How to Treat Pinworms (almost) Naturally
If you’ve found this post, first and foremost, please know that I am sorry. But also know that I am here to give you hope, tips and tricks of how to treat pinworms – all the information I am sharing here worked for our family.
You have not been properly initiated into motherhood until you have worn a LEGO headlamp
On my first such hunt, I was greeted by three pinworms that mockingly waved at me from the crack of my son’s butt! Not to worry though, I showed them! They are now memorialized on the strip of tape in a zip lock bag, in case the pediatrician needed proof!
Since that fateful night I have learned how to treat pinworms, and rid our family of them – almost naturally – and hopefully for GOOD!
(This post was updated in December 2017 and July 2019, since its original publishing date in April 2015)
Over the past months, I have found several remedies that have been effective in eradicating our house of pinworms. Some of these tips may be a little hard to administer to your kids if they are anywhere near as medicine-adverse as our kids.
Fret not, I have plenty of tricks – so something WILL work. Two things are certain after you read this article: you will know more about pinworms than you ever wanted, AND you will be scratching your behind! You are welcome!
>>>>> Don’t miss these 10 Things to do RIGHT NOW When Your Kids Have Pinworms <<<<<
What are pinworms:
- Pinworms are small intestinal parasites.
- They are thin, white and about 1cm in length. They look like a small piece of thread – but WIGGLY!
- Pinworms are MUCH more prevalent among young school-aged children than their itch-inducing cousins: lice.
- Trust worthy pinworm information.
How do you get pinworms:
- Child touches a surface contaminated with the microscopic pinworm eggs: bathroom, kitchen counter, shopping cart – you name it! The possibilities are endless!
- The eggs can live for 2-3 weeks – I know, disgusting!
- Child sticks egg-contaminated finger in his mouth! How often do you tell your child to take their fingers/ a toy/ their brother’s arm out of their mouth?!
- The eggs make their way through the human intestines over the next month. Are you scratching yet?
- The newly hatched female larvae turned worm gets the urge to lay eggs. She crawls out of the anus and looks for nice warm place for the next generation of pinworms.
- It is this nightly anus-migration that causes an insanely uncomfortable and ITCHY feeling, which some kids describe as painful.
- Child scratches his bottom, eggs stick to his fingers… and so the cycle continues! The circle of life, pinworm-style!
As you can see – pinworms have quite a lengthy life cycle, so the key to destruction, complete elimination and continued pinworm prevention is PERSISTENCE, REPETITION and a sense of humor.
Your treatment cycle should continue for at least 90 days after initial diagnosis. (I stopped after 60 days – only to have to start ALL OVER again a few weeks later! Yeah me!)
Pinworm Symptoms:
- Anal itching and discomfort.
- Restless sleep.
- Scratch marks on the buttocks.
- Upset stomach.
- Some people have NO symptoms while others have ALL of them.
Pinworm Diagnosis:
- Pinworms may be found in the stool. Remember they look like tiny white thread.
- You can go on a safari like I did. But expect to be grossed out beyond your wildest imagination if the hunt is successful.
- Place a piece of tape
over the anus at night and look for eggs via a microscope
in the morning.
- Bring a stool sample to the doctor. So really – none of these methods are for the modest or faint of heart! Sorry!
- If you are having blood work done and you suspect that you have been exposed to or infected with pinworms, let your physician know. Pinworms will show up on blood work as a parasite infection, and you don’t want to unnecessarily freak out your physician (been there, done that!)
Pinworm Treatments and Prevention:
Please contact your medical professional before you treat young children with anything – ever, even with “natural remedies.” A medical professional should always be consulted before you start a new medical regimen. Herbs, natural remedies and essential oils can interact or counteract with any prescription medication you are currently taking.
- Pinworms are HIGHLY contagious. Once pinworms have been confirmed in one member of the household, the entire house should also be treated. (Humans only)
- Take the most effective pinworm medication
. This is the “unnatural” part of my treatment regiment, but it is highly effective and a great way to KICK START your war on the white wiggly ones. I keep it on hand now, as a part of my mommy-medicine cabinet.
- Reese’s Pinworm Medicine
is the most effective medicine to treat pinworms – and best of all, it’s available over-the-counter.
- Treat now, again in 10-14 days, again in another 10-14 days and then monthly for 2-3 months.
- Reese’s Pinworm Medicine
How to treat pinworms in your home and prevent reinfestation:
- Wash bedding
, PJs, towels and underwear separately and in HOT water.
- Use towels only once before washing.
- Put clean bedding on every 3-4 days.
- Change underwear twice daily and PJs daily (this includes yoga pants).
- Wash hands – A LOT – over and over! In warm water WITH SOAP! (Remind your kids several times a day too!)
- Cut fingernails SHORT and keep them short!
- UV rays kill the eggs, so enjoy scarring your neighbors by draping the family’s underwear on all the bushes and branches in your yard.
- Shower as soon as you wake up and before bedtime.
- Do this daily for the first 14 days at least.
- Don’t miss these additional tips on how to prevent pinworms in both kids and adults.
>>>>> You should also do these 10 things as soon as you suspect your child has pinworms! <<<<<
Topical pinworm treatments:
- Apply coconut oil
around the anus. The oil prevents the female from laying her eggs.
- This method used daily for several months will eventually break the life cycle of your parasitic visitors.
- Calendula ointment
.
- Tea tree essential oil
for anal itching. Follow the recommended diluting dosage.
- Clove essential oil
to kill the eggs. Again, remember to dilute as recommended.
- Crush a clove of garlic
and apply topically around the anus with Vaseline
. This has the same effect as the coconut oil. I mentioned it before – everything about pinworms is humbling!
Dietary pinworm remedies:
- Apple Cider Vinegar pills
. I have been taking the pills for several months now. They are flavor-free and MUCH easier to take than drinking diluted apple cider vinegar
.
- Grapefruit Seed Extract pills
. I have also been taking this in pill form.
- Pumpkin Seed Kernels
. YUMMY – they are a delicious and healthy snack or in smoothies.
- Probiotics
. I open a capsule and sprinkle in the kids’ drinks. They are also recommended as an immune system booster.
- Eliminate or reduce simple carbs and sugars. Uhm – I have not been successful with this. But I HEAR it’s effective!
- Increase intake of garlic
in any form.
I have now shared from the “bottom” of my heart about how to treat pinworms and tips for pinworm prevention. Please know that pinworms happen to the best of us. They are relatively harmless, and they will give you a good reason to talk about butts and poop with your kids!
>>> Did you do these 10 things once you realized your child has pinworms? <<<
Did you go on a pinworm safari? I sure hope you wore a LEGO headlamp
Don’t forget these 10 things to do RIGHT NOW when your child has pinworms! 
How to Prevent Pinworms in Kids and Adults
While you are busy scratching yourself, let’s add a post about how to treat and prevent head lice:
And we all know that little boys stick their fingers in everything and therefore get pinworms, so here are great tips on raising awesome boys:
I have never laughed so hard at anything as I have this article! Oh the memories of my 2 daughters when they were young you brought back. Next time, put on the latex gloves, get the flashlight, and look in their bottom! This is what the doctor told me I had to do, and by-golly you can see those little buggers late at night, just when your child goes sound asleep! I have been laughing because it was so hard to explain to my youngest that I was looking in her ‘butt’ with a flashlight because mommy saw her digging at it at ball practice. With all of the bad things going on in the world today, it makes it hard to convince your child (after a few years of pounding this in their head) that it is ok for mom to touch their butt when looking for worms, just not someone else!
ha ha ha – EXACTLY – you should have SEEN the look on my son’s face when I came at him with a headlamp and a roll of tape! The vision of those little wiggly things crawling on my son’s butt is forever BRANDED in my mind… FOREVER. It is (BY FAR) the grossest thing I have had to do as a mother… hopefully it won’t be topped with anything in the near future!
For the 1st time ever I’m dealing with this issue with my 4 grandkids who I am caring for. We’ve all been treated. I’ve been in tears more than not! The DAILY extra cleaning, laundry, and hand washing reminders have exacerbated my OCD like nothing before! Thank you for lightening up a yucky situation! I actually found myself laughing! ❤️
I can relate to the OCD increase. I actually cannot tell my child the true reason- I’m calling it a viral infection because she already has ocd traits and I do not want it to worsen for her. I’ve completely lost my mind over this. So appreciative of the posts. Feel less insane at this point. Thanks.
Me too!!!!! I thought I was OCD before….. now I’m just flat out insane. My hands are raw from cleaning and soaking EVERYTHING in bleach. I just want this out of my house. Every time I touch ANYTHING I wash my hands!!!!
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.
Thank you for all this helpful info. We took Albendazole (got it from “verm2get”, just found in Google) and it certainly works! We knew we had them, but we were even blowing them out of our noses, eeeuuu, so gross! Is it worth it? YES, yes it is, especially if you consider the thoroughly disgusting alternative.
This medication is very hard to get and very expensive, but after waiting a long time and getting it from internet (way cheaper), rather than my doctor. I was able to control the parasites and able to eat more freely. 👍
I feel exactly the same as you. Even going to get medicine made me upset. I have 4 young children and I feel like a hawk watching them all the time and then waiting for a couple of hours once they’ve gone to bed, to then wake them up and check them. The sight of them makes me feel sick. I just want them to go, willing to try anything as it literally feels like my skin is crawling, only on day 2 and it’s freaking me out!!
I stumbled! Sorry don’t know what to say other than better you than me!
HA HA HA – that’s funny!
I’ll also mention that our one big indicator our elementary aged daughter has is she starts wetting the bed. She’s been potty trained for YEARS and suddenly started wetting the bed and we’ve tied it in with pinworm infestation. Ugh!
Thanks Melinda – that’s a great thing to watch out for too!
Wow how have I never even heard of these nasty things?? Gross!
My daughter was grinding her teeth at night and I started reading online how to get her to stop. The more I read and then connected a few more dots – I realized her and my other daughter had pinworms. We got rid of them naturally too. We had them sleep in sleeping bags on the floor for 2 weeks. We washed their sleeping bags and pjs every day. We showered them morning and night for 2 weeks using a new towel and wash cloth Each time. They took a probiotic daily too. After 2 weeks, they were completely gone. This happened at the super convenient time of 1 weeks before our 4th child was born! We lived to tell about it and am happy I never had to go spelunking with a Lego headlamp either! lol I certainly got a good laugh reading about your situation too!
OMG – you must have been a wreck after a week of laundry and being pregnant! UGH – they are NO FUN… Seriously – I itch at the mere thought of them! Thanks for sharing your tips! It’s just a matter of breaking that cycle – and it can be so hard! I hope they are gone for good in your house!
Yes! That was 2 years ago and I hope they never rear their ugly heads here again! (Especially now that we have 5 children! I shudder at the thought!) But I suppose if they do, we will know what to do!
The funny thing is… In my circle of friends whenever anyone else gets this in their family my friends refer them to me — The Pinworm Queen… Wow, what an honor (smh) Maybe I can just refer them to your website and plead ignorance. We can hail *you* the new Pinworm Queen! (You’re welcome) 😀
Oh please don’t feel the need to pass on the torch! How about lice… because I can write about those too!!! 🙂
I came across this thread while dealing with this currently. Can you please tell me if you have experienced this again? Or were you able to get rid of them completely.
Any advice on things to eat or ways that worked for you would be very helpful
I dealt with this years ago and never felt that it went away 100%. Now here I am back on google. So i’m not sure if this was a case of reinfection or just that it was well-managed the first time we medicated and then slowly the population grew over the last five years and now problems have returned. To the author: humbling is the best word for this experience. My ex-husband thought I was going crazy, like genuinely having a break from reality, not just overzealous I didn’t know whether my doctors believe me or not because all of the stool samples were coming back negative. I started to doubt myself, which led to more rubber gloved poop inspections, and poop photos for the docs, etc.
It was truly a very difficult experience, I felt isolated from friends and family. It felt similar to having to tell someone you have an STD because pinworms could in theory be sexually transmitted. Sigh. I felt very relieved when I did open up about this to a select few people in my life
Hi Mary B. Just a question. Did you take the anti-parasite or just follow the routine with sleeping bags, washing and probiotics? Also, what did you wash your house with? We usually avoid bleach and harsh cleaners. Thanks. Kat.
You can certainly use Distilled White Vinegar as a cleaning agent, it works wonders and isn’t harsh! I also took the Reese’s Pinworm Medicine to kick start the treatment, but the cleaning is equally as important. GOOD LUCK!
I have virtually taken all the recommended drugs by my doc and a renowned chemist yet every night I have sleepless night and it’s quite depressing here. Has pin worm defeated science?
I’m dealing with a severe case that just won’t go away. My husband and I foster children, and we recently shared our home with a 6 year old girl & her 3 year old brother. I had never heard of pinworms, and they lived with us for about 6 weeks before I found out the little girl was infected. After trying the standard two doses of Reese’s (for all in the household) & a major cleaning spree after each dose, I thought I’d beat them. However, they kept coming back. Turns out the little girl has been living with them since age two, and her mom & grandmother just kept giving her Reese’s when her symptoms came back. In the end we were taking weekly prescription meds (2x a day, 2 days a week), showering everyone morning & night, washing all clothing, bedding, & linens after single use, scrubbing hands frequently with a nail brush, cleaning bathrooms after each use, & vacuuming the upstairs (bedrooms and common areas) daily, & downstairs every few days. She’s since moved in with her father, and says her symptoms are gone. I pray this is true. Unfortunately mine are not. They just won’t go away, even though I am keeping up the cleaning regimen, taking medicine, and using the garlic & Vaseline day and night. I’m seriously losing my mind at this point. Guess I’ll try adding the hot water with vinegar soak for underwear (we currently wash everything in hot water with vinegar in the rinse cycle), and try adding the apple cider vinegar supplements. Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated. I’m literally going crazy. My husband thinks I’m imagining it, but he’s a trooper… keeping up & assisting with the cleaning & medication.
