Pinworms and Hygiene

I am with the pharmacist on this one!

If I had a cat or dog with visible worms, I would be at the vet in no time for a med that would take care of the issue most quickly.

For a child, I would have been there yesterday!

Why on earth would you mess around with an OTC method and risk repeating the whole process all over again? The anal itching alone must be driving your child insane! (not to mention the visuals that may haunt her. Christ, thinking about it is haunting ME!!)

Please, go see a doc.

Get your head out of your proverbial a$$ (and your child's).

Well, you get my meaning .

**ETA**

She needs to be home from school NOW if you have seen live worms in particular.

I read back to look at some previously asked questions. THIS kind of situation might be a reason that other parents avoid playdates.

Geesh.

OK first, the responses you've gotten here are unnecessarily harsh, so I am sorry for this hatred spewing culture we live in today. It takes a village, and there is nothing wrong with asking for advice.

We just dealt with a case of suspected pinworms in December, so I have recent experience. We did not actually SEE the pinworms, but my daughter had the classic itching in the middle of the night symptoms. I DID take her to the doctor and it was pretty much a waste of time (as you said, missed school, missed work for me). She said the OTC therapy (we got the same one you got) is the ONLY option - there is no Rx available for it anymore. SO if it doesn't work you repeat it a few times. We ended up doing three doses, for the entire family, over six weeks. Her bum isn't itchy anymore so we assume it's better but since we never knew if she was truly infected in the first place who knows. The diagnostic test IS finding the pinworm or the eggs, so you are at least sure of the diagnosis.

SO, you can call the doctor to get advice but you may be told the same thing we were told - the OTC medicine is your only option.And I specifically asked if she needed to stay home from school and my doctor said no.

In terms of hygiene, they say that going overboard cleaning just spreads the eggs around.Its ridiculously difficult to sanitize them out. SO your hope is that the medicine kills the worms and eggs, and that the second round gets the rest. I did wash the sheets every day for like three days after we took the meds. And cleaned the house like crazy anyway as it made me feel better.

Sorry to be so vague, but I feel your pain (or my daughter feels your daughter's pain). Best of luck to you and your family with this nuisance infection.

Okay--- THIS is why I think Mamapedia does a great disservice in allowing these sorts of medical questions, period.

You went online and strangers --people whom you have never met and know neither their IQ or medical qualifications (likely none)--- suggest they used a product and it worked. Then, your pharmacist, whose qualifications are on a piece of paper on the wall, who has certification, experience in this, likely worked with thousands of customers-- tells you this isn't the best solution.

So you ignore the advice of someone who is qualified to give it in favor of anecdotal evidence from strangers.

(slaps forehead)

And now you are worried about washing sheets. Seriously, take your child to the pediatrician. Today!

ETA: the reason you go to the doctor is that you don't know for sure what sort of worms these are. I would not want to treat my son without having ensured that *any* sort of worms was identified by a professional. The fact that some are claiming they have successfully treated an undiagnosed case of pinworms only proves my point. How does one successfully treat something they aren't even 100% certain was an issue and didn't go to a doctor the entire time for either prognosis or confirmation of being worm-free? THIS is why I think medical questions need medical professionals.

I can't fathom why you choose to post this online and not follow the advice of a Pharmacist and take her to the Dr.

You seem to be more worried about washing sheets than getting your family cured of worms.

Bottom line... Yes, your Dr. visit will cost you $$. HOWEVER, the costs of washing sheets daily if you are paying a coin operated machine, repeating the OTC dosage 2+ times for your family will most likely go over whatever you spend at a Dr. office getting cured the first time.

SMH

ETA: I read some past postings and it appears to me there is a general issue of hygiene. I am not talking about the lice.. they do not discriminate.

I'm not sure about how often you need to wash the sheets, but I strongly urge you to go to the pediatrician and get a prescription medicine. Even the pharmacist told you the otc stuff won't work. Do you really want to go to all the trouble and expense of washing the sheets just to have to do it all over again when you find out the otc meds didn't work? Please take her to the doctor and get the good prescription medicine!

Thanks for editing your question with the added info about the difficulties of using a public coin-op washing machine as well as clarifying what the pharmacist said. I think you got some pretty in-your-face replies from a few people and I wish they had taken the time to ask you more questions before lashing out. I think your added info may help responses going forward.

