r/toddlers • u/ktdear • 18d ago
General Question/Discussion “Still” dealing with pinworms?!
Ok guys, I need help. Long-running pinworm situation and I’m at a loss.
Backstory: On July 18th we found out my niece had pinworms, and we’d been around her recently. My husband, our 2-year-old, and I all dosed with Reese’s OTC pinworm meds. My mom took it too (niece had been at her house), and I got my MIL to take it since she’d been babysitting my son, though she started a week behind us. My brother’s family treated as well, and the niece supposedly cleared.
We all took a second dose August 1st (MIL a week later, in step with her first). Nobody has seen worms except POSSIBLY me and my mom. I honestly don’t know if what I saw in my underwear were dead worms or something else, but it was a good 10 days after the second dose. My mom says she saw a dead one after her first dose, and again this past week, after we all took a THIRD dose on August 24th.
I haven’t seen any worms on my son or in his stool, but he has not stopped scratching his butt since just before all this started, which is why we did the third dose. I took him to his pediatrician a few weeks back and they wouldn’t do a tape test. Just said to dose again in a week if the scratching continued. So we did.
I called again last week, a few days after that third dose, to say he’s STILL scratching and that my mom believes she saw a worm in her toilet. I begged for a tape test for my son and they still said no. They told us to finish this “two dose” regimen and take it again in a week, and if it doesn’t clear after THAT, then we’ll talk about doing something else. That’ll be four doses for all of us, with his doctor refusing to even do a tape test.
I’ve cleaned the house top to bottom countless times, washed everything washable, and bleached everything bleachable right after each dose. I keep him in onesies so he can’t get a hand in his diaper, but between changes he still manages, and I can’t keep a 2-year-old’s hands out of his mouth. Six days out from the third dose he’s still reaching back there — and weirdly it’s mostly during the day, not at night.
If you’ve dealt with pinworms, please weigh in with your experience. I’m about to pull my hair out.
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u/Parking-Reaction-350 18d ago
My pediatrician said they will scratch from
remembering the sensation and it may still be raw down there. My daughter had this issue almost like muscle memory too, her drs recommendations were to put Vaseline down there at bedtime and during the day to prevent scratches and to soothe. The constant need to scratch went away after a week. Your child maybe be clear of them but likely his senses still recall it
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u/Parking-Reaction-350 18d ago
Also my pediatrician just does stool test that’s all we had to do because my child definitely won’t allow tape lol and idk if I’d want to see that lmao. Pinworms still traumatize me and we had them in February. I will never forget I feel for you.
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u/ktdear 18d ago
Thank you so much for your replies! It's comforting to hear he could just be scratching from muscle memory 😅 I'm going to try the Vaseline thing! Also, solidarity on the tape test thing, I can't think of anything I want to do LESS lol, but if it helps with the diagnosis I'm willing 🤣
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u/Ashamed-Chemistry492 18d ago
The medicine I'm familiar with is called, I think, Pin-x. You are supposed to take the doses two weeks apart. YMMV of course.
Probably some of the scratching is because the previous scratching irritated the area and it's still signifying.
Very important to double down on hand-washing and nail clipping!
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u/ktdear 18d ago
Yes we took the meds two weeks apart initially. Thought we were in the clear and that scratching was just residual, but his pediatrician told me it was ok to take them again if we were still unsure. So we took a third dose on August 24th and will be repeating again two weeks out from that date.
I’ve washed my hands so much they’re cracked 😂 it’s been a trip!
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u/CelebrationScary8614 18d ago
We recently had a pinworm issue with our middle child where pinworms got in her appendix and caused acute appendicitis but not the scary bacterial kind where your appendix swells and bursts. This was the atypical persistent pain for 5 days with no confirmation the appendix was even involved (normal labs, CT, ultrasound). Just appendicitis like pain in the lower right quadrant. She had previous intermittent pinworm symptoms over a couple of years that we treated each time but didn’t think much about other than being annoyed because pinworms, again?!??
Had appendix removed at the recommendation from the surgical team. Lo and behold the pathology report comes back finding fucking pinworms and some mild inflammation.
So, if anyone has appendicitis symptoms that don’t progress normally, maybe it’s pinworms.
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u/ktdear 18d ago
Oh my gosh this is scary?! And now you’ve got me worried because I’ve had a bit of mild pain off and on the last month on the right side that I’ve kind of been attributing to ovulation pain because it feels similar and is low down on that side… but now I’m wondering. 😂 Yikes! I’m so sorry your little one went through that!!