Oh you POOR thing… I feel for you. Have you tried coconut oil instead of vaseline? Coconut oil actually has some properties in it that will kill the worms – in addition to serving the same purpose as the vaseline. I hope you get some relief. The pumpkin seeds, I believe were effective as well. They are delicious to snack on – and it’s a perfect time of year for it. GOOD LUCK!
I found this info on the following link which made me hesitate to try to kill the worms with mebendazole or other and just try to paralyze and expel them. Glad to hear though that other moms have been successful in eradicating them!
http://patient.info/forums/discuss/if-you-have-threadworms-please-read–29261
IF YOU HAVE THREADWORMS – PLEASE READ!
Posted over a year ago
This information came from my very knowledgeable and helpful G.P
He said, if you catch threadworms you NEVER get rid of them… all you can do is bring the population down through good hygiene habits such as the ones discussed on this forum and numerous websites; wear tight underwear at bedtime, wash ‘down there’ every morning, wash hands and nails after doing this and wash hands and nails before preparing and eating food. If you have them, you are not alone, apparently 50% of the UK population has them.
He believes that killing them is a bad idea (whether that’s using natural herbs or medication). When you kill them, the females will die inside you, decompose and leave the eggs behind. With around 15,000 eggs per batch in a female – that’s alot of eggs you’re risking being left in your body. He told me that even if you ‘up’ the dose of Mebendazole for example, it will still not kill every single female.
The best treatment is to paralyze them and then expel them – there are some suitable herbal treatments that can be used to both paralyze them and expel them – as well as Piperazine Phosphate which can be bought over the counter.
Do NOT use enemas or put anything round your bottom to deter them (garlic/teatree oil/vaseline etc). If they are coming down to lay their eggs at night, you want them to lay the eggs on the OUTSIDE of your bottom, not the inside where they will hatch and migrate back up to your Small Intestine to breed again. At least on the outside, you can wash them away again in the morning.
When the eggs hatch in the bowel and then migrate back up to the Small Intestine this is called ‘retro-infection’. Killing gravid females in the bowel, makes retro-infection much more likely as does forcing them to lay their load inside you. To some extent the females will lay inside the body anyway, leading to retro-infection… and it’s this that makes them impossible to get rid of.
Urban Myths:
1.) That you need to clean your house every day for 2 weeks – this is simply not true, unless in a cool damp environment the eggs become infertile after 1-2 days.
2.) You have to freeze bedding or boil wash it – this is not true either; the mere movement of the washing machine will disseminate any active eggs. A general launder is all that’s necessary. Eggs have been known to survive temperatures of -8 degrees so freezing will prove redundant and is completely unnecessary anyway.
3.) Threadworms become resistant to the Mebendazole – there is no evidence of this at all – the problem is that Mebendazole does you no favours by killing the females whilst they’re in your body, thus leaving your bowels full of eggs. This can cause them to come back ‘with vengeance’ (often even if you do take a follow-up treatment).
4.) That enemas help or garlic/teatree/vaseline around the entry to the anus helps. – this may be a short term solution but you cannot stop a gravid (egg laden) female from laying her eggs. If you deter them from laying outside your bottom, they will lay the eggs inside your bottom where you can’t wash them away. If they’re coming down to lay their eggs you WANT them to lay the eggs outside so that you can wash them away in the morning.
5.) They are most active at night when you are in bed and warm – Not true. They are most active at night (either moving around, laying or hatching) not due to your inactivity or warmth – people working on nightshifts are as likely to get symptoms then as people tucked up in bed. It’s thought they have some internal navigation for predicting nocturnal time.
Unpleasant Truths
1.) Once you have them, you have them for life, although you may not get any symptoms because the population numbers are so low – once you have them though, the aim is to keep population numbers low.
2.) That they can ‘migrate’ to the lungs, nasal passages and sinus cavities through inhalation. You can get them in eyes and ears and they can also be transferred in girls to the vagina and urethra. Unfortunately if this is the case, Piperazine Phosphate will only paralyze them, but not expel them; when the PP wears off, the worm will be active again. Mebendazole will kill them but this can be counter-productive in the bowel, as it is prone to retro-infection.
3.) Symptoms include an itchy bottom (because the females produce an irritant when laying their eggs) this irritant can feel like shooting pains in other parts of the body (the ones mentioned above). Other symptoms can include appetite loss, nausea, bloatedness, aerated stools – with the consistency of a kind of dessert mouse, and excretion of a thin see-through liquid (produced as the eggs are hatching just on the inside of your bottom) – often you can see very small moving white dots – these are very very freshly hatched eggs. Sometimes the female adults can be seen at night coming down to lay their eggs around the anus (this is usually the main symptom prior to treatment).
4.) If you take one Mebendazole tablet then you MUST follow up with a repeat treatment or else you are going to be completely infested. The best treatment is not to use Mebendazole at all (or anything else that might kill the females inside you) and use Piperazine Phosphate (or some other herb that paralyzes and expels them) instead.
5.) A side effect of using Piperazine Phosphate or similar-acting herbs is that laxatives can cause you to strain which can lead to hemorrhoids. If you get these you shouldn’t use a hemorrhoid cream (such as Anusol etc) as this will act to deter the females from laying outside the body thus again creating retro-infection.
6.) Threadworm breeding is at its highest in the Winter months October- February. If you have an outbreak – this is the most likely time.
Oh goodness – this is “bad” but interesting information. Thank you so much for sharing. UGH… these things are the WORST!
Just to confirm, that comment was referring to tapeworms and not pinworms? I have been putting coconut oil and garlic on my kids.
Yes – my post is about pinworms, but I do believe the comment was about tapeworms.
Threadworms and pinworms are one in the same.
Cher was given misinformation.
Link below is the Stanford University’s information on Pinworms/Threadworms
Thank you for your information Mrs. Maren. I am implementing some of these practices into my house hold.
https://web.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2006/Enterobius/general%20information.htm
In UK they are called threadworms, threadworms in USA are something different and alot more serious.
Try the food grade diamatous earth
Did you beat these things??
Hi Gina, hopefully I am not jinxing myself, but YES… we have been pinworm free for years now!!!
It is possible!
I love your post; such honesty! Most people claim their children have never had them… The worst part for us with little girls is that the critters climb into the front at night, which causes discomfort and distress of great proportions. My little girl has over the last few nights started being disturbed again and grinding her teeth; I think I might need to set to task again. Thank you for the great tips x
Poor girl – I hope you get rid of them quickly. Remember to treat – and then retreat – in case the second “wave” of them comes. GOOD LUCK!
Thank you – it has begun!
I’m 42, no kids, not around them. Did not have them as a kid.
Got them the first time a year ago – did 4 courses of Reece’s and they continued to come back.
I ate 16oz of pumpkin seeds & 2 pineapples, plus ate 2 raw heads of garlic, several tablespoons of DE and ACV in a weekend. My innerds felt like I had been punched several times, but it cleared them up.
I continue taking 2tsp of DE daily, plus raw garlic several times a week, plus probiotics. No processed foods/grains, nominal sugar via fruit.
And the buggers are back as of 2 days ago – almost to the week! I am clueless as to why.
Hi have you gotten rid of them again?!
Thank you for your post! One of my children has suffered with them over the past 1 1/2 years. We will get rid of them only to have another recurrence 6 months later. It is so frustrating. The doctor says that the child keeps being reinfected probably at school but I’m wondering if we are never really getting rid of them. However, it’s only one of my children seems that ever show symptoms. I’m ready to be done with these for good! I’ve just discovered that they are back :(. How to you use the clove essential oil with your children? I have it on hand but I’m not sure how to use it with my kids. Also, do your kids take the grapeseed oil extract pills and the apple cider vinegar pills too? I also wondered if you have heard of taking food grade diamatoceous earth? I’ve read that it works. I have a baby in the house that is crawling around and I’m really hoping this time she is not infected. I’m not sure what to do if a baby gets them! Any advice? Thanks!
Oh you poor thing! I am so sorry – I know how maddening this it for you. Our baby (THANKFULLY) never caught them and he was also a crawler and teething (sticking everything in his mouth) at the time – so I really hope your baby stays healthy. The clove oil, I would mix with coconut oil and apply topically on your child’s bottom every night. I think it would be easier for you to get grapeseed oil and apple cider in pill form – which masks all the taste. GOOD LUCK! Is there any way you can have your doctor run blood work to test for a parasite infection? I happened to have blood work once – and some numbers were SUPER elevated – and a parasite infection was one of the potential causes…
I think we have pin worms but I’m not sure. I can feel stuff moving around in my vaginal area but I’m not sure if it’s just my mind playing tricks on me. Itchy is the key word and I’m scared that my 1 1/2 year old little one might have them also. My question is would I feel them wriggling around during the day? I’m scared.
They are more active at night, but you can certainly feel them during the day too. Can you do the flashlight test on your little one? I hope you don’t have them! GOOD LUCK!
hi Mamma in the now, I just want to know, did you really manage to get rid of them now FOREVER?! I am very concerned since they practically made my life hell, so much that I can’t take it, knowing that I might still have, WITHOUT feeling them!
Maria, yes!!!!! It wasn’t until I did the grape seed extract, the pumpkin seeds etc. that I finally got rid of them once and for all. I also keep everyone’s finger nails super short. You CAN beat these pesky things, I promise!!!!!
Thank you so VERY much for the good news. Congratualtions. If I’m a bit worried it’s because I’ve been on many forums where people complain that it is almost impossible. When I know for instance that re-infestation can recur if the children aren’t exactly showered six hours after they slept, WHILE I haven’t done that, I am a bit wondering in this case, how can the medicine ever help?! And is just not feeling itchy any more a sort of a way to understand that one got rid of them?! Thank you for your reply.
Would food grade diatomaceous earth work? I’ve heard you can take it orally to kill parasites.
I have never heard of that… Interesting concept.
That’s crap, take diatomaceous earth every day for 3 months, it will kill them and mop up any toxins they leave behind.
1 lot of meds, after 12 hours start the DE.
Diatomaceous earth will not harm you it’s too finely ground to have any impact, anything bigger than a worm or flea and it would be useless.
I really wish I had a Lego headlamp!! Lol. Been there, done that.
It’s all the rage – the LEGO head lamp!!! 🙂
Thank you for your awesome article; it made me laugh and is helping me approach these vicious pinworm cycle with some lightheartedness. I have a 3,5 and 6 year old (all girls), and this is my third round of treatment with them! I have literally washed all the toys/surface areas/every piece of bed linen and dress up item in the house the past couple of times, but it hasn’t been long-term effective. I have done the pin-x as well. This time, I plan to use your protocol and am excited for some good results. My question is this; do I have to wash the entire house again? Is it necessary to wash all the toys, surface areas, as well as comforters, or will sheets and bathroom linen be sufficient? Thanks for your help. I’ve got the pot of coffee brewing; it’s go time! I’m gonna finish this thing once and for all, hopefully;-)
OH goodness – I hope you can beat them this time around… I washed their bedding and clothes RELIGIOUSLY – and then adhered to a strict hand washing rule. I honestly wasn’t able to wash all the toys all the time… but what ever they slept with (stuffed animals etc) went in the wash too! KEEP ME POSTED!!!!!
Ok, thanks!
Has anyone heard of catching them AGAIN? Like, getting them twice? We’ve been symptom free for well over a year and BAM. I’m sick. My kids keep their hands in their mouths. Constantly. Despite my nagging. Worst. Luck. Ever.
Oh you poor thing. You can definitely catch them more than once – hence the reason why I keep PinX in the house at ALL times… I am so sorry!
