Finally beat Threadworm, here's how I did it.

Hi there

I'm sorry to hear about your poor daughter - and you.

I'm not sure I have any great revelations or cures to report here, but for what it's worth, I hear your frustration!

When I spoke to a pharmacist a month or so back (while I was buying my usual 3-4 family packs of Ovex...) she mentioned that she'd noticed a real upswing in requests for Ovex this year - very noticeable. We both conjectured that this may well suggest that there's growing numbers of people experiencing symptoms and struggling to clear them. And that most of them probalby never mention it to their GPs.

Then the other day a friend of mine confessed that they'd all had worms and hinted that they'd also been struggling to shift them.

To say nothing of those who have them without symptoms (my husband is quite adamant he hasn't had any symptoms therefore can't possibly have had them, when in fact it's highly unlikely he could have got away without having them.)

So, I've actually come to the conclusion that there are probably many many more people out there with these critters, quite unaware of the problem and probably spreading the infection by not washing their hands/spreading the eggs on their clothes etc.

And I'm convinced that this generation of threadworms is now resistant to mebendazole, and possible abendazole as well. I think it knocks them out/back for a few days, but that's about it.

As for me, I really don't know if I'm still infected.

My GP has been very sympathetic but can't prescribe me Abendazole without a confirmed diagnosis as it's not licensed for threadworms in the UK. She's asked me to try to get a specimen, and despite doing sellotape tests at the most itchy times, it keeps coming back negative.

Like you, I've wondered sometimes if the tingling/itching is psychosomatic because I'm hyperaware of it. Yet on occasion it even wakes me at night, which would suggest not. I am keeping it under control (whether psychosomatic or real) under control by taking ovex every 3-4 days. If I forget and leave it longer, i get the itching/tingling back.

I'm still very careful to wash all pjs and underwear daily and I've got the whole house manically washing their hands. I stopped the daily washing of all the bedding after 3 months because it wasn't making a scrap of difference and it was seriously damaging all of our quality of life.

The girls haven't had any symptoms at all for about 3 months (I give them and my husband an ovex every week or so; my husband claims never to have had any symptoms).

I haven't had any ear nose or throat symptoms to speak of since that episode back in May. I've never (yet!) had them round the front, and nor have the girls. Which is something, though there's still time...

I guess that leaves me just trundling on for the time being, keeping the symptoms under control, trying not to let it take my life over. When we're going to stay with someone, or someone is coming to stay with us, I make sure we take ovex a day or two beforehand so that they're not too active and I always provide clean bedding and towels. My GP was very good on this point, and said it was really important not to let it turn into a major complex because they're so very very common.

Do stay in touch on this forum, though. Every now and again someone makes a breakthrough and we learnsomething. And at the very least, we know we're not alone with this!

I guess I'm hanging in there for the next generation of drugs. It's a bit like headlice in the 80s - the drugs stop working, and they have to find something new. I read somewhere that there are some promising ones at the animal trial stage. Maybe in 3-4 years they'll be ready for usdesperate humans...

Thanks for your reply, it helps to know someone else understands! Honestly, I feel like such a weirdo when I go to the doctor.

I had all but convinced myself that it was in my head. But when I wasn't thinking about it, and had moved on in my own mind, I would have symptoms out of the blue. Also, my symptoms are almost exclusively at night or in the morning, which is consistent with an infection. And my bloodtests showed evidence (low iron, white cells which indicate infection). If you haven't had blood tests or a colonoscopy, this could be the next step. Although the colonoscopy did not show any evidence - however, you are very thoroughly cleaned out prior to the procedure, so anything in the lower part of the gastro tract would be doing well to still be there.

I saw a naturopath who prescribed me a strong herbal program. Symptoms were kept at bay while taking them. She suggested an effective treatment would take three months (I have taken one - had a rest and symptoms returned). Maybe it might be worth looking into that.

I'll certainly let you know if I have any success. I have treated the kids and will do the same in two weeks, then two weeks after. Then I am going to try Black Walnut tincture as a regular parasite cleanse.

Fingers crossed.

I really hope you will have more success if you hit it hard with the Black Walnut tincture etc. Make sure the tincture is the organic, extra strength one. Same with the Wormwood and Cloves or whatever other herbs you use. I noticed when I switched to Organic herbs, the products seemed to smell stronger and were stronger tasting. In fact the Wormwood was so strong it nearly knocked me out with its bitter taste.

My daughter moaned as children always do but it is better to only use water to wash the capsules down. They can always have a sweet to take the taste away afterwards. And then once you have finished the 18 days of parasite cleanse, give it a week or so clear and then take an Ovex. Keep alternating until you are clear.

The problem with all this is trying to work out where the infection comes from in the first place. In our case the primary cause was the poor hygiene at her primary school as the cleaners did not do as they were instructed with regards to desktop cleaning, toilet areas, door handles etc. Thankfully we are now out of that situation.

I am now convinced my daughter had these worms for many years, from about age 5 to 10, but because I put her on the parasite programme twice a year, it may have kept the numbers down during those years so she didn't really complain about any discomfort. And little children don't really relate to what the irritation is so they don't think to mention it to their parents.

I had always put the family on the parasite programme twice a year as we had two cats and a dog, and I was paranoid about us picking up nasty things from the pets. It was only when I ran out of time and missed the parasite programme for a complete year, that my daughter got a huge infestation of worms, and I am talking thousands of the damn things. It was shocking.

So in the end I hit it hard with the previous information I gave on this forum, and alternated between the parasite programme and the Ovex for a couple of months until we had success. However, I had to change the parasite programme to a more frequent dose of the tincture to make it work. Initially I had her on the normal dosage but the worms did not go entirely, so this is why I had to alter it. But also she is no longer at that school. She left in July 2013.

Once, during the summer holidays, she complained to me that she could feel a slight wriggle and as a precaution I gave her pumpkins seeds/pineapple straight away for two days. It got rid of it.

But I had to remind her to never put her fingers in her mouth. I had been watching her because she sometimes accidentally puts her finger near or up her nose if she gets an irritation etc. and then a couple of hours later I can see her biting a nail. I know that this is how her infection occurs because the little eggs are in the atmosphere and they get trapped in the small hairs inside the nasal passage. It only takes a finger up the nose and then into the mouth and you've had it. They can wash their hands with soap and water as much as they like, but if the finger goes up the nose and then into the mouth, without washing in between, then you have an infection. I encourage her now to always use a tissue if she needs to touch the inside of her nose and that seems to be working well.

She is now still clear thank goodness.

I wish you luck.

Thanks!

I agree. There's something almost medieval-feeling about threadworms, so I also find it comforting that there are other hygienic, modern people out there living with the revolting things.

I'm something of a veteran of colonoscopies having had 2 in the last 3 years for an unrelated issue. Both came back entirely normal; possibly because the little blighters tend to hang out in the cecum/small intestine i gather, rather than the large one. I suspect that during the two years between my infections, I still had a low grade infection,but so low that I never really had any symptoms. It was during that period that I had the second colonoscopy.

I tried a herbal cleanse system for a month but that was when I ended up with the wriggling in my ear, and thenI saw various posts about how they can migrate when the intestine becomes inhospitable, so I panicked and stopped using it. Perhaps I should try again.

one thingI have found useful, if a bit icky,is to keep a pot of clove oil (heavily) diluted in a neutral oil in the bathroom. Clove oil is supposedly the only thing that kills eggs. So, 0n the occasions where I get that horrible tingle/itch in the evening, I race upstairs and apply a bit of it around the area, in hopes that this will kill off any new eggs that have just been deposited. It burns a little bit (do make sure to dilute it adequately) but it also dispels the itching.

Are you in the UK? If so, how did you get hold of the course of abendazole?

Thanks for two great posts. Sam91 and MumE8.

Sam, would you recommend the 3 herbs (Black Walnut, Cloves and Wormwood?). I'm just worried about giving it to the kids as they are 3, 4 and 6. Did you have any problems with it?

I thought I would do as you suggest. I have wormed them. Then I will do a cleanse. Then worm them again. There's every change that one single tablet will work for them, but it has never been the case for me. At the moment I can't say for sure that I have them, but the symptoms certainly persist.

I agree with MumE8 about the colonoscopy. I think you would have to have large numbers to show up.

I thought I would mention that my daughter said something 'flew into her nose' today. When I talked to her more about it she said she didn't see it, but it felt like a little bug or something. I have never mentioned the weird wriggling feeling I have randomly had when other symptoms have come back. I thought this was so unusual, and made me realise I have not been imagining things, and nor have you.

