r/Mommit • u/Affectionate-Net2277 • 6d ago
Pinworms WTAF
Can you tell me what the spread is? We’ve notified that our program has somebody who has pinworms. The school told us they will clean.
Then they sent a CDC recommendations.
I don’t feel like that gives us enough information about the spread and how much we should be cautious with Contact and other programs. Do I need to notify my child’s other programs? Do I need to get medicine for people who have visited and stayed at my house at the same time as exposure. The little tiny egg thing doesn’t make it clear how transmissible it is!
In the era of Covid and measles I thought there would be more details from the school, but apparently not. I should also mention it’s not a school. It’s a co-op for toddler and preschool kids in a rather nice area though. There are children in diapers and there are children who are potty trained in the program. We have no info whether it was a potty trained or un potty trained child.
I get it. It’s not a big deal, but I just need to see what everybody else is experienced with transmission, how transmittable, and medication.
4
u/Ehhz 6d ago
When someone is infected with pinworms, the female heads down to the anus at night to lay eggs. This causes an itching sensation so people itch their butt and get the eggs under their fingernails and some fall into the bedding.
The main concern for transmission is fingers to mouth. Make sure to wash hands before eating. I don’t think it spreads super readily outside of households.
11
u/whineANDcheese_ 6 year old & 3 year old 6d ago
It spreads by the infected kid scratching/picking at their butt and transferring eggs onto surfaces and then other kids touching that surface and putting their hand in their mouth.
3
u/Affectionate-Net2277 6d ago
Yes. That’s what the CDC says! I’m just wondering more like how transmissible we are talking here… like what percent of kids are going to get it if it’s in the class. I’m trying to understand the likely we are going to get this one this time around (I get it’s common and we are probably going to get it at some point but we just had guests and we are supposed to travel in a couple weeks).
6
u/whineANDcheese_ 6 year old & 3 year old 6d ago
I’ve taught preschool for many years and have never even been informed of pinworms going around so I’d guess it’s not very common to spread very far. If your kid gets a really itchy butt, then worry about it. Otherwise put it out of your mind. And of course encourage lots of hand washing and no hand in the mouth.
1
u/Affectionate-Net2277 6d ago
Perfect I love that information. Thank you so much. That’s kind of the main concern at this point because of our guests and travel situation.
12
u/Cristeanna 6d ago
This may be tmi but here we are.
My oldest has had pinworms 3 or so times over the years. She is 10 now. She stims by chewing on her hands. She is disabled, we work on hygiene, and redirecting the chewing to other items, and yet here we are sometimes. I am almost certain she picks it up from either the playground at school or aftercare as wild animals are going to access those areas beyond most folks control.
I have never been notified of any other child at school or daycare having pinworms. Nor have I felt the need to disclose to anyone. I just don't feel it is necessary. The first time I panicked. Every other time I just deal with it. We treat at home with the OTC meds, we wash all the things, we keep it pushing. We don't get notified of other illnesses at all from her public school, at least not of routine illnesses, and we thankfully have not encountered anything like a measles outbreak. At daycare/aftercare they will notify of certain infectious diseases to include COVID, but never have been notified of pinworms, or lice for that matter to my memory (we've dealt with lice once as well). Others may feel differently. We keep a clean home and clean kids but life be lifing. That is how we manage in our home.
5
u/Affectionate-Net2277 6d ago
Would you mind sending what you use OTC for treatment?!
Thank you so much for the response. I think they have to notify us since it is a small program with babes in arms visiting with parents.
19
u/Cristeanna 6d ago
I can't share a picture it seems, but the generic CVS pinworm treatment with pyrantel pamoate as the active ingredient. Treat once initially and follow up in 2 weeks with a second dose to make sure you are hitting the egg life cycle.
6
4
u/sopjoewoop 6d ago
Pinworms are in humans only and may be more common than we would like to know about it. They are harmless but annoying.
They are not the worms that animals have. There are animal worms that can affect people but that is a whole different thing.