Hi, I just wanted to ask you how you were able to be around others? We share a home. My youngest first showed symptoms such as undiagnosed vaginal pain/closure of her opening. No signs of them to the eye, but just symptoms, as did her sister. My kids are teeth grinders, as am I. I connected the dots on this one. Well, I wanted to do the protocol and was doing everything I read to do and more. The other family I live with thought I was crazy. Imagine trying to explain it to them. They got angry, but would not read up on the crazy cleaning. I did everything. My kids and I were meticulous (I don’t know how they were at school, or in their own rooms, though). Other than hearing about how much the utility bill got and how I clean and wash clothes way too much, and enforce the hand washing rule too much, I have gotten ZERO feedback about this issue. The other family has done NOTHING in this past 2.5 years to help remedy the situation. I am a single parent of several children and have spent a good chunk of money buying things to help us take care of this. We did DE, cloves, acv, grapefruit seed extract, biocidin, dE, garlic, coconut/garlic oil, mebendazole, reeses, cleaned with cloves, etc. Not to mention the emotional damage this has caused in this 2.5 years: My babies were deprived of me snuggling with them (I can’t get that time back) and of bathing, no friends over (can’t be normal kids and I worry that their friends will give us something), no sleepovers, my getting frantic and worried that this will spread to someone else, the way it affects me and my kids’ physically (symptoms). I have not known whether to clean my car all the time, I don’t know if I should carry a purse, I sometimes wash my credit cards and license. I wash my groceries that others have touched before putting them up. We do a cleanse with cloves/walnut/wormwood 3 times a year. This time we didn’t change our diet much. I thought it was still working. Family we have not seen in years invited us out of town to stay with them and I was so scared. What about if we infected them? I am always stressed and depressed that our lives are meaningless and we can’t even give love and spend time together or with others as we want to because of this problem and I can’t even talk about it to anyone. My kids sometimes rebel because they’re so sick of it. I can’t even put into words how low this has made them and me, a mom who would have never thought our lives would be affected like this. When I have tried to lay it all out to those we live with, they act like I’m speaking another language. They claim before we all lived together they never had this problem (I could say the same, but who cares? Let’s deal with the NOW) and how come they don’t have symptoms?This has been going on for over 2 YEARS, even though they can SEE how my family has been affected. Lately, I thought that if we went to visit my very close family (we all needed to…your family doesn’t live forever) and we cleansed, took the herbs while there and washed all linens, towels and clothes daily that it would not be a factor. After 2.5 years, this has isolated me from everyone and it’s exhausting and leading to suicidal depression (I won’t do that, though, but the idea of not being able to live or give kids a life or help others is very upsetting). Well, when I was over there and used the bathroom, I saw them in my stooel (I have prayed that it was something else that just looked like small, white things). Talk about my insides wanted to turn inside out! I was so sad and just constantly prayed that the family we were with wouldn’t have to go through this nightmare, especially because we stayed there!!! If nothing else, if anyone is reading this and can’t shed light on a protocol, at least if anyone can give some encouragement and share how they deal with being around others, I would love to know. I miss holding my kids and being with them without feeling like a walking disease. I miss having others around and being able to be there for others. I am completely devastated and so are my kids. They lost their mom bc all she thinks about is not spreading the “love” from us to the world around us or staying in one section of the house (away from those we live with who may/may not be infected, but who refuse to treat themselves, even after seeing me and mine deteriorate for the past 2.5 years). Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for any light or encouragement you can share. I don’t want pity…just encouragement and tips. I don’t know you, but I love you and I pray that the responses to this will also help others. May the Creator of all, the Most High Alohim bless you all. (Any tips on toys…my kids haven’t even been able to play with theirs for so long and are going nuts, tips on keeping car clean as well as backpacks/lunchboxes…I had slacked on that some bc it seemed like I could never fully clean everything in one day and would always forget something. I used to spray 95% alcohol on backpacks and lunchboxes or just wash the lunchboxes/use paper bags, also purses etc clean). I’m sorry this is so long. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for this website overall!!!!!!!!
did you ever get tested by the doctors? you and your kids still have symptoms?
I found the worms on my kids bottoms in December, we did the perscription…the. reeses…their symptoms were gone…then I got it, maybe from not wearing a mask while cleaning? well we are still doing the maniac cleaning….girls and husband still no symptoms…my dad who also lived with us got no symptoms.
well I was still feeling the bugs after a second round of prescription and Reeses, along with Benonite clay, wormwood /black walnut mixture, garlic pills, probiotic …finally o went to the specialist…they had me do 3 paddle tests (small plastic paddle you rub on your anus for eggs)
doctor said you need to do 3 in a row for more accuacy…stool tests aren’t very effective.
all 3 came back negative….i tried relaxing a bit…not over stressing….but still cleaning….symtoms have lessened…i still feel it a bit at night but not sure it it’s that “thinking about it then feeling it kind of thing”
we haven’t had friends over….mybkids have been around family….i taking them to wash hands after the bathroom really good!. don’t touch bottoms…alesys wash hands before eating….i know it’s hard to not think that your whole body isint contaminated….but it isint…its just the anus. you can put a garlic/coconut oil on their bottoms when they are around family if your worries.
we spray down the toiled after each use….i used another person’s tip for space heaters to heat up the rooms when were not in them…along with cleaning…..and yes heat kills them..it said soo my paddle test kit
good luck mama…i went to a doctor specialist because regular doctors are pretty useless on this subject
Please speak to your doctor or someone about how low this is making you feel. You’re doing a great job, but its hard Momofloves. Please see someone xxxx
You’ve been through a lot! As I and other mommas w/ pinworms have.
I too went crazy. But, in our case, I believe we’ve had these worms since 5 years ago…and still do. Our super sensitive child was the one who complained at night about it. Sure enough, I checked everyone including the hubby and we ALL had the buggers! Went through crazy cleaning to rid them, seemed to work….but I don’t think I got rid of them. I think I just lessened the numbers so we didn’t have any symptoms for awhile. My son didn’t complain till this year. I say that you need to calm down!! 50-80% of ppl in US and UK have them! They aren’t life threatening if in low numbers but are just gross. Breathe deep, stay healthy, don’t go overboard. It’s easy to get frustrated and isolated….don’t! Chances are near EVERYONE you know has them, they just don’t realize it yet, or may NEVER realize it. It’s a topic No one talks about publicly. If you’re getting very depressed near suicidal bout these worms, that’s not good. They don’t need to take your life away. Hug your children! Cuddle them! Pray to God to help you stay calm. Don’t worry so much..it’s unhealthy the point you’ve reached. I remember being paranoid when visiting my sisters family another state away…like she would find out and blame me. Truth is, she’d never know how they got them since, even one visiting the GROCERY store can get them! Live your life, love your children and family, DON’T let these teeny tiny near insignificant quarter inch long worms destroy your life and family! I’ve dealt with severe depression too, I know how it is, it stinks. I pray, read scripture, walk, exercise, wake early, listen to positive inspiring things DAILY to fight depression. One thing that helped me was the truth that babies usually don’t get them because they’re getting diaper changes at least a few times a day….the baby wipes sweep them away. Know that you are not alone. I’ll keep you in my prayers. Love to you from the USA! Let me know how you’re doing!
Carina, did they ever clear up?
Thank you so much for this article. I honestly wish I had read it sooner, as I just returned home from the ER with my youngest child about 3 hours ago. I am a former paramedic and thought that between that and my three kids (two girls and a boy, ages 8, 7, and soon to be 3 respectively) I had seen pretty much everything I could ever have to worry about as a parent. I mean my son was born with a condition that required surgical correct which only occurs in 1/9000 baby boys kind of rare. None of them have ever been infected with the “common” childhood illness (outside of sinus cold and allergies) like RSV, lice, pinworms…. until now. My husband was working his night shift and I was just finishing up with my homework as my toddler aged son came out of his bedroom yet again. He has always had issues staying asleep at night so this was nothing new. I noticed that he had a dirty pull up (it is a work in progress-ish but I was thankful for his hard headed resistance to potty training in this instance). As I was changing his diaper, I saw something that would lead to the events that I am sure have scarred me for life. I could have sworn I saw something white wiggling on his butt. I finished wiping him clean and gently spread his butt cheeks. Sure enough, I was greeted by multiple wiggling worms that I swear waved “hello” just before slipping back into his rectum. I called my parents house and told them (at 2am) that I needed one of them to come sit at the house while the girls slept because I was taking my son to the hospital. “He has worms coming out of his butt!!!!” (I cannot tell you how many times my mother has laughed about that explanation over the past few hours.) I then called my husband, who works over an hour away from our house, to inform him of what was going on. Somehow, we had glimpsed over this in paramedic school and I had never experienced it in my life as a child (my mom said she even had us checked multiple times) or as a mother. This was a new chapter in my mommy book, which is hilariously mortifying. On the way back from picking up the over the counter medicine from Walgreens, I asked my mom how it is that I have NEVER heard anyone talk about it if it is sooooo common here in the south. She said that it is just not something people really talk about or tell others they or their children have experience. I personally feel that not only should this be discussed more openly, but it should be included in a pamphlet required to be handed out at each delivery and each annual wellness exam (just incase you forget) with the title “Weird Sh*t You Might See As A Parent.” I mean seriously! People are so quick to tell you their advice of how to not screw up your child psychologically when you know for sure their kids aren’t the poster children for psychological health or productive members of society, but nobody thinks that maybe you should know that you might one day witness worms crawling out of your child’s a**????? So thank you for helping me to laugh about this and all of the tips. While I am even more mortified at the realization of how hard it is to actually get rid for good (nobody told me this either), I now feel more prepared to handle this issue. No, I did not have a LEGO head lamp, I happened to have a bright table lamp on next to the sofa while doing my homework. 😉
I am in tears laughing – and welcome to the club of pinworm moms! I also had NEVER EVER heard of those little rascals – and seeing them wiggling and waving in my son’s “crack” is a vision I will NEVER forget! Please keep me posted on how you do getting rid of them. Remember your whole family may have to be treated!
Hey im a 16 year old and just joined junior college. And i think i have pinworms. I feel so embarrassed. I dont want my mum to think i dont have good hygiene. Im so worried. I dont know what to do.
Cassandra – thanks for reaching out. I am glad you found my post about Pinworms. I encourage you to speak to your mother so she can help you. I was also embarrassed to admit when I had pinworms, but you know what – it turns out that apparently a lot of people have had them, they just don’t share their experience. The worms are highly contagious, so your mother may also have them if you live with her! Who knows, maybe the two of you can get a good laugh out of this… when it’s all “behind” you! GOOD LUCK.
We found out my son has pinworms, 2 weeks ago after doing the scotch tape test and taking it to the doctor. Luckily I never saw the worms even after going into to look for a whole week of nights. We took Reese’s pinworm medicine at the start and I’ve added diatomaceous earth to our breakfast. Today we took our second dose of the medicine. I’ll continue the DE probably for life in a hope to prevent future infestation. I was wonder if a doctor told you to take pin x that many times or is that something you came up with yourself. I’ve only heard of treating twice ever where else that I’ve read. Also, when did you feel safe enough to have people over for playdates and to stay over? My husband and I have to go to a retreat in May (about 60 days after this started) and my parents are suppose to come and stay the week. We don’t have a guest room so they usually stay in our room or they can sleep in the living room on an inflatable mattress. I’m worried about giving these things to them. What would be your suggestions.
Danielle, I am so sorry that your son has pinworms.
Always make sure to follow the instructions on the medication unless specifically recommended by a doctor who knows you and your family. Our doctor did recommend that we continued the treatment for 90 days as described.
Make sure you continue the topical treatments, pumpkin seeds, apple cider vinegar pills for 90 days.
At the time of our infestation, we had a nanny who worked for us. She didn’t live-in though, but she did our laundry. She was never infected, nor was my husband. So to answer your question, I would feel comfortable with your parents staying over in May. ENJOY YOUR TRIP!
I’ve seen DE in several comments what is that? We keep getting infected like it’s an epidemic!!
DE is Diatomaceous Earth… purchase “food grade” after googling it
Ugh I feel terrible none of my children showed any symptoms at all so I completely missed this until tonight I just changed my 7 month old baby’s diaper and while I had her legs up I notice something white wiggling in her butt so after a moment of panic I went and got rubber gloves and my old tweezers , I go back into her room armed with the tweezers and another clean diaper and by now not only my husband is looking at me like I’m crazy but so is the baby, I lift her legs and gently spread her butt cheeks and the damn thing is poking out again so I grab it and it starts squirming *EWW. So I kill it obviously and put a fresh diaper on after putting diaper cream on and took to google and found this page. So after reading everything I have gone peeking at all 3 kids butts and my oldest girl had them all over her bum and vagina. Needless to say I have slathered everyone’s bums in coconut oil and stripped all beds. I have never ever heard of these nasty things before. I feel like a bad momma for not noticing anything off about the kiddos. But both my oldest and middle kids (8&6) say that they weren’t even itchy I feel itchy and gross just thinking about the buggers . Hopefully I will be able to get rid of them after a trip to the pharmacy tomorrow
OH NO! Good luck! I hope you get rid of them once and for all! Remember to keep their nails (and yours) SUPER short. (Don’t blame yourself!)
Heat kills the eggs. Leave a floor heater on for 24 hours and close the door. If you’re home, I’d go longer. Safety first. Never leave a heater unattended. Also, buy some spray bottles and fill them with vinegar and water. I have one in each bathroom and bedroom (I spray down area they change clothes at).
I agree with the homemade clove oil and garlic ointments. Pumkin seeds and Diatemaceous Earth too.
Apple cider vinegar and grape seed pills are new to me. I’ll remember that if we ever get it again.
I like the sleeping bag idea (wash daily). 2/3 weeks of that is better than washing sheets and making beds daily for that long.
So there’s quite a huge list.
1. Pinworm meds. Increase fiber to better remove the dead worms.
2. Nightly homemade (clove oil, garlic or tea tree) ointment application to anus
3. Shower first thing in AM and before bed. No baths.
4. Change underwear 2x day (Don’t fluff. Place in plastic bags so eggs don’t go airborne)
5. Pumpkin seed and DE shakes daily.
6. ACV & Grapseed pills. Probiotics too.
7. Floor Heater to kill eggs. (Room by room)
8. Nails stay short.
9. Wash underwear, PJs, towels and bedding in hot water and vinegar daily. Use Sleeping Bags so there’s less work. I hate making beds.
10. Vaginal pinworm? Place garlic clove in vagina overnight for at least 3 nights.
11. Fill spray bottles with vinegar and water to spray down areas like bathroom toilet seats and floors.
12. Eat more garlic and onions.
13. Eat less simple carbs and sugar
14. Leave drapes open in bedrooms if they get direct sunlight to kill eggs with UV light.
15. Footed Pjs to prevent night time scratching.
16. Wash hands a lot! Use a nail brush.
School re infestation- maybe bring a vinegar/water spray bottle to school. At pick up, spray down seats, tables and rugs. Maybe shared pens/pencils too. Teach kids to never put pens/pencils/markers in mouth. This is hard because some kids don’t get treated properly and re infestation is high.