I'm in Australia, so Albendazole is prescribed here. Mind you, it was extremely expensive, and can damage your liver. And here I am back in the situation where I am exposed to worms again (IF I don't still have them). What I needed was for someone to find out why I couldn't shift them, and what made me so vulnerable. But that still hasn't happened. YET!!!

My last resort is a parasitologist who is very well renowned here, and does see patients. Someone must have an answer.

Hi, I keep getting these worms and Ive taken Mebendazole 2 days ago and I have changed the bed sheets and my pillows and wiped down all handles in my room and bathroom but I can still feel them there, I have cut my nails.

I was thinking of doing the mass clean again tomorrow and see how it goes but I was wondering if anyone thinks or knows if I should wash all clothes that I may have touched since I got re infected. I am so sick of worrying about these damn things and if anyone can help me try and keep them down, I swear only 2 months ago I had them! Ive had them 3 times this year

I feel so embarrassed.

Also I use a lot of hand sanitizer and constantly wash my hands but I keep getting it

My experience of Mebendazole is that it can take up to four days to take effect. Gradually each day you should start to feel a reduction in the wriggling sensation. And then often a repeat dose is required two weeks later. However, my GP told me to alternate weekly apart with Mebendazole tablets and Pripsen sachets as my daughter had such a huge infestation. So she took one Mebendazole and then a week later one Pripsen sachet then a week later another Mebendazole and a week later the final Pripsen sachet. Both these products can be bought over the counter at the chemist, although Pripsen is harder to get hold of. I had to try a few chemists and finally found it at LLoyds Chemist. Boots didn't have it.

No you don't have to do another clean up and you don't need to worry about what you have been touching with your hands. Clothes get washed at least once a week anyway so that is enough. Hand sanitizers have now been proved to be worse than plain soap and water so you don't need to use that either. You don't need to keep on washing hands unless you are constantly putting your fingers in your mouth I.e. nail biter or just keep forgetting. Ensure you keep your hands away from your mouth.

BUT used underwear MUST be put directly into the wash basket and not left in any bedroom areas. And underwear should be changed every morning and every evening before you go to bed. Secondly you should be in a bath/shower every morning to clean around the bottom area where the eggs get laid at night. Get into a strict routine if you can with the underwear and baths/showers until you have got rid of them. A couple of weeks should do it.

Hi Sam91

Totally agree with your advice about handwashing and underwear, and morning showering (ie immediately on getting out of bed; at the very least it helps psychologically. Also agree that it often takes a few days for the mebendezole to quieten things down.

I spent several months washing our family bedding (all of it) every day and it didn't make a scrap of difference, other than leaving me exhausted and surprisingly worse off (3 loads of washing a day takes its toll financially).

I have been trying to get hold of pripsen sachets since April as it was this (rather than mebendezole) which seemed finally to shift the infection a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I fear they've now been discontinued. Certainly, none of the online pharmacists stock them even though most still list them; some actually say discontinued and a few customer service lines I contacted said they hadn't had them in months. If you know of somewhere that still stocks them, I'd love to hear

Thank you Sam91 and MumE8

So far I think it is my brain telling me they are still there but I guess its a good sign that when I check they arent moving. I have been showering every morning and changing my underwear in the morning and at night. My family has also taken the worm tablets and we have wormed our pets. I know that with these worms you can never really get rid off them but hopefully I dont get any cases again. Thank you for your help and hopefully I am rid of them now!

New to this forum and very interested in reading all your posts, following my first experience yesterday and today (both since opening my bowels) of wriggling sensation in my bottom - not just at night, althoughalthough my bottom was itching last night? Have no idea how I got threadworms or how long I have had them, but from what everyone has said so far, I am sure that is what I have. My aim now is to try and treat them to hopefully catch it early. I'm slightly worried as I do work in healthcare and deal with people 'hands-on' each day at work. I'm going to worm the dog tonight also. I am going to take on board all your tips, but if there is anything else anyone recommends I would appreciate hearing back from you. Thank you.

Could I also ask something that I don't think I have seen mentioned anywhere on the forum. Is there anything different or additional precautions I should take when I have sexual intercourse with my partner? Thanks