PINWORMS...i have a good friend whose son just got treated...he plays with my son...please read.

Question

My good friend told me two weeks ago that her 8 yr old has pinworms. She and her family had to get treated b/c they are very contagious. She also has a newborn like me and my son who is 7 plays with her 8 yr old. I know pinworms arent deadly and can be treated. She told me that she got treated with antibiotics 10 days ago and had to stop breastfeeding. She has been coming over now alot with her family and everytime she comes over, I get so scared that my family will catch it, especially my 7 yr old and my two week old. I know she got treated but i read that they are contagious and can continue to come back later on . My boyfriend isnt taking a great approach to this and stated that "pinworms are common among dirty people or filth". this also upset me b/c they are nice people and arent dirty. So now he doesnt like them coming over or coming close to the baby. What should I do? I love my friend and her family but im also so scared of them giving it to us. I want to tell her how i feel but i dont want to hurt her feelings. I know she and her family took the medication for 10 days but im still scared. What would you do?

Answer 1

Lots of experience, in my family, in the families of clients, with conventional treatment, with homeopathy.

In the same way that pets living in the same household as one that has fleas will not all get fleas, people only get pinworms (also a parasite) when in a lowered state of health - whether from emotional and/or physical stress.

Pinworms are not related to hygiene, except as those conditions lead to the stresses I cited. They hang around when a person's immune system is weak, his or her susceptibility high. It is at that point that pinworms thrive, because the digestive tract is in an energetically unhealthy state.

(Informationally, it's not infrequent that pinworms show up after the disappearance of conventionally treated lice.)

If your home is heart-happy, your relationship with your boyfriend tension-free (no yelling or resentment, internally or externally), your children psychologically safe and secure (i.e., your boyfriend is the bio father of both children and has behaved like a loving, committed father and husband from day 1), you do not need to be concerned when your friend and her family visit, as long as she observes the "safe" period of their treatment.  

Your boyfriend's attitude gives me pause, though, and signals that things are probably not as healthy in your home as would protect you and your children.

If you want to go a step further (if someone gets pinworms), you can make an appointment with a homeopath certified in classical homeopathy. More than anything, constitutional homeopathy clears up pinworms once and for all.

As I said, my personal and professional experience also includes cycles of conventional meds.

Personally, I wouldn't have my friend or her family over again until the cycle for a recurrence of pinworms had clearly passed. It is reasonable to inform her of that, and a friend would understand and coperate. At the same time, I also wouldn't bring a boyfriend into my children's lives.

Your concerns - your fears - are justified. Take care.  

Answer 2

Talk to your doc or pediatrician about your risks and find out what the chances are of your family catching it. If slim to none, go ahead and have them around. If the chances are high, ask them to stay away per your docs recommendation. That way it takes it off of you and puts it on someone she doesn't know.

BTW it sounds like your bf just doesn't like them and has nothing to do with the pinworms! Good luck

Answer 3

If she's been treated she's fine.  Pinworms can be caught from playing at the park.  

However there was NO WAY ON EARTH she needed to stop breastfeeding to treat them!!!!  Particularly since they probably gave the baby the same d**n drug.  I am really getting sick of this stupidity.

Anyway it looks like 10-40% of kids have pinworms at all times.  Random kids at the park or mall are just as likely to cause a problem.  If you are worried have her bath and change her kids clothes before coming over which will limit the potential spread

Motherisk:  [phone] Mon-Fri 9-5 EST  Safety of medication during pregnancy and lactation.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_500.html

The pinworm, or Enterobius vermicularis, is one of the most common parasitic infections of humans. Somewhere between 10% and 40% of children have pinworms at any given time (Pediatric Consult, Williams and Wilkins 1997). The infections are usually limited to children below the age of twelve.

[...]

Stool and blood tests are not very helpful in diagnosing pinworms. Seeing a worm clinches the diagnosis. Check your child's skin with a flashlight during the night and first thing in the morning. Look for white, wiggling threads. If it's not wiggling, it's probably just lint. Occasionally a wiggling worm will be seen on the surface of a stool. Pinworms are so common that children with nighttime anal itching are often treated without any lab test at all. The classic diagnostic tool is to apply a piece of transparent tape to the skin near the a**s first thing in the morning. This tape can then be attached to a glass slide and examined under a microscope for the presence of eggs. Your doctor can supply you with a pinworm lab kit, if necessary.

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/se...

Summary of Use during Lactation:

There is little published experience with albendazole during breastfeeding; however, an informal consultation group to the World Health Organization concluded that a single oral dose of albendazole can be given to lactating women.[1] If albendazole is required by the mother, it is not a reason to discontinue breastfeeding. To minimize infant exposure, a single dose can be taken just before the infant's longest sleep period.[2]

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/se...

Summary of Use during Lactation:

Limited data indicate that mebendazole is poorly excreted into breastmilk. Because mebendazole is virtually unabsorbed orally it is unlikely to adversely affect the breastfed infant or milk production.

http://www.cw.bc.ca/newborncare/pdf-clin...

Answer 4

First off, "dirty people and filth" have nothing to do with pinworms.  I had pinworms as a toddler and my mom kept me and our home clean.  The doctor said I probably caught them from playing in dirt in our yard where a stray cat must have pooped.  Worms eggs can live long after animal p**p has decomposed so you wouldn't even know that they were there.

I wouldn't worry if they've all been treated.  If you're concerned, just nicely ask them to wash their hands before playing with your kids.  Simple as that.

Answer 5

Make sure your child washes his hands a lot. If they have been treated they are probably ok now. As long as you take precautions (like extra hand washing and using a disinfectant) you guys should be just fine.