SO MANY great ideas – Thank you for taking the time to reply! What a great point about the pencils in the mouth… that grossed me out when I thought about it!
What do the dead worms in stools look like? This is our second go around, I like other moms am terrified I will never be rid of them. I clean, wash daily, garlic, de, Apple cider vinegar we are doing on tops of reese’s, the second time . The first time I cleaned 4 a month so will be doing longer. I have a 7 month old the dr said not to treat unless I find one , but I have a 2 year old that puts her fingers in his mouth toys etc. I have found dental floss looking things just one or two. Then I have found things that look like worms but break easily and more slimy looking. I just keep finding one on my oldest bumper alive nothing on anyone else aside stuff in stools. So curious iif what I am seeing is dead worms
. And also just need some support I stay at home so it’s my own pinworm hell.
Karlene, I never had much luck finding dead ones in the stool – I am so sorry that you are in your second round of these pests. It is maddening – I know!
We had it in our house – and somehow our baby never caught them – which was a miracle to me. Are you treating all other family members?
Yes we did , we did reeses pinworm the first time and now second time and did the second dose just last week. The dr just keep telling me to clean after infestation n i have been cleaning daily, washing etc so I’m hoping we just got reinfected. The first time was Feb 19 n didn’t see anything again till April like 18th so almost 2 months . The worst was their Dr just told me that they are gone (no test) that the worms don’t hide somewhere else in they’re body n if I check once n see nothing it’s me and Imy too nervous. That it doesn’t causes any issues anyway. Which they do my kids cry all night. I did get Albenza we have not tried yet imore thinking of treating whole family one more time in 2 more weeks for a 3rd dose to be sure we didn’t swallow anymore eggs. Like you are suggesting but not sure if should do reeses or Albenza that round. Thank you for your blog it gives me hope!!!
This is a brilliant article – my girls are 11 and 9 and I’ve just found one … again … in my 9 year old. My oldest has been getting this since she was 4 and it re – occurs at least once a year. My youngest has had it a number of times too. And I’d just about become resigned to the fact that we’ll never get rid of them!! I’d heard about raw carrots and pumpkin seeds but one of my girls moans about one – one moans about the other!! I’m going to make sure the eat them now, regardless of whether they like them!! And I’m getting coconut oil and probiotics too!! Thanks so much for sharing your brilliant and hysterical encounters!! It makes everyone feel better knowing they’re not alone!!
You are NOT alone… and these things are unfortunately not discussed enough among parents. We are so quick to share when our kids do awesome things, but neglect to leave out the less than stellar things – like lice and pinworms. Can you sneak the carrots and pumpkin seeds (and coconut oil) into smoothies? GOOD LUCK.
Hi Mama in the Now,
Were you able to completely irradiate all pinworms/reinfection since your original post?
Any of your treatment options that you continue sitll today as a preventative measure.
We had them in November 2014, were pinworm free, but now we are dealing with them again June 2016 🙁 It’s exhausting and so gross!
Dear Alicia,
YES! Knock on wood…. I kept at it with the different over the counter remedies and treatments for at least 3-4 months – and they finally disappeared, once and for all.
Now I keep our kids’ nails SHORT… at all times.
Hey, I know this is an old article, but I need BIG help! I’m thirteen years old, turning fourteen in less than a month, and I’ve had pinworms since I was eleven. I told my mom about it right away and she still doesn’t believe me, even to this day. I told her that there’s medicine that’s less than ten dollars that we can just go get from Walgreen’s but she just yelled at me and left it at that! She says she won’t believe me unless she sees it but doesn’t want to see it when I tell her to check! We have nothing in the house but Vaseline that’s listed on any website and I know that won’t make them go away. I want them gone for good! Can you please help me?
Did you ever get help? I am so sorry. I am just reading these because my daughter is itchy and u read your post. I hope someone is able to help you. Can you get your mom to read this article?
Talk to your school nurse and/or counselor. They’ll help tell your mom. Prayers
That’s great advice!!!!
We found out my son had them June 2016 we have done over the counter Reese 4x since I have only officially found a worm on him that first night but we all treated. We did not use same towels or sheets for 6 weeks straight I changed them daily. My biggest thing is knowing if they are gone. I am so scared I might have missed something
Try to breathe a sigh of relief – you will know if you didn’t catch them all. I found it was important to continue the good habits for a long long time – 6 weeks sound like a good time period. GOOD LUCK.
Can my 2 yr old toddler take all the natural remedies? And all at once, like the extracts and apple cider vinegar pills, black walnut hull at the same time- in one day? Just curious, and my docs never give advice on anything natural or else I’d ask them. Wow- who else gets depressed about cleaning this much for 90 days, every day!! ?
I know it’s a lot of cleaning and very tiring. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. I am not qualified to say whether or not your 2-year-old can take the natural remedies. My initial thought is that he/ she is too young for that – but you would have to consult with a medical professional. GOOD LUCK!!!
Oh wow, this is crazy!! I hope my son never gets something like this, I didn’t even know it was possible, lol! But seriously, if you eat pork regularly, it is likely that you have some sort of parasite right now.
Have you ever heard of diatomaceous earth? We’ve been taking it in our smoothies for about a month now, and I really feel that I can tell the difference in my energy levels! Anyway, because it is such a hard substance, it’s supposed to be able to kill parasites in your body! Anyway, thought you may be interested (: Thanks for sharing <3
I had them TWO YEARS ago. And seemingly got rid of them with medication… I thought it was just me since my little sister doesn’t live with me. So only my mom and I got medication to be treated with. But now theyre back and they’re ANGRY!!! The itching starts right at 6 and doesn’t go away I don’t sratch but the itch is absolutely maddening! I even found one in my vagina. My mom said she’d take me to the doctors again, but I think this time he needs to treat my whole family, because I am CONVINCED shes’ the reason I have them yet again. She wouldn’t tell anyone if her butt itches plus she was in grade 5 the first time I got it. I get so paranoid about these worms crawling around in my7 butt I can’t slee[p at night… I don’t want to be any where near my boyfriend… Do you know where you get the pills of apple cider vinegar? I ve been drinking it but it is NASTY> PLease help…
You can get the pills and grape fruit seed extract at stores like sprouts, whole foods, possibly trader joes or central market, popular health type stores or online. Hope this helps, to help with the itch And preventing them from coming out, put fresh garlic and coconut oil in a container and rub on the opening, There are a couple different things that you can use for this that they do not like to still they don’t come out as much and it helps with itching. Change your undergarments clothes and sheets and towels every single day and wash all your clothes in hot water. hope this helps, don’t get discouraged, go to the doctor though as soon as possible, because that medicine will help as well as the other extract and apple cider vinegar.
Will bleach kill the eggs on household surfaces?
Yes, I believe bleach will kill them. Remember they are microscopic, so there’s no chance of you seeing them – which is the most maddening part. GOOD LUCK
Bleach doesn’t actually kill them apparently, but it is important to wipe down surfaces with a damp cloth.
Thank you for this! As horrible and frightening pinworms are to me (and my 5 kids), you made it funny and “Normal”. At least I know I am not alone in this daunting task that I am obsessed with combating!
Good luck… I know it is daunting, but you would be surprised how many people around you are dealing with it… in silence. Next time you see someone scratching their behind – you will wonder if they too have pinworms. LOL
BEST OF LUCK!!!!
Thank you for the great article! I wish my mother would treat the infection with pinworm in that way when i was child. Now 40 years later … i can say i went through hell of suffering with all kind of health conditions and getting all kind of treatments only for the symptoms, rhemathiod arthritis, psychotherapie, depressions, nervous breakdowns, very poor digestion, stomach pain, muscles pain, enlarged heart, difficulties to breathe, loss of memory, dizziness, candida, low immunity to any disease…you name it all. Dont know hiw i actually survived.
Until few weeks ago i asked a healer woman to check if i have parasites…. she said yes and we started the treatment.
All sympotms are gone in 3 weeks….i had heavy clusters of pinworms in the lungs, intestines, shoulders, neck, head. we used heavy chemicals for three weeks and lot of supplements homoeopathy, ayurveda and natural stuff.
I released kilowise parasites, most of them pinworms in clusters, but also many other specis.
Now by reading your article you are saying that by killing them they will come back multiplied…. that is so scary…. i just finished the last treatment yesteday. I dont want them to come back ever. I feel free now for the first time in my life…. please can you advice me what to do…. i feel like sitting on the time bomb now after reading your article and knowing that so many were killed and eggs released.
Thank you very much!
Oh Natasa, You certainly have been through hell with this. I am so sorry to hear of your story.
Please speak with your medical professional to see if you should repeat some part of your treatement again in a few weeks/ months to ensure that all the eggs and were killed and didn’t hatch.
I certainly do NOT want to cause alarm.
Please find comfort in knowing that you have found a treatment that worked for you – and if nothing else, you can work with your medical professional to repeat it if necessary.
I hope you continue to feel good – hang onto that feeling… GOOD LUCK!
Yes, we will keep on going until is cleared up and the real Life can begin.
Thank you for your encouragment and inspiration !! 😉
Hi, Natasa
I am having similar issues. Do you think you can help me to get in touch with your healer?
Thank you!
How did they know you had them in all those places? I have had so many health issues and stomach issues and pelvic pain from two c sections but what if I have had this infect for years. I and my family (husband and two girls) and been treated with pills and the liquid and washed sheets weekly cloths changed daily, daily baths, etc. I’m so tired of it all, I am not even having sexual with my husband cause I’m afraid they are in my vagina.
Thank you so much for this information! We are dealing with a second infestation of pinworms. We (3 kids, husband and myself) had them a little over a year ago. We did the Reese’s medication and just upped our hygiene regimen, and I made sure to wash everything daily. I’m not sure if we’ve just picked them up AGAIN from somewhere or if they never totally went away. My youngest son, 8, seems to be the carrier. Lol. It started with him last time and again this time. He isn’t the cleanest little boy, despite my constant nagging. I’m just hoping with your tips we can get rid of them once and for all! I have a couple of questions though… With the grapefruit seed and apple cider vinegar pills and even the probiotics- is that OK for children? Can they take the suggested dosage? And for the pumpkin seeds- no one in my family likes them. Would it work if we used pumpkin seed oil pills? Or are we going to have to suck it up and eat those seeds? Thanks again for all your help! It’s so nice to know I’m not alone in dealing with this.
I am so sorry you are dealing with this – again… I know how frustrating it is. Are you keeping your 8 year old’s nails SHORT? I found that to be VERY helpful for us.
I would speak with your pediatrician regarding the grapefruit seed and apple cider vinegar before you start that in the kids.
Does your family like smoothies? I have had great luck sneaking pumpkin seeds into smoothies and other foods – if they are chopped up.
Good luck! Tove Maren
It was sort of heartwarming to read your article. Not to mention I laughed so much after weeks of losing my mind about pinworms. My husband, myself and my 3 yr old daughter all contracted it, looks like, after vacationing and eating out for a week. It has been 5 weeks since then. I have finished 3 rounds of Reese’s medication (2 weeks apart each time). And have had no success in getting full relief. Laundry clothes, linen everyday in hot water. Spend most of my time scrubbing and cleaning the house. It has been exhausting! I have just started working with papaya seed extract and coconut-garlic oil. But eager to try some of your recommendations. Hope we can bid these damn buggers a goodbye soon. Did you ever hear again about diatomaceous earth food grade – I read about that in many places too. But have not found anyone to confirm that it really worked to treat pinworms (safely).
Hi, just stumbled on your site, love it! I have two girls that are constantly suffering from pinworms. Are there specific measurements for the coconut oil. Calendula, tea tree oil and clove oil? I would love as many details as possible! Thanks!
Please help… is this the same as threadworms? Ok, it’s like anything I touch it spreads that get in my phone…. I will I will see like a black line in my toenails I have cut open and Juice came out of it…. I tore my toesnails up.. when the worms get active my back starts killing me..I get stomach pains something I’ve never really had to do with in the past…. and sometimes it’s like they’re almost invisible and anything it gets close to it fuzzes up like parts of a blanket…the plastic to my cig pack, it will rerange the plastic, it mess the the cig box up… i could go on and on the things going on, 1 more thing… I’ve always had a problem in the past. Going bathroom, now no problems, and it stinks,nd u can see. White worms looks like in my stool… when I start using my phone then it starts messing with my phone and it starts making things hard to text or make calls….I please somebody tell me how to do this what do I do they’re in my dogs
We have also been through hell trying to get rid of pinworms. My three boys have had it off and on for years and nothing has seemed keep them away for good. They are all infected again and have anal and penile itching. Do pinworms lay eggs in the penis as well as the anus and can the infection spread if they’re scratching their penis? Now I have an 8 week old. Besides washing sheets and cleanliness (which my boys don’t do well) what in the world is the magic formula??? We’ve tried all the natural methods (including a sugar free, no grain diet) and rounds of meds but they still come back. I only have time to do a few things, not spend my life cleaning and treating, so what are the top three or four things you would recommend as most important for getting rid of them?!
i have extremally bad worms in my bum and privates i am itchy all over i cant walk propally i want them gone but my mum and dad are getting me a oill for them lets hope that works
FINGERS CROSSED
What about baths? Do you think they can take baths or should we only do showers?