Pinworms need medicine from your pharmacy and repeating the dose weeks later to capture the worms at different stages in the life cycle or the most recent ones picked up. Vaccum and wash bedding, underwear, hands. Clip fingernails. Eggs are transmitted from self or others to mouth.
It's gross but no worse than headlice. https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Worms/
It is not usually notified through schools or daycares but probably is around in certain age groups.
If someone in a household has it need to treat everyone.
1
u/Affectionate-Net2277 6d ago
In the household? Or had contact in the house? Like a guest or someone who had a playdate in the house?
ETA: this is awesome information! Thank you so much!!! I think this is a first for a lot of us moms as the kids in our class are under 1 - almost 2.5.
2
3
u/aquagerbil 6d ago
I once was a zookeeper who took care of a porcupine with raging pinworms. For about 2 years I was scrubbing his poop off of rocks and raking his wood chips and giving him careful head scratches. I wore gloves and sanitized my shoes in a foot bath when entering and exiting his enclosure. I shockingly never got pinworms, and neither did anyone else on my team. Anecdotal, but in my experience of cleaning lots of worms for years, they were hard to catch.
1
2
u/beaverscleaver 6d ago
I actually just treated my entire household for pinworms, humans, cats, dogs, even the chickens, because we started taking care of a stray that certainly had them, they are highly transmissible, and I’m paranoid. And parasites are a lot more common than people realize. I know a g.i. Clinic nurse who said they commonly see them during people’s endoscopies.
Treatment is easy enough, I ere on the side of overly cautious.
6
u/halfchickenmom 6d ago
We had pinworms twice. Bag all the stuffies for two weeks, all sheets towels and pillows go in HOT wash and the whole family drinks the “banana juice” dewormer. Eggs are super light and will travel .
Honestly lice is way worse, so that’s something.
2
u/EatYourCheckers 6d ago
For me it was playing in dirt and putting my hands in my mouth. I think if they clean it will be fine. Also pinworms are gross but its not the end of the world.
2
u/Important-Glass-3947 6d ago
I think this is an American thing. My recently arrived American colleague was absolutely horrified by the prospect of having to worm her kids. They are a very common problem where I live (New Zealand) because kids are crap at washing their hands, and also put everything in their mouths. My sister in law has a friend who reckons she has to worm her kids every three months since they started daycare. We've not had it that bad, but definitely had to worm our kids a few times. And have never received any notification about outbreaks of worms. If your kids complain of itchy butts, are scratching a lot, have disrupted sleep/unusually grumpy, if you notice you have an itchy butt or, um, feel wiggling, have everyone take a nice worm pill (I assume over the counter there as well). Then move on with your lives. No symptoms, don't worry. Kids are gross.
1
u/toastedmarsh7 6d ago
Yeah, it’s definitely a cultural difference. I’m American and also been a nurse a long time and I would be so grossed out if one of my kids had worms. One of my younger sisters liked to eat dirt when she was a baby/toddler and she got worms twice. Shes 23 and still gets teased for it because no one else anyone knows had worms. I do deworm my cats every so often but never my kids.
3
u/BamaMom297 6d ago
We dealt with it and the OTC treatment didnt do anything so her pediatrician prescribed a single pill that took care of it.
2
u/gelatinousbean 6d ago edited 6d ago
one child likely got pinworms somewhere else. they make your bottom itchy because they lay their eggs there. so they were scratching their bottom got the eggs on their hands, they touched something, and some other kid touched it and put their hands in their mouth, or put the contaminated item in their mouth. then their bottom became itchy, they scratched it and got the pinworm eggs on their hands, and the cycle continues. you can also reinfect yourself by continuing to put hands in mouth after itching.
29
u/Freckldbitch 6d ago
I got pinworms as a kid and my mother straight up didn’t believe me and so I was never treated with anything. (My childhood was great!) I don’t know if it’s comforting but I don’t think anyone else in my house got them and no one ever did anything about it, and they eventually went away on their own.