Dispel urban myths - You are not reinfecting yourselves!

Posted , 24 users are following.

100mg of Mebendazole is RARELY strong enough to get rid of the worms throughout the entire body in a single dose - despite what it says on the box!

You can get a stronger drug from your doctor (prescription only) called Albendazole - it's actually one of the ingredients in many animal worming tablets and Mebendazole is derived from it (so it works in a similar way - starving the little critters of glucose) - and the sad thing is your doctor probably hasn't even heard of it! - he keeps giving out the same old 100mg of Mebendazole (in the form of Ovex for example) which is simply just not strong enough to kill all the live worms in a single dose.

I have been reading lots of academic journals on threadworms to try and get through to the truth about them and get past all the urban myths! and I can tell you now THERE ARE NO KNOWN INCIDENTS OF THREADWORMS BECOMING RESISTANT TO MEBENDAZOLE! It's just that in laboratory testing 100mg Mebendazole works... and in practical trials it SEEMED to work because the worms went.

Maybe over time with good hygiene the numbers of worms can be whittled down and eradicated... but the problem is they often migrate...

Let me tell you my own experience... A couple of months ago I had a very bad infestation ...I had them up my nose, in my ears (I found them dead on the end of cotton buds), lungs (I coughed a live one up whilst running), and even experienced a very painful one in my eye at night (which laid eggs which I had to remove the next morning) - places really that I never knew they could go. I took Mebendazole instantly, and then again 14 days later, I blitzed my home as advised, washed bed sheets, damp dusted and cleaned everything on the first day of medication. All my symptoms went. Just over a week ago however, I felt I had them back again... slight itching around the anus and a wriggling sensation on and off at night. I bought a family pack of Ovex (4 x tablets of 100mg Mebendazole) I took one tablet, but on the 3rd night I was still getting wriggling sensations and the sticky substance around that area in the morning, eventually on the 4th night I got no more symptoms. On the 7th day I got a wriggling sensation right at the top of my nose, and my tummy didn't feel good either so I took another dose of Mebendazole, later that afternoon I sneezed out an adult dead female worm! (recognizable as longer than the males). Mebendazole is supposed to act all over the body yet this was an adult worm - if the Mebendazole had worked properly 7 days ago surely this would have come out long ago. Threadworms are very delicate and decompose very quickly, this worm had not decomposed and was very much still in tact; implying it had died recently - most likely within hours. This confirmed to me that the single dose of Mebendazole I'd had 7 nights before just hadn't been strong enough to kill this one.

I then read somewhere on this forum that one guy suggested taking 2x Mebendazole tablets every day for 3 days - and even suggested taking dog worming tablets as they were alot stronger. I now go along with this advice! I'm on my second day of taking 2x daily Mebendazole tablets (so have just taken my 4th ) and I have found I am getting streams of dead worms coming out; some I'm 'hocking up' from the lungs (Just FYI worms in the lungs is a very common but often unnoticed symptom after egg inhalation - the worms after hatching, climb to the top of the lungs and enter the throat to restart the cycle), others are coming out from my nose with mucus and yet since that 3rd day I've had no symptoms of worms 'down below'. In fact without taking the medication and seeing these dead worms, I'd have no idea I had them at all! Many of the websites say that people can have them without symptoms - How many people must have them who don't know they have them I dread to think!

I read an article published in a journal called GUT by a G.C.Cook, it was published in 1994 so might be considered old now... but it still contains some invaluable information.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1375686/?page=1

This should interest and hopefully calm the people frantically going round cleaning everywhere thinking they are reinfecting themselves...

He says that the eggs prefer a moist and cool (body temperature) environment; if the environment is warm and dry, most of the eggs will become infertile in 1-2 days: \"In warm dry conditions infectivity declines after 1-2 days\" (p1159). He also states \"Household detergents exert little impact on the viability of eggs; cleaning a bathroom using a damp cloth moistened with an anti-bacterial agent or bleach merely spreads viable eggs. Simple laundering of clothes and linen disinfects them; shaking disseminates infective eggs\" (p1161) - So using cleaning fluids won't penetrate the eggs but will just move them around but the good news is that just the movement of the washing machine will deactivate the eggs in your laundry.

