THINGS THAT GO WIGGLE IN THE NIGHT (Thread Worms)

Member Name: chrissypops

Product:	Thread Worms
Date:	09/10/01 (15361 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: NONE

Disadvantages: Very itchy bottom, spreads easily with young children

Worms. What a skin crawling thought. even the word Thread worms feels me with dread. Thinking of little white things wiggling around your anus at night. Hold on you say, back up a word or two. Anus?? You thought worms were just found in the ground didnt you? Well I'm really sorry but thread worms aren't those common things you find nestling in the garden. No sirre.


Thread worm infestation is caused by the roundworm Enterobius vermicularis and is the most common parasitic worm infestation affecting humans in the UK. Usually, infestation occurs by ingesting worm eggs in contaminated food, on fingers, or in house dust. If they are swallowed, the eggs develop into adult thread worms in the intestine. These thread worms come out to play at night and the females lay their eggs around the anus. This causes intense itching. So much so it can keep you or whoever up all night running to and from the toilet constantly getting a piece of toilet roll for light relief. If you happen to have a scratch without toilet roll or don't wash your hands after, then these eggs can be transferred onto your hands and onto someone else's hands. Urggghhh, another reason why you should have good hygiene isn't it.

Unfortunately thread worms are very very common in our younger generation. Namely preschoolers. This is because most children are not totally aware of hygiene rules, especially toilet hygiene. All the want to do is get to the toilet as fast as possible so they don't miss the next installment of their friends playing in the home making corner. So rule number one for your children as soon as they are potty training, if not before, is to make washing of hands important. BEFORE eating and AFTER toileting. Prevention is better than cure right? Well most of the time anyway. If you child knows the importance of hygiene then they are less likely to become infected with tread worms, but you cant rule it out of your life. Even if your child is
washing their hands, it only takes one child who isn't that has got thread worms and the whole class/group could get it. For as well as teaching your child to have good hygiene skills, you must also teach them to stop putting their fingers in or near their mouths. This is extremely hard to do as most children use their fingers to eat with. Not necessarily full meals but at nursery they do have fruit or biscuits as a snack. So as you can see Thread worms is highly infectious and can sweep through children as fast as you can say "Tinky Winky!"

If you son or daughter complains about a very itchy bottom or you get a letter from preschool/nursery about thread worms DON'T PANIC!! They are really easy to get rid of and are fairly harmless to the human system. In very severe cases thread worms can cause stomach upsets or appendicitis but these complications are relatively rare.

Symptoms are usually an itch bottom, usually around the anal area. Sometimes if you check your child stool (poo) then you might see tiny, white, thread like things. These are the thread worms. If you check your child's anus you might see some whitish, yellow eggs around the entrance. You can wipe these away with a piece of toilet tissue with a little bit of Vaseline on it. This will stop the laying of eggs for a little while at least.

The next stage of treatment is to phone your GP and tell him what you have found. They might either prescribe something over the phone and you can pick up the prescription in a few hours or they might want to check it out first. Most GPs will just prescribe something over the phone so you can pick it up later in the day. The unfortunate thing about thread worms is that if one of you are infected then the whole family have to be treated. Bit like nits really, but thread worms can be dispelled easier. Usually you are prescribed Vermox, a liquid suspension which you take one dose when you get it ( 5 ml usually) and anothe
r within 14 days. The single dose kills all the worms within the intestine in one go but its important to repeat to dose after 14 days to kill any eggs that might of hatched just after you had the first dose. The whole life cycle from egg to worm to egg is about 14 days so don't forget that second dose or you will find that you will be re infected.. Vermox can be taken for anyone who is over a year old, but if like me who had a young baby, they need to be treated too. Lucy was only 11 months when Jess had an attack of thread worms so we had to use a powder to make sure than Lucy didnt get it. Pripsen came in two sachets which had to be mixed with water and given as a drink to an infant. Again the second dose had to be given 14 days after to stop re infection. I must stress that if your family is subjected to thread worms you ALL have to take a dose. Even if you have a very young baby, don't forget to ask the GP if that baby needs anything precautionary. Don't just say Ok we shall take just one medication for the whole family because most adult medication are not suitable for young children. It can cause complications such as fits, liver damage or other serious complications. SO ASK!

I must say that after just one dose, 14 days later we were all clear, but we have just had a letter form nursery saying its on the loose again. So I have to keep an eye out but so far Jess isn't showing any symptoms. To minimise the risk of getting thread worms teach your child to;

Washing of hands after toilet and before eating anything

Washing of hands if they touch their bottom

You can also minimise the spread of thread worms at home by washing bedding at 60c degrees wash.

Make sure your child wears bottoms in bed, whether it be pajama bottoms or knickers/pants as eggs from anus can be rub of onto sheets.

Change bedding and child's night wear every night while infected until you know it has cleared up.


You can also put a little Vaseline around your child's anus to stop the thread worms laying more eggs.


Follow the same rules if you yourself get infected, so you can minimise the risk of getting re infected.

I just want to add that if your child does get thread worms it isn't a refection on your hygiene and you are certainly not dirty. Thread worms are just a very common preschool disorder, very much like coughs, colds, nits and chicken pox. Children have very close contact indeed with each other. So its best to just make them aware of good hygiene skills. and hopefully you will never see thread worms apart from on those programmes on Tv about them. GOOD LUCK

Summary: