I was putting cream, she’s only 3. I also used a small whole garlic clove. Ive seen it come out the next day but it still worked.
I tried it. With crushed garlic Vaseline mix. My daughter (8 she’s had occasional pinworms since she’s 1) was shrieking from it burning. I plopped her into bath to wash it out
I’ll second that! Did it too when we had nothing else on hand, and honestly, I’m more comfortable with it than with potent meds. For some things, you really need your mother, and “older sis” isn’t enough!
I’ll third except slightly different, the smell of garlic is what disturbs the worms, I do 2 nights with a peeled garlic clove taped to belly (can also eat garlic to help) and wash the bedding on high and that really helps, for added measure i sometimes put vaseline on anus to help them not be able to come out to lay eggs as they dont lay eggs internally.
We use garlic cloves here too. In America we don’t have vermox like in the UK which works much better. So garlic does the trick.
Thank you so much for this post. It’s so helpful! I found that with girls it’s fairly hard to tell whether they have it or not. Especially as they can appear in the vaginal area. And it could only be one or two. As soon as you start looking for them they retreat inside the child’s body. I found that even my pediatrician wasn’t aware of this fact. I didn’t realize that the medicine is so potent as some others have stated. But if you give the medication to the whole family without even checking them so then what is the problem with giving it if your child is so uncomfortable each night and thinks that they have it?
One of my kids seems to get it repeatedly. BH none of the other kids get it. Would be nice to know how to prevent her from getting it so often…
Homeopathy and other complementary medicines can help prevent children from getting it again and again.
MOre details please
I am a classical homeopath, so I can speak for homeopathy. Homeopathy raises the level of health so that you are prone to less. In the case of pinworms, homeopathy can fix the specific problem in the moment; as proven by the comments praising Cina, a homeopathic remedy. Homeopathy can also take care of the underlying susceptibility (what people in the comments refer to as ‘being more prone to it”) when done with a full and holistic perspective. This is done by giving a remedy that takes into account the WHOLE picture of the person, as opposed to just one piece.
Some people are more prone to it than others
My 4 year old is very prone to it. I grind up pumpkin seeds into ‘sprinkles’ (just put it through the food processor) and she has a spoonful of chocolate spread dipped into the pumpkin seeds morning and night. When I forget to be as good about it, they come back and she wets her bed at night. I find this keeps them away, If it is already bad then probably would need a medication as well.
That’s brilliant !
there is a homeopathic from the company boiron called Cina. they sell it on amazon or refua pharmacy. it worked wonders for my family.
second the cina. i use it instead of medication and it really works
also, all the comments about short nails and such, wont help for a current infection. if a child has pinworms you must treat to get rid of all the eggs. just keeping clean wont help to get rid of worms and eggs
Do you use as preventative or during? How many do you use
i use it to get rid of an active case and continue using it for a few days after to make sure all eggs are gone and it wont come back. has always worked for me bh, didnt use vermox since i found out about this
So, actually, the eggs sometimes are airborne. Reason why fingernails shouild be short is because kids pick their nose, lick their fingers, and the eggs enter the digestive system that way. Better than cleaning area in morning with baby wipe is to take a warm shower or bath and wash area well. The eggs take 2 weeks to turn into worms. which is why, if someone has worms, which come out at night and lay eggs, those eggs then hatch 2 weeks later. There are some great natural options that health food stores carry for both children (and adults- yes some are just prone to it) which gets rid of any trace of them internally. The garlic clove with vaseline is only safe if you have a very small whole clove. If you cut the clove, it will be agonizingly burning. The garlic clove will keep them from coming out at night, but it will not get rid of them internally. A better option is to get aged garlic extract in a softgel capsule and put it in the anal area. This will keep the worms from coming out and causin itching and laying more eggs, but internal treatment is also needed.
Reduction of carbs//sugar is helpful but thats something that is probably challenging to do with children. Fresh garlic in the morning on a regular basis, like chopped up or grated and mix with oil on crackers/bread/toast, is a great preventative method.
Try to spill full bag of sugar in bathtub let ur daughter sit on it for about 10 min. Good luck
My daughter gers pinworm after every siyum, purim and simchas torah- whenever she eats alot of sugar. I am not a fan of all these medications as they aren’t healthy. I smear the whole vaginal area with Vaseline as this suffocates and kills all the worms. I then take a small piece of fresh garlic and coat it in Vaseline and stick it in like a suppository. The kid cries for a second but the garlic kills all the worms and clears the child. I’ve tried this many times. It works like a charm. Furthermore, you will see the garlic coming out later later in child’s stool disintegrated from killing the worms. I apologize if this may sound gory.