If vibrations alone can 'disseminate infective eggs' then that dispels the idea that fruit could have infective eggs on it (as suggested might be the case somewhere on this forum) ..to be quite honest the idea that we could catch worms from any other human exchange is a very scary thought! - we would have to wash our post, our cash, credit cards, and tins and packets on the shelves at your local supermarket constantly... and it's just not true we can catch worms easily that way.

In my opinion you should just do a thorough clean on the first day of medication (or as soon as you realize you have an infestation) and then let things settle - don't clean anything more until after two weeks. Leave the eggs to become infertile over time (the max amount of which is 2 weeks as we keep being told by the websites - but according to this article - 2 days is more probable).

So long as you are following the advice of wearing the tight underwear at night, washing 'down there' in the morning and washing your hands and and nails (especially if you're scratching) thoroughly afterwards and before meals, then there is an extremely low chance of reinfection. The only danger left then is 'autoinfection' within the body.

The advice on most packets of Mebendazole state to take first a tablet, then another, 14 days later... but I'm not convinced...

Cook states that if the environment is right, the eggs will hatch and become worms within 6 hours. This is particularly pertinent for those eggs within the body as they will be in the most ideal environment. I also read on the NHS site:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Threadworms/Pages/Introduction.aspx

that \"After two weeks, the worms reach adult size and begin to reproduce, starting the cycle again.\" - so remind me again? ....why are we waiting 14 days before taking the next tablet??

If reinfection is as unlikely as it seems, then the horrible reality is that the medicine G.Ps are giving out are realistically not effective enough to get rid of all the worms in a single dose. The answer is to either take a stronger medicine (like Albendazole) with the doctor's consent, or take matters into your own hands with more frequent-than-recommended doses of Mebendazole (or take Animal worming tablets - not investigated this yet! ...but might make myself a human guinea pig soon!)

Think about it - if Mebendazole is ok for children of the age of 2, it makes sense that adults with much stronger digestive constitutions (and bigger and longer large intestines) should need something stronger. It would seem to me that recurring incidents of worms are to do with autoinfection within the body rather than reinfection from outside the body. The Mebendazole in its present recommended dosage is just not strong enough to do the job. Mebendazole may be safe - but in my opinion it's too safe for the worms aswell...

3 likes, 37 replies

37 Replies

Prev Next
  • Posted

    i noticed your coversation but not a recent one are you still following this forum?
  • Posted

    All the comments I have been reading here are over a year ago!! Have you all got rid of worms? I have been trying for 2 months & still have them. Took 2 ovex yesterday & am about to take 2 now & 2 more tomorrow. Hope I'm doing the right thing. Was up at 3 am taking a shower having had one at 11.30. 

    I shower twice a day, have a complete change of clothes daily, change the bedding daily, vacuum, wipe toilet seat after every use. All bedding washed at 90*, wash hands with a nail brush, short nails etc etc. Spend all my time washing & ironing.......what else can I do??

    Im also avoiding sugar & dairy so have lost a few pounds, but when will this end?

    • Posted

      Here Dr recommends one mebenzole in am and one at night for 3 days. I'm currently on. I'll let you know.

    • Posted

      hi, i see your post is from a long time ago..

      just wondering if you managed to get rid of them and what worked for you

      thanks

  • Posted

    I'm an American in Taiwan. My young son contracted pin worms last month. The pediatrician told me it wasn't necessary to treat the whole family.

    Well now... I've contracted it.

    I, of course went to GP, not pediatrician. Both drs gave us mebenzole and both drs prescribed it twice a day for 3 days.

    So I think one dose is obviously not enough.

    What I'm seeing tonight. (Took first dose this am, second dose a couple of hours ago) is a giant exodus of live worms. I keep having to run to the bathroom. And I'm seeing hundreds of these freaking things! But they aren't dead, they are alive.

    It's like,they have no food so they are migrating to their deaths thinking to avoid starvation? I dunno. I just know its itchy and uncomfortable, and I can't sleep.