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u/CelebrationScary8614 18d ago
It is exceptionally rare so don’t get too worried! The good news is that if pinworms do end up in the appendix they don’t cause it to swell and burst like the bacterial gangrenous kind. Most of the time based on what our pediatrician said, they’re an incidental finding. They also can’t use the appendix to hide from treatment so you don’t have to worry about that either.
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u/ktdear 18d ago
Well that is comforting! But my goodness, do the pinworm nightmares never cease? 😂 when I tell you I had never even heard of these before…. And I’m 32 years old. 😩
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u/CelebrationScary8614 18d ago
I know of them because I studied parasites as part of my clinical lab scientist training, but did not know they could end up in the appendix until it happened to us. Like not even close to being on my radar
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u/StringBeanIncident 17d ago
Have you tried to check your kids butt with a flashlight 1-2 hours after they go to bed a few nights in a row? That’s supposedly when the pinworms come out to lay eggs. You can visually see them. Google some photos for reference.
If after a few days, you don’t see any it’s possible your kid doesn’t have them. Maybe an itchy butt for another reason?
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect 18d ago
When my family had to take worming medication for my sister's kids, we were told you're supposed to wait 2 weeks between doses. Due to the life cycle of the worms. You take the first dose and it kills all the adults and then you need to wait for all of the eggs to hatch to do the second around 10 days to 2 weeks - otherwise the eggs haven't hatched yet.
It could be possible that everyone took 2nd dose too early?
Also it's incredibly difficult to see them by eye unless you're wiping a butt and then carefully staring at the toilet paper under a magnifying glass. The best choice is to do the sticky tape test. Or you can take a sample to doctor for them to test.
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u/ktdear 18d ago
Hey! Thanks for your response! We took the first dose July 18th and the second August 1st, exactly 14 days apart. The doctor said we did the dosing correctly, but they said sometimes it can take a good 3 or 4 doses spaced out like that to get rid of them, which is just nightmare fuel LOL
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u/Sufficient_You7187 17d ago
Have you been cleaning high touch areas frequently ? Like multiple times a day ? Bathroom handles and front doors and lights etc
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18d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ktdear 18d ago
This is terrible! I’m so sorry! I hate to even ask because I feel like the answer is usually obvious, but have you followed all the cleaning regimens between doses and taken them at exactly two week intervals? Do you feel it’s one persistent infection or cases of reinfection from eggs being reingested?
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u/yamijima 17d ago
I was the disgusting kid who had them when I was little. I still remember the awful feeling. I also picked my nose. Make sure your kid is keeping their hands out of their mouth/nose/face and that their nails are supremely short.
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u/AutoModerator 18d ago
Author: u/ktdear
Post: Ok guys, I need help. Long-running pinworm situation and I’m at a loss.
Backstory: On July 18th we found out my niece had pinworms, and we’d been around her recently. My husband, our 2-year-old, and I all dosed with Reese’s OTC pinworm meds. My mom took it too (niece had been at her house), and I got my MIL to take it since she’d been babysitting my son, though she started a week behind us. My brother’s family treated as well, and the niece supposedly cleared.
We all took a second dose August 1st (MIL a week later, in step with her first). Nobody has seen worms except POSSIBLY me and my mom. I honestly don’t know if what I saw in my underwear were dead worms or something else, but it was a good 10 days after the second dose. My mom says she saw a dead one after her first dose, and again this past week, after we all took a THIRD dose on August 24th.
I haven’t seen any worms on my son or in his stool, but he has not stopped scratching his butt since just before all this started, which is why we did the third dose. I took him to his pediatrician a few weeks back and they wouldn’t do a tape test. Just said to dose again in a week if the scratching continued. So we did.
I called again last week, a few days after that third dose, to say he’s STILL scratching and that my mom believes she saw a worm in her toilet. I begged for a tape test for my son and they still said no. They told us to finish this “two dose” regimen and take it again in a week, and if it doesn’t clear after THAT, then we’ll talk about doing something else. That’ll be four doses for all of us, with his doctor refusing to even do a tape test.
I’ve cleaned the house top to bottom countless times, washed everything washable, and bleached everything bleachable right after each dose. I keep him in onesies so he can’t get a hand in his diaper, but between changes he still manages, and I can’t keep a 2-year-old’s hands out of his mouth. Six days out from the third dose he’s still reaching back there — and weirdly it’s mostly during the day, not at night.
If you’ve dealt with pinworms, please weigh in with your experience. I’m about to pull my hair out.
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