Oh no!!! My son has worms, what do I do?

blue_monkey_2

Ah sorry girls, I know it is lunch time but just was summoned to the loo to be told 'look, it's wiggling' and I guess I am right in assuming that my son has worms! Struggling to think where it has come from other than the nursery school as we don;t really mix with other kids and families these days. So do I tell the school I found them? Am I right in thinking I have to treat us all?

He has not complained about any itching - does this matter? What does that mean? He does not seem to have more of an appetite than usual. He is 3, is he too young for those over the counter treatments you buy? It is a whole circle of washing and keeping everything spotlessly clean. Do I have to clean everything? Where do you draw the line?

I have to add that he sleeping a trainer pant so I don't think he would be itching himself, could it be he has the early stages of this and do I have to clean everything he has been near. I don;t even want to think about this as he is usually running around with a bare bottom all day. Oh no. How long do the egs live for? If I give him medicine now and clean, for example, tomorrow while he is at school, all around the house will this be enough, do I have to discinfect everything he has touched or been playing with?

Sorry, I sound a bit dim about this but it is the first time ever for us. I don't want him to think he has something wrong with him. Everything feels itchy now, LOL. Do I have to lock the kids away for weeks until they are gone, what do I do? Should I tell people? :eek:

mrcow

No idea about what you do in terms of treatment as we've never had them before.

But certainly don't be worrying about it. We've had a letter from the school saying that children often get them and to be mindul of this, so don't think that you are anything out of the ordinary, or that you've done anything wrong.

One thing I do know is that is that hygiene is vital. You also should tell the nursery as he could have passed it/caught it from others there.

Rikki

Give the local chemist a ring. They will be able to advise you.

As for your son treat him as advised but don't make a fuss or maybe not even tell him what the exact problem is.

foreversomeday

Make sure he washes his hands and scrubs his fingernails after going to the loo and before eating. I used to get worms all the time as a child! My mum gave me Ovex.

http://www.expresschemist.co.uk/ovex.html

Says suitable for over 2 years. They taste orangey, not unpleasant.

Cylindus

Hiya have a look here, I remember one of my siblings having worms and the whole family having to be treated, the medicine is vile but I'm sure we only had it once.
I would discreetly mention it to the school as your ds has probably picked them up there. I keep my kids nails really short and we have some kids no wash hand gel from tescos which is fab (it does smell like pure alcohol though!!)

blue_monkey_2

Thanks for the advice guys, I am reading and reading, I am just worried what other people think of me I guess. I've never had anything from the school about other kids having had it but I suppose I am going to have to speak to the school and see what they say. Somewhere else said they should not be kept off school but they might think differently.

I am just waiting for the chemist to re-open and I'll get down there and get something for us all and then I have to change all of the bedding and make sure they have their keks on at all times (rather hard, the pair of them are always half naked).

Can I pass it to others if I have no symptoms? Is it only after he is itchy that eggs are coming out or would that happen right away?

spender

Don't worry what other people think of you after all your son caught them probably from these other people. Unfortunately it is an all too common problem, little ones share everything. The medication is easy one dose then another dose two weeks later. Just recommend wiping all your handles and toilet handles down. You are a good mum in dealing with it straight away, I get so annoyed when other parents don't treat their children and cycle begins again!

Cylindus

On the link I posted it says the worms live for 4-5 weeks and lay eggs just before they die, so even if you don't itch you could still have them.

Oh the joys of having young children!!

blue_monkey_2

Thanks again everyone. I just called the school, I felt like I was telling them my child had murdered another in break time. But all was great and the receptionist did not even ask his name (thank god, the shame) she thanked me for calling them as they are going to have a big hand washing thing and that will probably help clear it up. Ah. That makes sense now - they had a big thing last year when my daughter came home with these stickers 'ask me how to wash my hands'. So that is it why!!

She told me to get something from the chemist, as long as he has been treated for it he can go to school and to wash my bed linen on a high tempterature wash. The first load is in and I am going to have a hoover and dust around anyway just incase anything nasty is floating around. What harm can it do. Think I'll buy some disposable dusters and cleaners, the cloth types, so i can bin them when I've done as well.

Thanks for making me feel like it is normal. No-one I know has ever had these before - and if they had they were probably tooashamed to tell anyone. I am going to tell them, I'd rather they be looking out for it and gcatching it early.

Mind you, that vision in the toilet bowl is going to stay with me for a while, I was transfixed on just how gross it really was while thinking that staring at it was not entirely normal. My son called me from upstairs 'mummy, come quickly, it's wiggling' and I just thought 'Oh No, surely not.........'!! :rotfl:

3KIDSNOMONEY

hi, my kids have had worms several times. I make sure that they all go and scrub their nails first and then i have a really, really good clean. Bannisters, door handles, light switches, in particular things which are touched often. I wash all the bed linen once a week for about three weeks. Vacuum what you can and regularly for about three weeks. Also for a couple of weeks i try to stop my kids walking around in worn bed clothes - feel a bit mean doing this but i think it helps spreading the eggs.

hobo28

Worms & nits. Part and parcel of having young children. Ovex and nitcombs for the win!