    • Posted

      I took abendazol ovex evary day for two weeks gave it a break for a week then evary day for a week again didnt work I now take neem one week then a break then. Again for a week i got hold of pin x it worked one dose didnt get them for 5 years can't get hold of it in gb they seem to have wipe out any competition be careful neems dangerous for kids

    • Posted

      I first had symptoms on Monday night. Saw 2 threadworms. Took Ovex Tuesday morning. Have had no itching tonight and last night, but feel like I could feel something moving? Maybe I'm just over thinking it. How long does Ovex take to fully get rid of the worms? And when should the next tablet me taken? Have read so many horror stories online so I'm worried that they won't go!

    • Posted

      High madendazple does work but in vary high doeses I'm not the sort person who worry about such things your liver recovers you got keep take meds for at least two months wormwood black walnuts tincture. Grapeseed oil is easy to take just drop in a bottle of water and drink all day comes in little bottles eazy to carry but I took loads meds but if you want get rid these little critters don't think short term hit them hard I'd say three months I got to like indian food plenty in there to beat them but. I have had them three times and beat them over 20 years I've learnt neem oil is the cure for the long haul I try all the creams and I mean all and neem oil pure oil stop the itch and help kill the worms if you suffer from get worm it best to work a regular treatment routine in to your daily life plenty on you tube vids just remember neem is ok for adults not for kids I take in capsual form

      but the oil cheap on Amazon. Just get the dose right

  • Posted

    Hi there.

    So I have been battling these creatures now for 7 months and I am determined to rid myself of them by the end of 2017.  I have been taking herbal tinctures including wormwood, clove, genetian, neem leaves, oregano, MSM, garlic (fresh cloves and herbal), 2 installments of Mebendazole (now going on my 3rd round and tried to convince the doctor to give me a week's worth and he wouldn't ...ugh).  2 cups of large raw pumpkin seeds and 3 TLBS of Coconut Oil per day along with 1 clove chopped of fresh garlic really keep the infection at bay to allow the infected to sleep at night with only waking up maybe once or twice (versus all night long).  I also use Sulfur cream and Calendula/Zinc ointment after every defecation and sometime just when the itching occurs and then stuff a baby wipe in my butt to not allow for any exiting of the eggs during the night (and during the day quite frankly)...Now all that being said, I have reduced my infection and symptoms by about 80% and now I am trying to finish up the rest of the 20% remaining. 

    So lastly, here is my theory.  I agree with the acupuncturist that I think auto-infection is occurring more than re-infection, but I think both are happening, maybe on an 80/20 basis.

    So the 2 major things I have learned in the last 7 months that I think are helpful to eradicating these nasty critters are the following:

    1)  These parasites do not like an oxygenated environment.  We need to keep our bodies highly alkanized, meaning the water we drink needs to be a PH level higher than 7 and ionized.

    2)  Our stomach needs to be producing the proper level of acid to kill the invaders when we do get re-infected by ingesting eggs or whatever route they get into our digestive track.  Now here is the deal.  I have been taking Protonix for acid reflux for the last 15 years.  What does Protonix do:  it reduces your stomach acid to minimal at best, which makes our ecosystem less resistant to incoming invaders including parasites. 

    So my theory is that we are getting re-infected and our body is not killing the invaders if we are taking acid reducing medicines on a regular basis.  Curious to know if others who are having issues getting rid of pinworms are also on an acid reduction regimen like me?

    I have stopped taking me Protonix now over a week ago and started taking Mastic Gum which keeps the acid in check in a much more homeostasis way within the stomach and am noticing my symptoms are already lessening as I approach the 1 week mark.

    Finally, does anyone know a very reliable online pharmacy that I can use where I can order Mebendazole without a prescription and not be concerned about the quality of the drugs I am getting?  I think I need to take matters into my own hands here.

    Thoughts?

    • Posted

      Greetings richard.

      You can get mebendazol and albendazol online through ebay.  It comes from Turkey or some other places, and it's quite inexpensive.

      I've been through all of that, and thrown them all away.

      Wormwoord

      Cats Claw

      Horse Tail

      Chayenne pepper tea

      Ginger

      Garlic

      Need (food grade)

      Diatomaceous Earth

      frickin Albendazole

      Ivermectin (veterinary)

      the whole bit.