Thank you so much for your question about pinworms… DEFINITELY do showers and do not let siblings bathe together while they show signs of having pin worms. We did showers in the morning and at night for several weeks. I know none of us need to ADD to our morning routine… but showering the kids in the morning is effective. GOOD LUCK!
Did you only take the pyrantel pamoate (as your unnatural remedy) and after taking it did you ever see the wigglers moving in the poo within a 48 hour period following? Found nonmoving ones yesterday but more today and they are moving. :/ from one paranoid poop inspector
Hi Heather, I never noticed them (wiggling or non-wiggling) in the poop, however the symptoms went away (or got drastically better) within 36-48 hours of taking the medication. Yes – the Pyrantel Pamoate was the only “non-natural” thing I did during this entire experience… unless of course you also consider shining a light up your kid’s butt to look for worms unnatural… GOOD LUCK!!!!
Can children age 6 and 8 take the Apple cider vinegar pills ??
Chris – thank you so much for reaching out. Honestly, I would check with your kids’ pediatrician before giving them apple cider vinegar. I don’t know if the pills are too strong for kids or if they have any medical conditions that would be affected. Good luck – I hope you get rid of them – I know it’s NO FUN… However – if your doctor gives you the green light, I can tell you that the pills are tasteless and much easier to take than drinking it – at least that was my experience.
Thank you for all this great information. We’ve been fighting these little dang worms about every 4 to 6 months for 2 years now in my 12 yr old daughter. Obviously, I just have not been able to prevent reinfestation. You really have to have the resources and time to wash the clothing and bedding all the time. I have to go to the laundromat and now I’m on foot because I don’t have a car. But I’m working towards getting a new apartment with a washer and dryer and getting a car.
Anyways, I shared this blog with my daughter and I think it will really help as our guide to get rid of them permanently and to help us feel not alone in this and help us keep perspective and hopeful.
I’m also going to take your advice and get bloodwork done to check. Because I’ve never noticed them but I’m starting to get worried maybe I have them too. Thanks again for you excellent blog!!! It really makes me feel comforted and hopeful!!!
Angela, I am SO sorry for your pinworm infestation, I know first-hand how maddening it is. You can REALLY do a lot by using coconut oil around the butt, keeping the finger nails trimmed short and showers twice a day – and hopefully those “solutions” won’t take too much time. I completely understand your limitations with having to go to a laundromat. Remember – don’t shake the sheets or the underwear. Perhaps you could keep the dirty underwear in a separate bag until you can get to the laundromat. I wish you the BEST OF LUCK!
You may also want to look at who your daughter is hanging out with. Does she have a bff or relative who she spends a lot time with at each others houses, especially sleeping over. Is she on a sports team where she is in close contact with girls in locker rooms, showers, pools, etc. It could be that she is passing them back and forth with someone outside of your home.
Yes, I am taking a good look about lives, where she goes and the hygiene of our spaces. Our shower doesn’t drain well. And I think the pipe itself from that drain is filthy. I rent and the apt. Is very old . I have a theory that the shower floor gets dirty as she showers since the water pools up and gets the funky pipe grime in the water our feet touch and somehow it gets in our bodies… that’s a bit farfetched but these are the things we must take a good look at. I just can’t believe how prevalent these worms are in the world and societies. We are so busy exploring mars and stuff, why can’t the medical association address this very important nuisance? Uggg!
We’re into a recurrence of pinworm with our family of four. It’s frustrating but what else can you do except clean and treat? It’s a bit easier for us to lock stuff away for a month (ie cardboard puzzles, tricky lego sets, completed lego sets, and various other toys that are difficult to clean) than to try to back track and sanitize all the stuff they’ve played with over the past 2 months (which is every toy they own btw). We’ve learned how to use our imaginations without all the clutter. It’s actually nice to minimalize. I recommend it.
My pediatrician told me that our recurrences are probably not from our habits, but from outside sources. He told me to be wary of favored play sites, as well as keeping track of favored friends. He said that it could be picked up from a toilet seat in a public restroom, or even from their school.
We’ve begun to suspect it has to do with our kids’ “Dirt City.” A sort of mini village they’ve been building in our backyard since before the first outbreak, a year ago. For the duration of the current eradication, “Dirt City” is OFF LIMITS. However, we’re also considering that it may have been picked up at a public toilet. I was trying to encourage my kids all of last year not to be afraid of using them, as long as they washed their hands…..HUMONGOUS mistake!!!!
If the eggs are on the seat, and they don’t shower them off within a few hours of contact, there’s nothing you can do to avoid infestation. Stay away from public toilets if you can help it. If not, definitely make sure you cover the lid with TP or a seat cover before letting your kid sit (or yourself! You can get them at any age, pinworms don’t judge!).
I also recently learned that my son is a booger eater….A new disgusting development over the past Summer (still baffled as to how that slipped by my radar). Nails trimmed or not, that for sure would keep the “life cycle” spinning. He always had to make everything more difficult!
It’s not so much the grotty worms that gets me, but the judgment I’ve received from family and neighbors since the initial diagnosis a year ago.
My own family (mostly my sisters, and my Mum) have been accusing me of not keeping a sanitary household (right!). They now refuse to visit or let cousins play (really, really).
My house smells like a pool because we wash all knobs, surfaces and floors daily with bleach water. Our laundry is on a strict schedule to keep up with changing sheets and towels daily. Our nails are never allowed to grow white ends; and there’s a nail brush and hand soap at every faucet. Being sanitary doesn’t mean poop to pinworms! FYI
And then there’s my neighbor….she freaks out whenever she hears any parent so much as scold their misbehaving kid. She already gets on my case for not being outside every single time my kids play in our fenced in back yard. Im paranoid she may call CPS over this (pray she never finds out!)
Whatever happened to the parent support network? Newsflash: pinworms/threadworms are so common, everyone in the entire world will get them at some point in their life! No matter how prissy or sanitary you are! Just because your butt doesn’t itch doesn’t mean you don’t have them! (She said as she refrained from scratching another phantom “itch”)
The whole experience is frustrating enough without the added stress of Mommy shaming. I hope all the other parents going through this don’t have to put up with that as well.
Thanks for the post though….Cheered me up to know someone somewhere out there, gets it.
Oh Jenna – I get it… I really really do! I shared this post in a parenting group when I first wrote it – and while some moms were horrified, so many came forward with their own experiences. Thank you for sharing your story – and I am sorry you are being shamed by family and friends. BTW – those phantom itches are the WORST!!!! I hope you get to “the bottom” of this soon!!! You deserve some peace!
Thank you for sharing your story about these pesky little anal dwelling nuisances! I have four children (11-7-5-3) and I am having a hard time getting rid of these things! I have tried everything I possibly can…. just shy of stripping down naked and burning everything we own…. including the house!! I’m feeling like a failure as a parent…a Mom….because I can’t find a way to keep these pests from returning and infecting my babies. I will not stop until my family is free from pinworms and they never come back!! In my quest to find answers about pinworms, specifically how to get rid of them, I came across a website that talks about using food grade diatomaceous earth (be sure to get food grade) to treat, kill and eliminate pinworms. I know diatomaceous earth was used to kill parasites in chickens….so I’m thinking that it will do the same for us…. given we use the food grade version. I just ordered some and I will add this to our daily routine and to the entire house….just in case and pray for merciful swiftness in getting rid of these parasites!!
This is the link for information about food grade diatomaceous earth and it’s usefulness and benefits.
http://ehomeremedies.com/pinworms/
God bless you and everyone who is, has and might go through this unpleasant experience.
Hi Marilyn, how did your treatment go? Have you seen improvements?
Carrie,
I am so sorry you are dealing with this. The worms seemed more stubborn in me, so I was the one who took the grapefruit and apple cider vinegar pills. If I were you, I would get back on the Reeses and be SUPER diligent about the showers twice daily, coconut oils on the butt at bedtime EVERY SINGLE DAY… for WEEKS… I know it’s maddening – but keep at it – eventually you will break the cycle – but JUST as you feel comfortable enough to stop – keep going for another week or two.
My kid’s doc told me to buy pin- away otc med. Does anyone have experience taking this or pin-x as a treatment? I prefer the natural route but have 3 girls and the simple thought of this matter makes me light headed and queasy… Are there cons to the over the counter treatment option? The possible side effects alone freak me out….
I think we are dealing with this now and the mere thought grosses me out. I started doing the coconut oil to the bum and have been trying to clean and wash hands. I’ve been doing tons of laundry. my husband thinks I’m crazy I swear I’ve seen tons of them in my daughter’s poop on more than one occasion. She isnt even 2 yet. I haven’t been so successful at looking at the area to find worms but I think I saw some the other night on her. I’m pretty sure my 3 year old has them ive caught him going after his bottom. I think i have them as well. My dr did a stool sample but i havent gotten the resukts back yet and its killing me. I have a tendency to get obsessive about things like this and now i feel like my house is plagued with pinworm eggs even though I’ve been going around vacuuming and cleaning with hot soap and water and bleach. I haven’t tackled the whole house yet because my oldest is sick and has been vomiting. So I feel like anything I did clean is now recontiminated. I’ve been washing there hands constantly which the 2 little ones have been giving me a hard time about. it’s hard to do the showers twice a day but with them being sick it’s been a little easier. normally we are getting up and heading out the door for school. I used to do baths at night and just thinking about it now makes me nauseated. my daughter is in diapers do I really need to change the sheets constantly? I don’t feel like the are getting contaminated as she cannot scratch her bottom. I haven’t gotten the medication since I’m not even sure my daughter can take it and I’m really hoping the phone call tomorrow gives me some short of a weight off my shoulders. I feel like this is consuming me and that I’m failing my kids. parasites living inside you ugh 😱. I’ve cried more than I care to admit because I feel like I need to clean constantly and haven’t been paying attention to my kids like I used. I have loads of laundry piling up. I haven’t even wiped down toys and it’s just making me depressed. I know A lot of people on here have dealt with it and were able to get rid of it but my kids are constantly putting fingers in mouths which I tell them not to. my daughter always has her hands in her mouth because I think she’s teething. Why do doctors act so nonchalant about this? I feel like it’s something that people should be informed about. I’m pretty sure that we’ve had it going on for quite some time. like I said I’m hoping that its not and I’m just being paranoid like my husband thinks. it’s just hard when I’m working and I try to tell him to make sure certain things are done to lessen them possibly reinfecting themselves and I don’t think he’s taking it seriously. I even showed him her poop once and he still wasn’t convinced. I feel like she might have a heavy ingestion too because in her one poop it looked like there were at least 20 or more thread type things. I did not see any move. Please help am I taking this too heavily. I feel so overwhelmed and emotional and depressed because of this.
Oh Jackie, I am so sorry for your pinworm concerns. I know how unsettling it is, especially until you get answers. I can tell you that the medication works relatively quickly (within 24-36 hours) – and then you retreat after about a week to ten days. Next time you see it in her stool, I suggest you take a picture of it – I know it feels “weird” taking a picture of it – but you can show your pediatrician and that might help with the diagnosis too.
It is EASY to get obsessed with cleaning etc, but if you are diligent with the coconut oil, showers and short finger nails you stand a fighting chance… but you have to keep doing it for weeks – and THAT is tiring.
Feel free to email me directly with any questions after you get answers from your doctor.
The waiting is weighing heavy on me. I was hoping for answers today and they haven’t gotten the results yet. I’ve read so many different posts about these critters. Google is great but I think sometimes for someone like me make the situation worse. Did anyone ever experience Candida I’ve been looking at some of that and I know I’ve had some stools that resembled ones they showed with yeast overgrowth. I’m wondering if maybe it could be what’s going on with my baby as she’s had skin issues as of recently. I noticed dry bumpy areas on her abdomen and legs which is why I don’t like to bathe them so much because of it being winter months and dry skin eczema. I feel like I have to though. Honestly with her I showered her last night which was the first time in 2 days. I was using warm soapy paper towel to clean her bottom in the morning and at night. I’m trying my best not to let it consume me and trying my hardest to not Google and look more. just praying right now.
My family of 5 has been battling these nasty things for weeks. It actually took me months before I realized this was the issue. I was having symptoms for months and the doctors kept prescribing meds for things that weren’t working. Finally I got someone to listen and we were all treated with albendazole 2 weeks apart and inbetween we are doing the Reese’s. The worms have seemed to be less but I’ve been checking my kids every few nights and they are still there!! I’m also doing the Vaseline/ garlic on us at night. ( I can’t use coconut my oldest is allergic) so my question is why am I still seeing them? Is the medication not working? Should I treat weekly with the Reese’s? We are doing every 10 days at the moment.
Thanks for your great article!!
Gina
Does the baby seem itchy? Just a thought since you mentioned that the worms weren’t moving in the diaper, does your baby eat a lot of bananas? Bananas can cause worm-like strings to show up in poop. I learned this when my oldest was a baby. Also it sounds like your family has been sick. Did the symptoms start at the same time? Last year my sister and her family had been sick then my nephew got an itchy bum. The doctor took a swab and here he had gotten strep down there. If it is pin worms follow this post, it really does help. It is a pain to do it all, especially during the holidays, but I hope you get through it.
Danielle, you bring up a great point: STREP! Not a lot of people know that you can have a strep infection in your bottom… and it’s itchy. Thank you for trying to help Jackie too.