I feel that someone should rewrite this post with more information because there’s so much more!
Firstly, I should mention that my kids get pinworms in October every year. I don’t know if it has to do with the weather, with yamin tovim, or maybe with restarting school, but I’ve heard about this from a few people, and it seems as though the author too.
Second, the best way to check for pinworms is to shine a flashlight on the anus an hour or 2 after they go to sleep. They are active at night and the light atttracts them. If the kids is up already and moving around they might have fled back into the hole.
Seeing them in feces etc. means that it has been going on for a while (wayyy too long). The first week or 2 a flashlight is the only way to prove pinworms, and even that isn’t foolproof. There is the ‘tape test’ that you send to a lab but won’t always work either.
I noticed that my kids started waking up at night. Sadly since I have experience, I knew to look for it and immediately gave medication and put on Vaseline (more on that later). I also gave Tylenol, which shouldn’t help but for some reason does. I gess the itching nerve endings are the same as the pain ones that Tylenol helps.
The next day I washed all sheets and towels. I wash them cold but put them in the dryer on the hottest setting. I wash them again 3 days later and then right after the second dose.
I also put all the toys away (except for a couple which are washable) since the eggs do die out if not in a body. I take them out a week later.
Garlic does help, even for the itching. But there are many stories about garlic getting stuck inside and to me it’s not usually worth the risk when there are other solutions. Although I do use it when I’m desperate.
A segula from R’ Yisroel Yaakov Fisher is to put vinegar on a piece of bread on the belly button. I have not tried. I’ve heard from many that it helps. You can use a cotton ball instead of the bread.
Vaseline is the real miracle worker. Firstly, it helps the itch. Secondly, the way pinworms stay is the females leave at night to lay eggs outside.
Females can’t move through Vaseline and eggs can’t hatch through Vaseline. If you put on Vaseline before and after bed with another couple of times during the day for a couple of weeks, you can actually get rid of pinworms with no medication at all, as they have no way to reproduce, and die out. You need to be consistent about it though, which can be complicated. I use this method for the baby instead of medicating him. I put Vaseline on every diaper change and don’t use any meds.
I’ve heard about sugar baths. I have not done it, ever, I would probably faint if I would ever try. Basically you fill a bathtub with sugar water. The worms are attracted to the sugar (they feed on sweets as mentioned in the post) and come out. There should be a bathtub full of wriggling worms. Even thinking of it makes me want to run away. It doesn’t completely help either since there always are worms that are too comfortable inside to go get their sugar fix. So you’re left with 1000 womrs outside and 5 inside which just continue the cycle.
I’ve also heard of eating diatomaceous earth. Putting it out here for those natural types who might want to try. You can update us!
I’ve only mentioned treatments here, and not preventions. Since my kids get it once a year I’m probably better off figuring out what causes it in October then taking care of that.
Been up with 2 year old for few night havent seeen any, but used vaseline on anus and garlic on belly button and he slept again. regarding the october part, pressed sugar such as winkies or other sweets often have eggs in them so I would wander if this is more common being after yt and specifically simchas torah?
Thing is, doesn’t happen after any other yt. Not Pesach nor Purim.
Winkies and other such candy are the worst and bring with them the worms. I crave sugar while nursing and about 2 weeks after my first baby was born, after consuming a nice amount of winkies I- at age 21 had pinworms!! I do not allow it into my house since then and would rather have my children eat sticky lollies and other nosh than winkies which somehow sound less junky.
This post came just in time. Guess who was up all night with a 2 year old with pinworms!
why all night? when my kids wake up i take out the ones i see, smear a lot of vaseline all over and they go right back to bed
I was told that really many people ingest pinworm eggs but the body knows how to dispose of it properly right away… when the eggs actually lay and hatch in the intentions it’s a sign of a weak gut and should be treated for that to prevent more worms. (Probiotics…) Otherwise the best treatment by far is taking the homeopathic remedy cina. For about a month straight consistently… works wonders
Consult your doctor if you are pregnant and think you have pinworms or want to take the medicine because your child has. My Obgyn said it was safe to take during pregnancy. I’m writing this in response to the one who wrote it may not be taken by pregnant woman.