      After many years of doing all of that stuff, I came to the conclusion that they were hiding from my immune system and systemic medicines were not getting them because they weren't buying into my circulatory system.  My immune system has finally clocked them and now my body produces a weird odour which is reminiscent of bilirubin.

      But.  Killing them off, by the BILLIONS inside me was just cutting eggs loose, and as long as I had a manifestation, I knew I had weeks of treatment, and eventually I concluded I might have to continuously treat myself for upwards of a year.

      You won't get answers from the medical world because they are clueless.

      After throwing all the above away, I decided one last tactic.  Of ALL the tactics, it has definately been the best and has lowered the burden to the point where my immune system has clocked them and kicked in.

      I started eating a slice of pineapple, including the core, every morning and afternoon.

      This helped.  I went for days without even noticing them.

      until I got sick of pineapple.

      Then I bought Bromelain capsules.  high strength.  And took one in the morning and one at night, on an empty stomach an hour and a half before eating.

      Bromelain is like meat tenderiser.  And it affects there outer parts (it's an enzyme) until your body can damn well DIGEST them.  believe it or not.  It breaks down their defence and you can eliminate the little gits.

      I used to feel them behind my eyeballs and in my ears. ...

      After a while of using Bromelain, I didn't feel any manifestation of them.  So I took a *risk*, i came off for a few days, to see what would happen.  Sure enough, a week or so later, (can't remember exactly how long), they started up again.  So I bought another 120 capsule bottle, and decided to give them 60 straight days of bromelain.

      I took two bromelain yesterday, but just because I had a hunch, but now, I am not regularly taking it.

      (You really shouldn't take it non stop for prolonged period, any more than eating a pineapple diet for more than X 30?  days).

      I might give them another dose to contend with, or I might just let me immune system deal with them ...

      I'd really like my immune system to clobber them then I don't have to contemplate it any more.

      By the way, I'm sleeping through the night now.  Occasionally i wake up at 2.30 but only because those things disrupted my sleep for so long, it's like being a night worker.  Your body kind of gets its clock thrown off.

      Hope that helps

      Yes, i've seen other sites that mention Bromelain and Papain.  Haven't tried the Papain, the brom has done such a good job for me.

      cheers.

  • Posted

    Hi there.

    So I have been battling these creatures now for 7 months and I am determined to rid myself of them by the end of 2017.  I have been taking herbal tinctures including wormwood, clove, genetian, neem leaves, oregano, MSM, garlic (fresh cloves and herbal), 2 installments of Mebendazole (now going on my 3rd round and tried to convince the doctor to give me a week's worth and he wouldn't ...ugh).  2 cups of large raw pumpkin seeds and 3 TLBS of Coconut Oil per day along with 1 clove chopped of fresh garlic really keep the infection at bay to allow the infected to sleep at night with only waking up maybe once or twice (versus all night long).  I also use Sulfur cream and Calendula/Zinc ointment after every defecation and sometime just when the itching occurs and then stuff a baby wipe in my butt to not allow for any exiting of the eggs during the night (and during the day quite frankly)...Now all that being said, I have reduced my infection and symptoms by about 80% and now I am trying to finish up the rest of the 20% remaining.  

    So lastly, here is my theory.  I agree with the acupuncturist that I think auto-infection is occurring more than re-infection, but I think both are happening, maybe on an 80/20 basis.

    So the 2 major things I have learned in the last 7 months that I think are helpful to eradicating these nasty critters are the following:

    1)  These parasites do not like an oxygenated environment.  We need to keep our bodies highly alkanized, meaning the water we drink needs to be a PH level higher than 7 and ionized.

    2)  Our stomach needs to be producing the proper level of acid to kill the invaders when we do get re-infected by ingesting eggs or whatever route they get into our digestive track.  Now here is the deal.  I have been taking Protonix for acid reflux for the last 15 years.  What does Protonix do:  it reduces your stomach acid to minimal at best, which makes our ecosystem less resistant to incoming invaders including parasites. 

