Signs you might not have threadworms
Posted , 25 users are following.
DON'T BELIEVE ALL THE HORROR STORIES THAT SAY "ONCE YOU GET THREADWORMS YOU HAVE THEM FOREVER". THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE.
I thought I had threadworms 3 times, and I spent several months of my life going crazy trying to get rid of them. It turns out I was actually making the problem worse, and I'm so glad I found out the real cause, because otherwise I could have carried on that way forever. Here are some things I learned that I think are worth sharing, so hopefully other people don't go through the same thing I did.
Signs you might not have threadworms:
1) You feel them crawling during the day and not just at night.
2) Other people in your family don't catch them or don't feel them.
3) You have repeatedly taken the medication and been through the hygiene measures and it seems to have little or no effect.
4) You have not actually seen a definitive living threadworm, and you have tried doing tape tests, for example even right after you feel them crawling.
In my case, the cause of the crawling feeling was actually overwashing. I expect this is common problem in association with threadworms. See, I did originally have a threadworm infection (a year and a half earlier), and that made me become obsessive about washing my bottom. After reading the horror stories here, I wanted to make sure I completely got rid of them. I would spend at least a couple of minutes just washing around my anus to make sure no threadworm eggs got left behind. It turns out that washing so thoroughly, with soap, makes the skin in this area super-sensitive, and it starts tickling occasionally for no reason. And that tickling feels EXACTLY like threadworms. I swear it is indistinguishable.
A conversation I had with my mum, when I still thought I had threadworms and she suggested that it might just an itch. I responded with: "It's not an itch, I can feel it crawling out and across my skin. I KNOW what threadworms feel like. I first found out I had them BECAUSE I could feel them, it was only afterwards that I saw one. I've never had that feeling before then, ever in my life. So I know this is them again, because there's nothing else that would cause a sensation like that."
Turns out I was wrong! It honestly can feel like they are crawling 'out and across your skin' even when they are not.
Other thoughts:
* All the scientific studies say that threadworms come out only at night, e.g. after 9 pm. I believe this is correct.
* A few people have asked how quickly mebendazole works, and how effective it is. I don't know for definite, but I personally believe it kills worms quickly (within 5 days), and is probably close to 100% effective. This is because my own feelings of having worms changed from nighttime-only to daytime within a few days, and so I think it is quite common for the over-sensitive skin thing to kick in quickly once you start washing to get rid of the threadworms.
What I would do if I ever thought I had threadworms again:
1) take the mebendazole once a week for a few weeks (6 at maximum)
2) make sure I don't wash too thoroughly after the first few weeks, and get an emollient-based soap-substitute (available from a pharmacist, usually used for eczema).
3) go and see a doctor if it didn't go away.
My problem went away within a couple of days after I stopped over-washing.
I hope this helps other people, and if it does, please, PLEASE come back and post to say so. Or if it doesn't work, or you disagree with me, or you don't believe me, you're welcome to post that too. I feel like this forum has become over-run with scare stories and unhelpful advice, and nobody seems aware of other possible causes for threadworm-like symptoms.
3 likes, 57 replies
anne56531 cherimoya
Posted
i have never seen any worms or anything, but i had threadworms as a child and recognized the sensation. i took a dosage of reese's, did a deep clean of the house, i change the bedsheets daily, etc. i am not sure if i had them in the first place, but after i took reeses's i did notice that i was not woken up in the night anymore. now, the ticking/itching is spread throughout the day. again, i never saw any worms but i am continuing to have symptoms.
william50531 cherimoya
Posted
Hi how did you get mebendazole my dr will not give me nothing when i questioned him he said i was delusional and sent me to a psychiatrist in which i got to talk to a nurse the psychiatrist didnt want to see me,i already suffer from depression and anxiety and this is driving me.to madness as now i doubt myself all the time and noone seems to want to talk about it ,i have them everywhere,eyes, nose ,ears,i have tried everything i can think of and nothings working,any suggestions,?
gina27750 william50531
Posted
ive ordered it online. there are a few canadian pharmacies, some you need a script others you dont. what makes you think yoy have them, and in all those places? trust me youre NOT crazy. they can go everywhere. its awful. let me look up the pharmacy i used last ill msg you right back
kathy333 cherimoya
Edited
Wow, there's hope for me then. I'll cut back on the washing. Thanks so much for taking the time to post this, really appreciate it. Here's to a worm free life!
elsie1981 cherimoya
Posted
thank you for sharing and helping feel a little more hopeful- are you still free of the pinworms?
dimity86599 cherimoya
Posted
I am soooooooo glad I came across this.
I am having the EXACT same issue as you. All of the same issues. My partner and I DID get Pinworms, but they weren't severe. We got the treatment, Mebendazole and my partner and I took a dose each. I took 3 doses, just to be sure, because I am super paranoid.
My partner carried on with his usual hygiene, and has had absolutely no symptoms, however I went above and beyond to make sure that I got rid of them, so I constantly washed myself, scrubbed myself and put cream on my rectal area. Vacuumed and mopped vigorously, washed all bedding and clothing in hot water and I have been scrubbing my hands raw about 10 times a day.
So I had 1 day of no discomfort or itching at all after my initial dose of Mebendazole and I noticed that the worms in my stool were all dead. But I continued with my excessive cleaning and applying cream and 2 days later noticed the "wriggling" sensation again, so I took ANOTHER dose of Mebendazole. STILL had the sensation, all day every day. However, NO signs of any active worms. NONE! The sensation has been constant, as I said, all day, everyday. Which is unusual and not at all what it was like when I actually had the thread worms. It only itched at night time and it was more of an itch than a wriggling feeling. It was also every 10 minutes or so, not CONSTANTLY.
Reading this has made me feel like I am experiencing the exact same problem. I too, thought it was unusual that I am now experiencing it during the day and that my partner has absolutely no issues, as well as the fact that I have taken 4 doses of Mebendazole AND there's no sign of any worms.
Other than stopping the excessive cleaning, did your Doctor prescribe you anything to stop the irritation? I will stop all excessive cleaning and creams, however, I can't imagine going another day going through this hell. Is there anything I can take to ease my discomfort?
This has definitely put my mind at ease, as the paranoier, I think, has only enhanced the constant sensation.
azat90956 cherimoya
Posted
Hi. Itchy bottom can be symptom of allergy. Check your IgE (Immunoglobulin E) analysis result. I thought that I have threadwroms for years, but it turned out to be allergy.
azat90956 cherimoya
Posted
Hi. Itchy bottom can be symptom of allergy. Check your IgE (Immunoglobulin E) analysis result. I thought that I have threadwroms for years, but it turned out to be allergy for feces or slime from intestines(also I have never seen any worms in my feces), also I can use toilet paper to make itch gone. Now I do exercises to strengthen the anus, so there will be less feces and slime on my bottom. Also my eosinophils analyse was ok