My daughter knows to avoid any powdery candy like winkies, sippies, candy necklace/bracelet or she will have “buggies” at night. Shine a flashlight & wait on the ready with qtip in hand to get it once its out. And then she sleeps peacefully again. Doesnt happen frequently & was only 1 so dr said not to medicate unless theres more. Eating any foods with raw garlic, like tomato dip is helpful. Good luck to all!!!
I didnt want to freak out my kids by telling them they had buggies or worms inside when they were young, or have them talk about it to others (!!!!), so I said it was an itchy rash. What really helps is Dr Garlic Pinworm medicine, it’s sold out of Monroe. Same garlic idea but less intense than a whole clove I think. Anyways it works. Another thing I found is that although everyone gets it randomly, one kid always got it after eating chocolate. When we kept him off it, no pinworms. Ate it once – worms. No clue why or why just him. I have heard that ya they like sugar so avoid that… I havent seen it made a difference in my kids tho. And the one who got it after eating chocolate didnt also get them when eating sugar. So YMMV. Good luck!
I also have a family member that gets pinworms after eating chocolate. Every. Single. Time.!
Any other sugary food is fine. Go figure!
such good information here. can we have this organized and rewritten?
Grinding teeth at night is a sign of pinworms or other parasites FYI. So is bed-wetting! Probiotics help for prevention, in addition to great advice above. Good luck!
Hi everyone. I see here between all the comments one special think that no one mentioned. My daughters teacher from playgroup told me about it and Im still thanking her till today. Try it and you will see wonders! It’s called PEDIA-LAX salin ENEMA You can get it over the counter or iven some groceries sell it.It works like suppositories washed down all the pinworms and the egg that they lay on the intestines. It helps usually for 3 months. I do give medication together but there I no need. Try it and see it for yourself.
6 kids here 6 times pinworms! Thank G-D they outgrow it!!
I dealt with pinworms a few years ago when my kids picked it up at their daycare. I have a few good tips to add to the posts above. Its fairly easy to kill the pinworms with medicine, but the eggs that are invisible are harder to deal with. Consumption of those eggs can start the cycle again and it can take 2-6 weeks from consumption for the pinworms to appear. From my research, I learned that purell doesn’t kill pinworm eggs, so hands must be washed with soap and water before eating. Also, not all sprays will kill pinworm eggs that can be lying on surfaces. The yellow windex – the multi purpose disinfectant – is one of the sprays that are effective at killing the eggs. We also did a whole bunch of the ideas that were described above and BH were successful in getting rid of the pinworms. Good luck to anyone dealing with this issue! Its not fun at all, but very possible to deal with effectively.
Unfortunately I have many years of experience with pinworms. As a child and even as an adult I suffered terribly from them. I did vermox, Reese’s etc. At one point one of my daughters was always infested and was having accidents at 7 years old(!) during the day. I saw an ad for someone that claimed to be able to help. I don’t remember the hocus pocus he did, BUT, he explained that Hashem created pinworms to help us digest foods that our bodies aren’t digesting properly. He did “kinesiology like” testing and told me what foods my daughter was “allergic” to. We took her off of them for about a year and saw tons of improvement. She then went back onto those foods and has since been clear for the last 5 years. I then noticed about myself and my children, that those that are either allergic to foods or when they get constipated they complain of infestation. To help for the moment I use Garlic Oil Perles from Solgar with a bit of desitin or zinc paste inserted in the annus and it helps immediately. I found this more effective than garlic cloves and much more comfortable as fresh garlic smells and has caused some of my children terrible upset stomach. Just to be clear, we are a family that showers nightly, cuts nails weekly, washes linen very often etc. So I know it’s not a cleanliness issue. I hope this helps. I know that taking a child off of dairy or gluten etc seems very overwhelming but it really does work.
The first time one of my kids had pinworms – I gave omone of the pinworm meds. I practically forced her to swallow that “playdough” and felt so guilty afterwards- especially since I knew there was no way I was taking that- which is recommended according to the package. I didn’t give her a second dose
A few years later- I’ve discovered garlic suppositories I think from the company “herbaleaf” If im not mistaken.
my kids would tell me they had worms, I’d insert a suppository. Change underwear , pants, wash hands well with soap. And they’d head right back to sleep.