Thank you all for the comments I wasn’t sure if anyone still followed this post yet. The baby had not seemed itchy at all she does like bananas but has not had them in a little while. Even though she’s past the baby food stage I still do get the pouches of different fruits and vegetables mixed together she just loves. Sometimes they are more convenient. I did not do the tape test although I did make all 3 lay down and looked very closely at there bottoms. I thought I might have seen something white on her bottom the other day but it didn’t appear to be moving and she’s still in diapers. I actually noticed it with my 3 year old to start. He was going after his bottom on top of the clothes I pull his pants down and there was poop stuck to his butt which appeared to have white stuff in it. I tried to think what he ate then remembered he had mac n cheese the night before not sure if it was undigested food. Anyways that’s what got me in to searching the web and stumbled upon these lovely critters to my horror. When I checked my 5 year old it looked like he had yellow small rice pieces on his bottom. I wiped them and it appeared maybe it was poop. I did read they could be white or yellow in color. Anyways that’s when I got to inspecting everyone’s poo and found weird stuff thread like in mine. I never really paid attention to poop that much now I find myself looking at it constantly gross I know. Anyways I’ve had abdominal pain the past week almost now. I did change my diet and I was eating more salads and vegetables. Every time I ate I got horrible pain from the top of my belly button that traveled down to the groin area. Despite not having insurance atm I went to the Dr and told them what was going on even had a picture of my poop that had the stuff in it. She looked at it asked a colleague and because he wasn’t convinced they ordered the ova and parasites from stool. Even though so did say it was possible it was in fact pinworms but I guess they didn’t want to prescribe anything without an answer. She told me that if i had washed it off and brought it in they could identufy it but they werent going to look through the poop. This is when I started looking more at my daughter’s poop and realised there was worm lookings. I do have pictures of hers if i could post on here i would. My oldest isnt showing any symptoms at all. The 3 yr old hasnt really been going after his bottom lately maybe because ive been on top of him about it. There were times hed dig in his bottom through his pants not actually putting his bare fingers down there and times i found balls of poop in areas of the house. not really thinking i just grabbed a clorox wipe picked it up and cleaned the area andbobviously washed his hands. He had been waking in the middle of the night and crawling in bed with us recently once i started the coconut oil to the bottom he hasn’t been so I’m not sure if it’s directly related. My oldest is potty trained and been sleeping in our bed recently from being sick. He hasn’t been bedwetting at all which gives me hope since some say that’s a sign. I hear my daughter occasionally during the night wake up moaning or cry then she’ll go back to sleep and that’s even with doing the coconut oil. I’ve read different things about using or not using anything to the bottom because of it causing retro infection which is rare bug scares me because I don’t know if I’m making it better or worse if it is in fact pinworms. I did not buy the medicine to treat yet as I’m waiting for the Dr to call me back with my results. I also read the side effects and don’t want to risk causing any type of harm to the kids by giving it to them unnecessarily. There bottoms are not red at all or look like any type of infection going on in regards to staph. I think I bleached everything I could besides the toys. I cleaned some but honestly it’s such a daunting task along with doing laundry round the clock and not feeling well myself then trying to take care of 3 kids. My husband works long hours and my mom is the only one close to me everyone else is 2 or more hours away. I try to make sure I wash there hands as much as possible sometimes they get a hold of snacks before I can wash hands and I pray they are ingesting more eggs. Do I really need to change the baby and 3 yr olds bedding everyday as they wear diapers at night? I just don’t see if they can’t scratch there bottom that eggs are getting anywhere on the sheets. I know there is hope and light at the end of all this and ways to get rid of them. It’s just really getting me down right before the holidays and now i don’t want to go anywhere. I’m constantly washing my hands after touching things thinking I’m picking up worm eggs. I feel like my house is covered in them even though I did clean and vaccumed all the carpeted areas. I feel like my babies are reinfecting themselves daily eventhoughnim trying my best to keep hands clean. I don’t really have an itchy bottom. occasionally here and there but nothing that I’m scratching at or at least now refuse to. I feel like it’s making me feel worse and then I look back and wonder if it’s my fault. There have been times they got a hold of fruit that wasn’t washed and ate it. Now I’m wondering if that’s the source of contamination or if my 3 yr old picked it up from preschool. I don’t know how you guys go about it light heartedly. I wish I could stop obsessing over it. I really do feel like it’s consuming my life right now. Oh hi forgot to mention I did talk to the pediatrician about my daughter they didn’t even mention seeing her but told me to check a couple nights in a row to make sure that’s what it is and that I could call back for dosing of Reeses. He acted like it was no big deal said do we really need to treat or not that with good hygiene and cleaning they will go away on their on just takes longer. In a way it made me feel like I was overreacting to the whole thing. I haven’t gotten supplements or been able to change diet as I still have oldest home and not feeling well. My husband’s been picking up stuff from the store here and there on his way home. I know this is a big part in trying to rid your body of them. Cleaning and hand washing are my only defense right now. Sorry for the long post I think it helps to talk about it. I really pray maybe it’s something else since I haven’t seen any move but I just feel in my gut it is pinworms.
Jackie, I just want to encourage you, as I know what you are going through, and say that this too shall pass. It feels out of control with little people with their hand always in their mouths. And nothing can prepare you for the sight of crawlers on your babies darling bum!! There should be a parental warning somewhere that states this possibility! But take heart! We treated our family of five with Reese’s once and again after 10 days along with the cleaning/ 2x shower protocol only to have them return after 6weeks. It wasn’t until I followed mama in the now’s protocol that we beat them. A few things I did that helped was I bagged all their belongings and stored them away for the summer. I eliminated extra clothing thus laundry. I also gave grapefruit seed extract and used clove oil as often as possible in muffins, oatmeal, etc. And I chose to use diatomaceous earth to dust their anus, by pulling their cheeks apart and placing a small pinch in there. Figured this would kill any outside crawlers. I am still doing this and it’s been 6 months since I’ve seen any. I will add that you will know if you see a live worm. They look like crawling basmati rice. And until you treat they move a lot. The Reese’s will paralyze them until they pass through and then you will see them in the poo not moving. The pharmacy said Reese’s had a half life of 3 hours, so I tried to time the med when I knew they were due for a poo. And made sure to give plenty of fiber and liquids to ensure we got the best poo with the most worms out we could. We stayed on top of the protocol for a good three months. Showers twice a day, short nails, and constant hand washing and wiping down bathrooms and surfaces with bleach water. Time! It just takes time… be hopeful and patient and this too WILL pass. And think of the stories you will have to tell! Be blessed!
She doesn’t seem itchy at all and yes they are successfully passing around the flu or a similar virus. My 3 yr old had a high temp of 105 today which isn’t unusual for him. Scary for us but we’ve dealt with this before we just treat with pain meds and it typically goes down quick. I’ve been looking at their bottoms nightly haven’t woken them up after sleeping but my daughter woke in the middle of the night and needed changed so I checked with a flashlight then. I have yet to see anything move. None of the kids have been itching as of late and not seeing anything moving makes me wonder if I overreacted on the whole thing. I did look through my daughter’s poop today pulling out what I thought were worms and taking a closer look to my surprise it was broccoli from the night before. I’m thinking maybe what I’ve been seeing is undigested food particles not worms. Of course I’m still waiting for results but in the mean time I’m trying to refocus my attention and energy on the holidays. I’m still keeping up with the hand washing and been cleaning here and there. For my own sanity and my family I’m putting pinworms out of my head for the time being. Hoping for the best when the results finally do come in but till then I’m trying to get back to some kind of normal. I bless any of you that have dealt with them and definitely commend you on keeping your sanity and having humor at the same time.
When you say “keep it up for at least 3 months” what part of the treatment do you mean? T And what do you do with the clove oil? Daily application or ingested?
The part I keep up for three months is the super duper cleaning, showers twice a day, clean underwear twice a day, nails short etc. Also any preventative supplements, like the pumpkin seeds.
this post was a life saver….we have been doing cleaning for a month and a few weeks and I felt the buggers after everyone else finished perception…..unfortunately I and my husband and dad living with me convinced me that I was just being peranoid….so I waited….and regret it. so we are now starting over. My dad never got symptoms or my husband so they were both very Lax on the cleaning and showers. I have had countless mental breakdowns, luckily my girls still have no symptoms so I must have a bit of control on this. well since were pretty much starting over I’m insisting everyone does the showers and change bedding every dad….my dad is super reluctant because he didn’t feel anything.. (he’s going to be the death of me).
I keep coming back to your post to remind myself I can get rid of them….i found a lot of good tips in the comments thanks to everyone, in moving small heaters around the house. Using a vinegar/clove/water spray cleaner for the bathrooms
..along with bleach here and there. I have some dietary remedies ready for when it’s time.
I’m just really frustrated with my dad hes making it harder than it alredy is.
ugh..
Hi, I just wanted to ask you how you were able to be around others? We share a home. My youngest first showed symptoms such as undiagnosed vaginal pain/closure of her opening. No signs of them to the eye, but just symptoms, as did her sister. My kids are teeth grinders, as am I. I connected the dots on this one. Well, I wanted to do the protocol and was doing everything I read to do and more. The other family I live with thought I was crazy. Imagine trying to explain it to them. They got angry, but would not read up on the crazy cleaning. I did everything. My kids and I were meticulous (I don’t know how they were at school, or in their own rooms, though). Other than hearing about how much the utility bill got and how I clean and wash clothes way too much, and enforce the hand washing rule too much, I have gotten ZERO feedback about this issue. The other family has done NOTHING in this past 2.5 years to help remedy the situation. I am a single parent of several children and have spent a good chunk of money buying things to help us take care of this. We did DE, cloves, acv, grapefruit seed extract, biocidin, dE, garlic, coconut/garlic oil, mebendazole, reeses, cleaned with cloves, etc. Not to mention the emotional damage this has caused in this 2.5 years: My babies were deprived of me snuggling with them (I can’t get that time back) and of bathing, no friends over (can’t be normal kids and I worry that their friends will give us something), no sleepovers, my getting frantic and worried that this will spread to someone else, the way it affects me and my kids’ physically (symptoms). I have not known whether to clean my car all the time, I don’t know if I should carry a purse, I sometimes wash my credit cards and license. I wash my groceries that others have touched before putting them up. We do a cleanse with cloves/walnut/wormwood 3 times a year. This time we didn’t change our diet much. I thought it was still working. Family we have not seen in years invited us out of town to stay with them and I was so scared. What about if we infected them? I am always stressed and depressed that our lives are meaningless and we can’t even give love and spend time together or with others as we want to because of this problem and I can’t even talk about it to anyone. My kids sometimes rebel because they’re so sick of it. I can’t even put into words how low this has made them and me, a mom who would have never thought our lives would be affected like this. When I have tried to lay it all out to those we live with, they act like I’m speaking another language. They claim before we all lived together they never had this problem (I could say the same, but who cares? Let’s deal with the NOW) and how come they don’t have symptoms?This has been going on for over 2 YEARS, even though they can SEE how my family has been affected. Lately, I thought that if we went to visit my very close family (we all needed to…your family doesn’t live forever) and we cleansed, took the herbs while there and washed all linens, towels and clothes daily that it would not be a factor. After 2.5 years, this has isolated me from everyone and it’s exhausting and leading to suicidal depression (I won’t do that, though, but the idea of not being able to live or give kids a life or help others is very upsetting). Well, when I was over there and used the bathroom, I saw them in my stooel (I have prayed that it was something else that just looked like small, white things). Talk about my insides wanted to turn inside out! I was so sad and just constantly prayed that the family we were with wouldn’t have to go through this nightmare, especially because we stayed there!!! If nothing else, if anyone is reading this and can’t shed light on a protocol, at least if anyone can give some encouragement and share how they deal with being around others, I would love to know. I miss holding my kids and being with them without feeling like a walking disease. I miss having others around and being able to be there for others. I am completely devastated and so are my kids. They lost their mom bc all she thinks about is not spreading the “love” from us to the world around us or staying in one section of the house (away from those we live with who may/may not be infected, but who refuse to treat themselves, even after seeing me and mine deteriorate for the past 2.5 years). Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for any light or encouragement you can share. I don’t want pity…just encouragement and tips. I don’t know you, but I love you and I pray that the responses to this will also help others. May the Creator of all, the Most High Alohim bless you all. (Any tips on toys…my kids haven’t even been able to play with theirs for so long and are going nuts, tips on keeping car clean as well as backpacks/lunchboxes…I had slacked on that some bc it seemed like I could never fully clean everything in one day and would always forget something. I used to spray 95% alcohol on backpacks and lunchboxes or just wash the lunchboxes/use paper bags, also purses etc clean). I’m sorry this is so long. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for this website overall!!!!!!!!
Veronica,
I pray this has come to pass for you! I certainly can relate to doing all of the hard work of eradicating the problem, only to live with others who slack because they have no symptoms! Even though they know how hard this is for you and others. My family members are exactly the same way. We live together. I love to have people around and support others, but my conscience won’t let me, and their reluctance to treat or even read up on the issue makes me so upset. I can’t wrap my head around the idea that they could stand to see my kids and I suffer this long and still not even lift a finger. My heart is broken into so many pieces. Even when we move, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to allow them to visit, or if I can even move our things to our new home because of this. Why couldn’t we just all be on the same team from the beginning and support one another/take care of the problem together? Many blessings to you! I pray that your family has a change of heart and helps. I know that sometimes people are afraid to make drastic change or to accept certain things so it’s easier for them to deny it or turn a blind eye to it. Take care!
