Should I be worried about roundworms

Question

We had two stray puppies in our yard last weekend. They had a ton of worms so I wormed them while waiting to find them a home. I'm worried that my daughter might get roundworms, and even MORE worried because they can cause a lot of problems, like blindness. The eggs on the ground take a couple of weeks to mature to the infectious stage, so what can I do to make sure she doesn't get them. I'm tempted to lock her in the house for the rest of the summer! I asked the doctor if there was a preventative medicine I could give her and they said that she would have to get the worms first. So I have preventative meds for my dog but not my daughter!!!

Answer 1

Yes, if you will not have your child take de-wormer. Some types of de-wormer can kill even the eggs inside our guts. Let you child play outside, chances are she already has it not from the dog but from normal acquisition. It is fairly common for children to get worms, don't worry about it an annual de-worming is normal and will take care of your worries. Let your child have fun in the summer sun. Have a great summer!

Answer 2

Physicians who specialize in clinical parasitology are almost as rare as hen's teeth. Perhaps you can find a specialist in tropical medicine. They may have better expertise.

Personally I am unaware of any medicine given to children prophylactically to prevent visceral larva migrans, the technical name of the condition to which you refer. If children ingest the eggs of the cat, dog or raccoon roundworm, the eggs cannot mature to the adult worm, but the larvae can get into the liver and other organs, including he eye and brain.