Worked wonders. But now they’re out of stock! Doesn’t seem like they’re bringing it in anytime soon.
Garlic crushed and mixed with Vaseline burned
Still hope those suppositories come back!!
Never use crushed garlic only a whole peeled clove, if you wish to use this remedy.
My pediatrician told us to stop baths for my 6 year old and only do showers which really helped. He explained that when they sit in the bath the eggs end up back inside and the worms that come out from sitting also go back in.
There is garlic suppository that you can buy in the pharmacy specifically made for pinworms. I think the company is para herbs a brown and green box.
There is so much misinformation here. It’s so important to research the life cycle of the worm and the way they are transmitted to be able to break the cycle. The most important preventative measure is diligent handwashing.
A pediatrician told me that kids who are “prone” to pinworms are often those who aren’t great at washing their hands effectively. In addition, he said that some kids are just more sensitive to the sensations involved. You can have a few kids who have pinworms and only one will know about it, either because the others are deeper sleepers, or the sensation just doesn’t bother them. He said that if you would test an entire class full of kids, about 20 to 25% of them will actually have pinworms, but very few will have symptoms.
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My almost 11 year old son called me from the bathroom that he was itchy and felt movement so he stuck his finger in and out came a worm on his finger! It was only 9pm so my husband ran to the pharmacy to get reeses pinworms meds. Interesting that he wasn’t in crazy pain. Soon after giving the reeses he said he feels better and didn’t complain since.
Is there any antibiotics that need to be given or when everyone says medication they mean the over the counter ones?
I once tried the sugar bath but didn’t seam to help and I used crushed garlic and my son screamed in pain.
I washed clothing and underwear and towels and linen separately. Warned my son to wash his hands well with soap after using the bathroom. Do I need to clean the toilet after ecery time he uses it?
And if he barely had symptoms now how will I know in 2 weeks if they are gone or not?
You need to give the medication again after 2 weeks regardless of if he has symptoms or not. The idea is that the worms lay eggs. These eggs take 2 weeks to hatch. The medication only gets rid of worms, not eggs. Which means 2 weeks later those eggs will now be worms unless you take the meds again.
Personally we had a severe case in our house, shortly after I came home with a new baby (BH) My very responsible doctor gave us a very simple level headed approach. Everyone (aside from baby obviously) took 2 rounds of Cara / Reese’s (over the counter). We clipped nails, encouraged better handwashing and no hands in the mouth! I asked her about changing linen, vaccuming couches, carpets etc. I’m sure there are many opinions on this but she said really not necessary. Change linens on the beds of affected kids (and parents, if the kids come in to their beds) and move on.
Soak fingers in vinegar. Keep nails short. Guaranteed magic bH!
There is a lot of misinformation on this thread.
The mom who doesn’t want to give medication so she she puts a small piece of garlic in isn’t dealing wit the issue properly as the worms internally hasn’t been dealt with.
Thats why it keeps on recurring. You must treat with meds and then repeat again in two weeks with vigilant handwashing and washing all linen, towels and more.
Good luck!
For those saying they were unsure if their child had pinworms and they were hesitant to medicate unnecessarily, I just had the same thing.
Someone told me to put cucumber peels in the child’s diaper/underwear before going to sleep. When they woke up mid- night complaining again, I was able to see the worms that had crawled out to the cucumbers and then felt confident giving the medication.
I first dealt with pinworms 6 months ago. I was embarrassed to tell people i thought it only happens to families that aren’t clean. was very humbling experience. I freaked out when i checked my son and saw two worms. we removed them and got meds the next day. Dr recommended albendazole- said its stronger/more effective, and we treated everyone. I saw on myself and my baby as well (none of us had before). I wanted to jump out of my body.- was so grossed out. I was obsessed the next few days vacuuming near beds changing linen every day washing hands washing laundry every day with hot water, washing all door knobs. and low and behold they came back:( the second time i gave meds and did only what i felt up to, washed hands and linen the next day… its 3 months later and im holding my breath. I also now have a little OCD checking myself. Probiotics are expensive- im wondering if anyone had experience with them helping as a preventive.
I was busy with it with many of my kids for so long, especially this time of year…it drove me crazy. My sister told me she heard that Paraguard from Zahler’s helped, I tried it and since then I saw dramatic improvement bh! Def recommend