I am not sure I would put too much faith in review on Amazon - those aren't really balanced studies and you never know if people are saying "Great product" and "doctor recommended because there was some incentive to do so (how many doctors do you see on TV saying something is great, only to see the "compensated endorsement" disclosure in small print?), or "bad product" because they didn't use it properly or had a much worse infestation or because they just didn't get to every single worm through the incessant washing. I know we see a lot of posts on the forum about head lice too, and those just don't always respond to the first round of treatment either. Sometimes it takes more time and money and nuisance to use a lesser round of treatment and then have to repeat it or wind up at the doctor's office anyway.

I am a little concerned about the pressure on kids and families to go to school "no matter what" to take exams rather than deal with health issues. Have you talked to the pediatrician or the school nurse about having a child with an active pinworm infection in school? If pinworms are so contagious that everyone needs to be treated in your house, what about the kids who aren't washing their hands all the time? That might be worth a couple of phone calls which won't cost you anything but time.

I guess I would see if you could wash her sheets once, and then just confine the problem to your bed if you already have this issue with her sleeping in your room. Yes, you don't want to give in to that under normal circumstances, but maybe this isn't the best time to enforce the separate sleeping thing. Maybe you can double-dry the clean sheets in a hot dryer vs. just rewashing them? That might save money if you only have to keep rewashing the sheets from one bed. Ask the doctor for the best advice on that.

Good luck.

A lot of good advice from the many wise mommas below, I hope you take to heart that everyone has your & your daughter's best interest at heart.

I want to address your comment "we will do another treatment in a week or two". One week or two weeks is a big difference when it comes to treatments for things like worm & bug infestations. The reason is that these critters have a specific life-cycle, and the medication that you use to treat them usually targets them at one or two specific points in that life-cycle.

So if you treat now, & it only kills fully mature adult worms, but not the eggs or larvae that might be in the system, treating tomorrow will not do any good, because those eggs & larvae haven't had a chance to mature into adult worms & be affected by the medication. (this is an example, I am not knowledgable on the specific life-cycle of the pinworm).

Please, check the instructions on the medication carefully, and follow up with the pharmacist you spoke to previously, to make sure you give the 2nd dose at the appropriate time. Worming medications are relatively safe (esp OTC products) but you will want to minimize your exposure unnecessarily.

Regarding the diagnosis & treatment of the worms - most worms are pretty specific (this applies to humans & pets like dogs & cats), and will often present in specific ways. Given that you had the worm present to identify, & you consulted with a health professional, I think its fine to treat OTC, knowing that if it doesn't resolve the problem, either a 2nd treatment will be needed, or a follow up with your doctor. I did find information that there is a prescription medication, albenzadole, which appears to still be available.

Most importantly, avoid cyclical reinfection - make sure to take all the necessary steps to cleaning your home thoroughly, & maintain proper hygiene for yourself & your daughter. Hopefully this will be resolved soon! Good luck. T. :)

IMHO...Health issues come before school.

I think this is a valid question. I've had idiotic treatment from doctors over the years, and I don't see the harm in asking people what worked for them.

I think my family members had pinworms about three different times. Each time I saw the worms. I used Pin Rid or Pin-X, dosed all family members, and it worked each time. I don't recall washing sheets excessively. It was over the counter and we never saw a doctor for the pinworms. Unless pinworms have become resistant to the over the counter medication since we used it (15+ years ago), I see zero need to go to a doctor.

In our case, it was always the nail biters and thumb suckers in the family who got pinworms.

We had these a couple of years ago. We had to use Pin-X that was over the counter at the pharmacy, but our doctor told us to buy it. We did 2 rounds to make sure they were all gone. We went camping and my son was about 2 and loved to dip everything he ate in the sand. Apparently sand is really common for having pinworms in it. Anyway, I think we did the laundry the first time and that was it. From what I remember, getting the medicine in the kids was the worst part of the whole process. I know it wasn't really a big deal over all. Nothing like lice!

I think I'd be more concerned about underwear, pajamas and towels. Especially the towel.

The eggs can last 2 weeks can't they, on surfaces? So I'd just be more concerned stopping her itching. That's how they spread. I think (?) there are anti-itch meds just for this.

My concern would obviously getting everyone treated but making sure she's well rested for her exams. I always thought the itching kept you up at night making it hard to sleep. So it might be worth your while to really try to deal with it before she gets into the thick of exams.

I don't know anything about medications so can't comment on that.

good luck :)