Thanks so much… this has really helped, my niece and nephew have had it and my poor sister was tearing her hair out… great to have your advice and as you say it can happen to anyone those little things can get anywhere xxx
I am SO glad our experience with pinworms has helped you and your family!
What are the measurements of vinegar, clove and water you use in a spray bottle? I’ve been using ONGUARD essential oil from Doterra in a spray bottle but I would like to use the vinegar concoction. Thank you for all your help and advice. So happy I found your site. I’ve been dealing with these buggers since my 9 year old was 2 years old and now I have three daughters. My 2 and 3 year old now have them as well. I had a nervous break down yesterday cleaning cause I can’t get my husband on the same page with me as far as washing the girls hands every time before they put any snack or anything they put in their mouths. I’ve bagged all the toys except the ones I could wash in hot water. So very frustrated.
Oh wow – you poor thing, you have been dealing with this WAY too long. I am so sorry. With the spray bottle, I do 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water and then 10-15 drops of clove – in a regular size spray bottle. However staying diligent with the short nails, showers twice a day and coconut oil on the bottoms at bed time can REALLY make a difference in the long term. Let me know if you have any questions!!! STAY SANE!!! 🙂 You’ve got this!
My name’s Tammy, I’m 15 and I think I have been struggling with pinworms for almost 2 years. I have never even seen one in my underwear, my bed, or toilet but my bum itches. When i first suspected i had them, i asked my mom to look for me and she said there was nothing. Just recently have i been feeling itching at night. Some nights the itching lasts for 3 hours and others it only last for a few minutes to an hour. There are some days or weeks when I don’t have itching at all. Also, my stomach has been buggy lately and I don’t know of it is because of the pinworms or not. I have also had some brief UTIs.
Because im super paranoid I always wash my bum with room temperature or warm water before I go to bed. I do not bite my nails, sometimes I wear pajamas two nights in a row but NEVER the same underwear , I try to change my sheets as often as possible and i always wash my hands. I have never taken pinworm medication because I was told that it makes the infestation worse.
I am unsure if i actually have them, and if I do I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, and why my bum still itches randomly. I’m very scared because everyone is saying once you get them, you have them for life. Has anyone actually gotten rid of them for good? I am desperate for advice, I want to stop my itchy bum at night and I want to be able to have a good night’s sleep.
I really hope you see this comment because I am going crazy here 😩. Once you take the first treatment, how long do you keep passing the dead pinworms? It’s day 5 and there are still tons 😓
I am so sorry you are dealing with pinworms. Are you still experiencing symptoms after 5 days, or are you just seeing the dead pinworms?
You’re Awesome
I just subscribed
My sides hurt from laughing so hard!
Awwww – thank you! I am so glad you connected with my pinworm experience! 🙂
I really think that is what is wrong woth my 5yr okd son. Going to try the things that was mentioned. He will feel better and ao will I. Thanks for the information.
How small should the garlic be
Dear Tove,
Thank you so much for this blog! I appreciate it very much. My almost 11 year old has pinworms and we have begun treatment as you describe. One thing I wonder– did you wash towels after 1 use, new bedding every 3-4 days, change undies twice a day for the whole family and clean toilet seats and floors for the full 90 days? How often did you clean toilet seats/ floors?
Thank you,
Kate
Hi Kate – I am sorry you are dealing with this!!!
I would continue the obsessive cleaning for the person infected for the full 90 days… But just for two – three weeks for the entire family. I would wipe down the toilet seats several times a day.
GOOD LUCK… you CAN get rid of these pesky worms… YOU CAN!!!
I’m having extreme anxiety about this. I am a mom of a 6 yr old boy. I’m 46 and he is my second child. I never had a problem like this with my daughter. I’m crying daily as I research and google and see that it seems once you have these things you can’t get rid of them. Post after post about reoccurring infestations and people saying they’ve been fighting this for years. I just want to cry more. We took our first dose of meds on Thursday. My poor son is still itching. I’ve been cleaning diligently and laundry as well. Any advice or encouraging words can help please.
Barbara, Please rest assured – you CAN get rid of this! YOU CAN… you just have to be diligent for a bit longer than you expect. Remember to re-treat with the medication, apply the coconut oil, shower and keep those nails short. You’ve got this!!!!
Thank you so much for responding to me. As of today…. I thought they were gone. 🙁 I fear that they may be back. We did our second dose of medicine this past Thursday, even though he had been fine. We both took the medicine at two week mark. And then today he is insanely itching again.
I am calling dr tomorrow to see what our next step should be, or should I just continue to do the Reese’s medication every two weeks until they are gone? I dont want these things to build a resistance to it.
And of course, still washing clothes, blankets, sheets, everything incessantly as well as hands. Please keep those encouraging words coming.
Hi, Momma! I’m sorry, I did leave a lengthy post and it actually was reposted twice (so sorry!). I just want to say thanks for this blog, and to tell everyone here that they are strong and beautiful people whose families are blessed to have such warriors for health in their corner!!!!!! Please be encouraged! You have encouraged me! I have been on this page off and on for the past 2 days as I come to terms with my experience. P.S. Momma Mave, I did ask some things, but I keep coming up with questions…just want to ask about purses, coats/gloves, credit cards, cars, and any papers/pics done by my kiddos that have collected (we all have those paper stacks where we don’t have a place to put them or we just let them get out of control, lol!) Also, when you say wash things separately, you mean all undies together, all bedding together, all pjs together, etc? Thank you! My heart is very big toward you and everyone else going through this!
Hi there, I read your post and im sorry that you are going through this as well. I found this site very encouraging and supportive. Im going through the struggle as well. If you need an ear.
So we’re at the two week mark. How often did you vacuum and wet mop? Did you continue cleaning toys? How old were your kids when you went through this? Mine are 4 and 2 and we’re home a lot so I’m paranoid about them touching anything. Mine were never itchy, I just saw them in the stool in one and checked the other one at night. Then I ended up with them a week later. It also makes it fun because I’m 25 weeks pregnant. Anyways any extra advice is helpful. I can’t continue cleaning like we are – I’m emotionally and physically exhausted.
I love your sense of humor !! I thought I was gonna have to go to the E.R. for an anxiety attack because I just found out my son has pinworms and me..well highly suspect. We have a Doctors appointment. After reading this I’m no longer shaking and my fears have been put aside. Dramatic maybe but I’ve dealt with this EVER !! I love how lighthearted you are and you turned my panic into laughter so thank you lol
I am SO glad I was able to bring your anxiety down a notch. TRUST ME… seeing those wiggly worms in my son’s butt definitely scarred me for life… I will never forget that sight – but… as most things, once you realize that it’s not life threatening, then you can handle most things. Stay on top of cleaning and the showers… and remember to treat the second time too. You’ve got this – let me know if you have any questions. And for the love of God – don’t try to picture the worms… just don’t! LOL
Do you mind putting a disclaimer about the fact that clove oil BURNS!?
Pinworms and other parasites or bacteria live on bushes and in the dirt outside. the sun light kills the eggs but not if your sheets or clothes are shielding them. this is actually a way to pick up something nasty. so please use a nylon clothes line that you wash with an abrasive soap before use.
and never hang your clothes outside if you are near sources of polution or other dirt, such as construction, garbage dumpsters, lots of birds, city streets with cars and smokers. you can pick up more than pinworms this way, most of the colds flus and other dust, smoke and fume harbored illnesses are picked up this way.
Thanks for all the great info!! This has been such a battle with our son!! It’s driving us crazy! Are the apple cider vinegar and grapefruit seed extract pills safe for children to take?
You should ask your pediatrician about those pills for your kids. I have a healthy respect for supplements and I am very careful with what I give my kids. GOOD LUCK!!!
Have had a itchy anus since start of june. Always thought it might have just be irritated skin so i was using vaseline and it seemed to help for a few days but it came back. Went on a semi cleanse, garlic, tumeric, cloves and ginger, have been eating less sugar and carbs and been drinking smoothies every morn for a few days. Have never seen a pinworm around my ass but i have started to see large white specs in my stool (only twice) never really investigated it though. Do i just have some corn or something in my stool or are these nasty pinworms? It kind of really affecting my everydayhealth and freaking me out!!
Hello. I am a 31 year old female with no kids and have no idea how I got them. But I think I have pinworms. My anus gets really itchy at times along with my vagina. Sometimes during the day and night I feel tingly and tickly feeling around my vaginal and anus area. I did the tape test and saw a white threadlike material that I thought was tissue at first but realized it could be pinworms. It freaked me out to see it but I cannot seem to deny it. I will have to try all of your natural treatments to get rid of these nasty little things.
It definitely sounds like it. I have them in both areas also. I’ve been taking Cina at 600c order amazon, and try oil of oregano the more potent kind if you can get through a naturopath or such. We are currently working on Getting the script medication as my family has had these for some months!!
Ok. I will have to do something. Thank you so much for the advice! 🙂
Is any of what you said working for you? I need help bad!
Ugh it’s been a nightmare. Drs really don’t know much about which seems crazy. It seems some people treat and they go away and others have more stubborn situations. We did one dose of albenza 400 mg then retreated 2 weeks later. No improvement. We then did the Reece’s over counter ever 10 days. I went to a naturopath which had us do the cina and I was taking a tincture of Wormwood black walnut hull and clove. Diatomaceous earth, probiotic, lots of foods, pumpkin seeds, garlic, pineapple…It helped a lot but still fighting it. The gp I’m seeing now wants us to do the med 3 days then repeat.
All of our tape tests and stool come back neg but I feel them and I see them on my kids in mid of night. Oh we also use lanolin on our butts at night, change underwear morning and night wash butts very well or shower my kids.
Oh wow! So sorry you are going through this! I feel them too which is very irritating, especially at work and in public places! But I spoke with a Pharmacist today who swears by PinX. They say it gets rid of pinworms fast so I wi try that and let you know what happens.
Hey, how are you doing? Any relief?
Thanks for posting this! This is our THIRD TIME to get pinworms. We treated with Reese’s with the initial dosage and then again two weeks later both times. You are saying to continue that for three months? I wonder what negative effect that medicine has on our bodies? We try to be as natural as we can, but this is driving me crazy! But it also makes me nervous to take the meds that frequently. So every two weeks for three months?
Amanda – thanks for reaching out. I wouldn’t treat every 2 weeks for three months, and as always – please consult with your physician before starting these treatments. However, I got clearance to do it monthly for two months after the first two rounds. I also kept up the cleaning regiment for the full three months – which is the pits, I know… but it seemed to have worked for us. GOOD LUCK!!!!
Since then – we ALWAYS keep the kids’ nails super short – I shudder to think what hides under them when they get long. LOL
Alrighty. I’m 15 turning 16 and I’m fully aware I have the beginning of pinworms. About 2 weeks ago it was late at night and I was tired of painting walls in our new house. As a very young child I have heard of the horrors of worms and always been paranoid so I always check my waste. That fateful night I did a quick glance and thought I saw something. Freaked out, I looked closer and it looked like a very very tiny squigly thing. My eyesight is bad so I wasn’t certain. Every single time I poop I check for a solid 1-2 minutes eyeing over EVERYTHING. So far nothing has come and I have convinced myself that I was just being paranoid, until this night. Just went to the bathroom an hour ago and for sure saw that one tiny squigly. I reddended my fingers with hard scrubbing and jumped straight onto the computer and did my research. I found this website and read every single comment. All sorts of things are flying through my mind right now. My older sister had a case of worms (not sure what kind. probably pin) a little over a year ago. She is certain they went away but we also raise cattle. Our cattle don’t have worms, but I still could have picked something up from a county show or my barn. To make matters worse we moved into the country and our neighbor has 4 country dogs that wander to our new trailer house that me and my sister can’t help but pet. I’ved checked their feces too and havn’t seen anything. I could’ve picked up these suckers from anywhere!
Well I have an overprotective mom (which is good) so i’m hoping she can swoop in and help me clean up this mess like with my older sister last year. I’m already drinking me some watered down apple cider vinegar while typing this and am fixing to prepare my steamy shower. I used to have a bad habit of biting my fingers but I stopped once my sister contracted worms but recently started back up again. From now on I vow never to touch my face with my fingers and redden my hands with hourly scrubbing.
Anyways, I just did research to find reassurance and to prepare myself to spill the beans to my family. Great article! Also, some comments say that you can’t really get rid of these disasterous worms. Is that true? I god hope not!
Thanks <3
Alrighty. I’m 15 turning 16 and I’m fully aware I have the beginning of pinworms. About 2 weeks ago it was late at night and I was tired of painting walls in our new house. As a very young child I have heard of the horrors of worms and always been paranoid so I always check my waste. That fateful night I did a quick glance and thought I saw something. Freaked out, I looked closer and it looked like a very very tiny squigly thing. My eyesight is bad so I wasn’t certain. Every single time I poop I check for a solid 1-2 minutes eyeing over EVERYTHING. So far nothing has come and I have convinced myself that I was just being paranoid, until this night. Just went to the bathroom an hour ago and for sure saw that one tiny squigly. I reddended my fingers with hard scrubbing and jumped straight onto the computer and did my research. I found this website and read every single comment. All sorts of things are flying through my mind right now. My older sister had a case of worms (not sure what kind. probably pin) a little over a year ago. She is certain they went away but we also raise cattle. Our cattle don’t have worms, but I still could have picked something up from a county show or my barn. To make matters worse we moved into the country and our neighbor has 4 country dogs that wander to our new trailer house that me and my sister can’t help but pet. I’ved checked their feces too and havn’t seen anything. I could’ve picked up these suckers from anywhere!
