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.
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