    So my theory is that we are getting re-infected and our body is not killing the invaders if we are taking acid reducing medicines on a regular basis.  Curious to know if others who are having issues getting rid of pinworms are also on an acid reduction regimen like me?

    I have stopped taking me Protonix now over a week ago and started taking Mastic Gum which keeps the acid in check in a much more homeostasis way within the stomach and am noticing my symptoms are already lessening as I approach the 1 week mark.

    Finally, does anyone know a very reliable online pharmacy that I can use where I can order Mebendazole without a prescription and not be concerned about the quality of the drugs I am getting?  I think I need to take matters into my own hands here.

    ?Thoughts?

  • Posted

    So glad you shared your experience. I have had a long and unpleasant run with these buggers myself. I can only narrow it down to a trip to Jamaica where I rode a horse bareback with only my bathing suit on a gratitude that took us out into the ocean and back onto the island into the jungle. It started raining and by the time we got back to the stables I was walking in 'mud' which was probably teeming, wearing only my sandals. I also had a jerk pork sandwich. I was very niece. Also, my boyfriend never got sick or if he did, he kept it to himself. More on that later... Upon returning to the US, I guess it was about three weeks and I had a full blown infection. 3 months, 6 dermatologists, as many misdiagnosis', and many hundreds of dollars poorer later I still had no solution. I was beginning to lose it. I had worms coming out of every orifice, I had become OCD, germaphobic, and neurotic from lack of sleep and by now I had lost about 40 pounds. This is when my boyfriend decided to call me crazy and break up with me. Nice guy. So, with no other alternative, I called my GP and begged him to give me a referral to CDC (center for disease control) specialist. I was able to get an appointment but would have to wait 6 more weeks! I panicked thinking I might be dead by that time. I tried taking a dog wormer, which made me sick to my stomach and I did expelled a lot of dead worms in my stool, but it didn't cute me. As crazy as this sounds, I started thinking about my life in very finite terms and actually called an old friend I had had a falling out with. We made up and I told her my story. She is a double mastectomy survivor herself and turned out just the person I needed to talk to. She had been told that modern medicine could do no more for her and was advised to go home and get her affairs in order. Instead she going back using a Chinese herbalist and MD. She took me to see him and he listened intently to my take and promptly have me a prescription for 5 days of Albenza. I understand that this is very aggressive treatment now, but I was very ill by this time. He explained that in other countries this is a common occurrence and can be treated with an over the counter rx of albendazole. The US, finding an opportunity, has marked this drug up over 2000%! Not to mention how difficult it is to even get a DR to prescribe it to begin with! The Chinese DR also recommended 27 different herbs taken in capsules 3 times a day for a month in conjunction with a set of 3 cleansing teas to clear them from my lungs, liver and kidneys. Yes! They can migrate and settle in any part of your body, especially in an advanced infestation. He explained that they are designed to hide and pop up later after the medication is out of your body. He put me on a strict diet of fruits and vegetables. Absolutely NO sugar (honey is ok), NO carbs, NO dairy with a constant flow of tea to keep things moving out of the body. It was difficult, but worth it. I finally rid myself of the threadworms. Unfortunately, I did have a reoccurring infection two times, each time was easier to shake them. I have read that a person can have them on and off for 20+ years, which is very disheartening. It has been two years now since I was so sick. I am back on this forum to say, somehow I have managed to get infected again. I can only attribute this to the recent flood we experienced with storm Harvey. My house did get wet and I also helped several senior citizen's whose apartment building was condemned. I don't know exactly how I became infected. Too many variables. The only plus side is that I know what has to be done now. I have already ordered 90 pills of Albendazole and started myself on a strict diet. Unfortunately, I have already lost 10 lbs since I realized what's happening. I should receive my rx order in the next week. What I have found that works for me is to take the medicine 3x a day and do not give the threadworms a chance. Of course, now I know I don't have to kill myself cleaning, just good hygiene, washing sheets daily, and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Drink Matcha tea with honey. Eliminate sugar. Restrict carbohydrates. Know that you're not crazy! I hope this helps someone...I wish I knew all of this in the beginning. Good luck!

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.