Well I have an overprotective mom (which is good) so i’m hoping she can swoop in and help me clean up this mess like with my older sister last year. I’m already drinking me some watered down apple cider vinegar while typing this and am fixing to prepare my steamy shower. I used to have a bad habit of biting my fingers but I stopped once my sister contracted worms but recently started back up again. From now on I vow never to touch my face with my fingers and redden my hands with hourly scrubbing.
Anyways, I just did research to find reassurance and to prepare myself to spill the beans to my family. Also just took a shot glass of apple sider vinegar and feel sick. Great article! Also, some comments say that you can’t really get rid of these disasterous worms. Is that true? I god hope not!
note: i resent this message because i’m uncertain if it went through
Maren, mother to mother, has this actually completely eradicted pinworms from your family with no other treatments other than hygiene and cleaning? If so, how long as of today have they been 100% pinworm free? I have given my four boys Reese’s Pinworm meds 4 times (checked with their doc) in 9 months! It completely gets rid of the worms for a month-6 weeks until the new eggs hatch and we start the cycle all over. I don’t want to keep giving my children this powerful drug but I can’t let them keep dealing with this. We tried DE and raw pumpkin seeds ground into pancakes and smoothies every single day for 2 weeks the first time we noticed the worms- caught from a friend ugh- and it didn’t help AT ALL. Please be honest with me, I am a mother, like you, in desperate need of some help. Thank you.
Hi MJ, I will also send you an email, to make sure you get my message. But PLEASE rest assured that I do not share ANYTHING on my blog that I can’t stand behind 100%. We have been pinworm free since I originally posted that information. The worms came back quickly after the first treatment, so I re-treated and that was the end of that. Yes, I have four boys – and we have managed to stay worm-free for years now. (Knock on wood) – I did think one of my kids had symptoms here 6 months ago, so I treated him and myself once, just to be sure – and that was the end of that. I will send you an email as well – I want to give you encouragement in this journey. I am not selling ANYTHING… I am just a mom on the same journey through motherhood as you. BEST OF LUCK!!!!
Thank you for this post. I just did the night check last night and found pinworms in my 4 year old’s butt crack. Of course, the day before yesterday we had a big birthday party for my 6 year old, so I’m sick thinking about if I need to call everyone who came.
I am off to buy a bunch of extra cleaning supplies this morning and start the cleaning. To simplify a little bit, do you think I could just wipe the kids bottoms each morning with a baby wipe instead of extra showers? (I have 3 boys and getting to school is fun in the mornings.) Also, how to disinfect the couch and floors? I read that Lysol doesn’t kill them (darn) so I was thinking of making a 50/50 spray of alcohol and water (or even vinegar and water) to spray on the couch, carpets, and floors.
Also, I know for a fact my kids won’t do the extra “natural” things – very picky eaters. I am hoping to do all the cleaning, maybe the coconut oil on the bum, and the Reese’s medicine. Do you think that will be enough?
Thanks!
I’m back a month later. The whole family has taken the Reese medicine 3 times (every 10 days). I went crazy in the cleaning department. I wash the sheets about every other day; all undies, towels, washrags, pjs gets washed every day. In hot water, with vinegar added and dry on high heat. Gave my two older boys an extra shower every morning for the first two weeks. Coconut oil on their bums every night. Vacuumed and mopped the entire house almost every day for the first 2 weeks, now down to a couple of times a week. Also regularly use clorox wipes on the light switches, doorknobs, remotes, etc. I wash my hands so much that they are dry, cracking, and painful.
For the past week, I itch during the day – not the nighttime. And tonight my 4 year old told me his bottom itches. I literally don’t know what else to do. I am in tears. I’m afraid we will never get rid of these things.
Hi, I’m a 16 year old boy who has these and I’ve known about them for around 4ish years now. I’ve never said anything because I’ve been so so embarrassed but at this point it’s 2 am and I need to sleep so I can focus on school. At this point it’s demoralizing to deal with and as far as I know none of my family deals other with this. Do you have any advice on how I can tell my mom? I don’t want her to feel as if she’s failed
Your page was among the most helpful. Thank you.! I figured out that I needed a plan, a system. Here is what have worked for me.
1 tbs Dem Earth added to a half cup of water before breakfast, dried Chanterelle Mushrooms tincture 2 tbs before supper on empty stomach (grind 0.5 oz mushrooms, mix with 18 oz of vodka, wait a week for it to be ready to use- not intended for kids obviously), IntestinPro Intestinal Support 3 times a day with meals as directed (watch for the die off symptoms after taking this supplement- many ppl feel sicker before they get better). Shredded carrots with fresh garlic and pumpkin seeds as many times as you can possibly eat it. Pumpkin seeds should be yr new beloved snack until you get rid of the parasites. Before all these steps I took Vermox or mebendazole that I bought on eBay. 1 pill daily- 3 total. Taking it just alone without the system I decribed above didn’t work for me. Taking Albenza did nothing either. So, it took me 6 months to get my life back. Stay strong! There is hope, believe me.
I know this is from several years back, BUT as I’m concerned I may personally be suffering from this ailment (jury is still out 🤷🏼♀️🙏🏻, and I assume I would have gotten it from one of my 3 kids, though they’re symptom-less) and I just wanted to thank you for this post! Not only was it super informational but it was hilarious! It made a super creepy topic palatable to cope with lol. And I love your real-ness about the no-sugar/carbs thing. People throw that around like it’s sooo simple to do, when it’s so not. So anyway, thank you again! I’ll be bookmarking this in case my fear comes true! 🥴
Hi Emi, Yes this post was written years ago, but I go in and update it every few months – so the content stays current. I hope you do NOT have those pesky critters, but IF you do – please know that there’s hope and you CAN get rid of them!!!! Let me know if you have any questions! (people email or PM me questions all the time!)
Mandi is right. This is so much good information in one place. Please, also go to your physician and follow their advice.
I have been obsessively cleaning my house, laundry, etc for a week now since our first treatment. We plan to treat again in a few weeks but joe long should I keep up this cleaning regimen?
Yes tea tree oil is amazing, it stoped the itching and even seemed to kill any and all worms peeking out, ive been applying before bed, waking up and throughout the day on my son. I also had everyone in my home take the one dose medication as well, steralizing all bedding jackets couches you name it. I havent delt with this before. I find that if you kill the eggs then there is nothing to keep spreading them and keep changing the underware 2-3 times a day, no more electronics for the kids as its perfect for transporting eggs. I seemed to of gotten rid of the problem quickly without another outbreak. I love tea tree oil.
Can you please tell me what you used exactly because I have horrible vague symptoms just like yours and I have been to over 10 doctors, they cant figure it out. Please tell me, this could be my chance to heal a bit. My symptoms are almost exact to yours and issues.
Help! I have a three year old that I’m treating but I also have a 9 month old who is crawling and likes sucking the three year old toys so I know I need to treat her also but how? Also how do you prevent them from returning when your child is around other children that possibly have them?
How do you get rid of pinworms out if carpet?
I know I am way late to the party here but can anyone tell me if it harmful/dangerous to take the OTC med/give it to kids if you don’t actually have pinworms? We’ve been having all the symptoms (despite following hygiene measures) but no luck actually catching sight of one of the nasty things. It freaks me out so much that I’d rather just take the medication (and of course continue the extreme hygiene) in case. But I certainly don’t want to do something harmful, especially when it comes to the kids. (Honestly, for myself, I would do just about anything short of drinking bleach in order not to have worms living in me and laying eggs around my butt. UGH)
If anyone reads this, Medical Tape worked wonders for me! I’m a couple days they were gone.
That was because the Medical Tape sealed and prevented them from getting any oxygen and leaving at night to do what they do.
In a couple days they were gone, and if I ever felt anything again I would just out the medical tape back on and I wouldn’t feel anything.
You have to make sure it’s medical tape though!
Kay, I’m reading this six months or so after you posted this so not sure if you will read this…I’m having a terrible time getting rid of these things! I’m up all night and under terrible stress, and repeat doses of pyrantel pamoate have done NOTHING (I continue to feel them still even the day after I dose myself!). I want to try your idea of medical tape but not sure if it will somehow cause an explosion of eggs developing inside?? Has the tape continued to work for you? And no signs of recurrence?
I have virtually taken all the recommended drugs by my doc and a renowned chemist yet every night I have sleepless night and it’s quite depressing here. Has pin worm defeated science?
Thank you for reaching out, Mark. Have you tried some of the “natural” treatments, such as coconut oil? Applying the oil will physically stop the females from laying their eggs, which eventually will break the cycle. GOOD LUCK!
Latest trend seems to be to higher your stomach acid after taking anything to combat this problem. After all if you’re stomach acid was high enough they wouldn’t be able to survive.
If I take allicin/garlic do I still
Need the Reece’s medication? If so is there any herx reactions from the worm die off??
My little one was so easy to cure. When I got symptoms months later I thought I had a bad uti/kidney infection. Started to hurt the itching was so bad. Thought maybe I had an std due to scratching out sores in my sleep and my lady parts hurting. They diagnosed me with a yeast infection and bv when I went for testing. Luckily I was prescribed metronidazole. I took some reeces too since my child had them months prior and I had paranoia about it. The 10 days went by on mzole and I suddenly found HUNDREDS coming out of EVERYWHERE down there. I freaked. I just had my period and they were *in there.* next doc looked at my specimen I saved and prescribed ivermectin in two doses. Have taken both of those and about 10 more doses of reeces. Decided to do garlic, apple cider vinegar, and enemas as treatment alongside. I’ve had another period and at least a hundred more came out. It still itches, my vaginal area is still awful, but they are coming out not moving. Assuming they are dead but when they come out it is very itchy and I can tell exactly when I need to flush myself out again. I read that you can shed them for 90 days. Still taking reeces every week but it’s getting expensive and I’m worried since I can, without a doubt, say they were inside my uterus. Ive douched with a medicated iodine solution twice now and still coming out. Going back to doctor as id really like to keep my baby maker and appendix. They say this infection isnt serious but in my case and obviously others cases it IS SERIOUS. Why doctors don’t take it seriously is beyond me. I’m poor and may try dog meds to get the mzole and ivermectin for cheaper w/o doc visit. Ive already spent hundreds in the last 2 months on visit costs and meds and the otc/homeopathic treatments. If you have these things, do NOT rely on homeopathy alone or otc meds. They can cause serious harm and many secondary infections in your urethra, uterus, vagina, and appendix. Seek help immediately and take multiple rounds of scripts if symptoms persist. Garlic and wormwood will not get them out of your internal organs, folks, this is a 90 day adventure taking multiple rounds of rx’s and otc treatments along with aids to flush out the buggers.
My daughter had pinworms for 3 years. 3 YEARS. We tried all of the suggestions listed above, and they continued to come back. I finally ordered some Vermox (mebendazole) from Australia since I could not get it in the US, and that is what finally killed the pinworms off for us.
Trey, if you look back through the comments above you will see that this is an extemely common condition and very contageous and that means that most if not all people deal with at some point in life. its no ones failure just a fact of life, almost like the common cold. the important thing is to treat it and keep them in control. if you have them, then its almost certain that everyone in the family has them and there’s no way to know who got it first and how it spread. But that really doesn’t matter. what matters is that you band together as a family to reduce/irradicate them. When you tell your mom, you can show her this webpage and any webpage that provides the statistics–so she can see how prevelant it is and that everyone gets them. and then you can decide how you want to treat them as a family. because if you treat yourself and you are able to irradicate them, you will get reinfested because others in the house are still spreading them. Good luck!
About Tropical Pinworms treatment, are you applying all the items on the list at the same time daily?
About the Dietary pinworm remedies, are you taking all the items on the list at the same date daily?
I want to follow some recommended instructions, to make sure I am doing the right thing. Thank you.
Thank you for this great help – i give it to my friends – lovely thank you
I found your article after trying to rid our house of these parasites for nearly seven months….uuugghhg. They would go away, but always seemed to return and I “rediscovered” them while on camping trips and while in an airplane restroom with my youngest. We’d been rid of them for a year, and low and behold BOTH of my children mentioned they suspected them last night! We were all traumatized by them the first time. So….hello stuffed animals and unwashables draped on our porch and fence, hello multiple baths, etc. Your advice worked the first time…and after I was up late laundering bedclothes with hopes that we don’t have them again, I thank you for your arsenal of tips and tricks!
OH my gosh… I’m freaking out that I have this! I have had an itchy bum for a while now… And all the other symptoms and last night I had a random mouth of abdominal pain and then diarrhea where I’m pretty sure I saw some pinworms! Ahh!! I’m trying to schedule a doctors appointment. The main thing I’m worried about is the fact that my husband and I don’t have a washing machine…. We are newlyweds and live in a back house and have to drive to my in-laws to do laundry. Is there something I can spray on surfaces like cleaner? Or on sheets and blankets to kill them, like vodka or some other cleaner? I just don’t want them hanging around in our laundry bin because we have to wait to do laundry at my in-laws. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!!
I have a questions about these creatures…. I have been fighting them for about 3 months now. both of my boys have it. we have tried the OT medicine with no results and we are trying now a homeopathic remedy. my question is, if you don;t see worms in the stool after taking the medicine does that means that is not working? do you need to see worms in the stool to say that is effective? may sound silly but I’m wondering if my expectations are correct. I expected to see a tons of worms and is not the case… maybe I have seen 5 in total.