Pinworms - Milwaukee,WI

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002137/

Everyone in the home should be treated.

Well unfortunately, it is contagious because kids are bad about washing their hands. If your daughter itches down there, touches other objects that others touch, then they eat a sandwich or something without washing their hands, then yes, they would/could get it.

I also want to say that the doctor is wrong about adults not getting it. 20 years ago when my daughter had it, they wanted to treat all of us just to be certain. They said that when the blankets are shaken out they can fly around the room and we can even breath it in.

We were told that the life cycle is about 2 weeks for eggs to hatch and that they won't be entirely egg free for that two weeks when they have been treated. They treated us twice and told us to wash the sheets everyday during that two weeks and be very careful not to use fans in the room or shake the sheets...roll them gently and wash your hands etc.

The biggest problem with this is that kids tend to re-infect themselves. So teaching her excellent hand washing is a must. Also, does she suck her thumb or fingers? That's one thing that causes them to re-infect themselves.

Pinworms are very contagious... even to adults. Wash your daughter's sheets and clothing in very hot water every other night at least.

You can go and sneak in her room, get a little flashlight and shine it at her anus. The light attracts the little worms and they will usually come out. She will also likely have little wormies in her poop.

I got pinworms when I was about 7, my retainer exploded in my mouth and a plummer was over working on our plumbing. He put that nasty wrench in my mouth to hold my retainer from cutting my mouth open. That's how I got pinworms! They are awful, evil little things that itch and hurt like crazy and do not go away without treatment.... and it can effect the entire family, from sitting on the couch, playing on a slide, reading her a bedtime story in her bed....

Um. Adults get them ALL the time. Especially those with kids. The eggs *stick* to surfaces. Little one ever reached into the silverware drawer.. guess what? Little one ever give you smoosh face hugs... Guess what? Do you wash your daughter's clothes and sheets... you guessed it.

BUT... do know that at least in our area (which is pretty normal for areas that don't have their kids wormed twice a year propholactically, like most country kids are) over EIGHTY PERCENT of playground equipment tested positive for pinworm and roundworm eggs. Say even 1/10th of the kids who play on those playground get infested. In a school of 400, 80% = 320. So 32 kids have worms. But really, the closer numbers would be 1/4-1/2. Meaning 100-200 kids in the school.

AS A MATTER OF FACT... I have a friend currently trying to see if there is a link between having worms and childhood obesity. Because kids eat and eat and eat (because the worms are getting first dibs) because they're hungry, their body starts storing the food as fat (because the worms are getting first dibs). It's an odd thing; in 3rd world/low food areas... worms = emaciation. In FIRST world countries; worms USUALLY = getting fat.

And, you guessed it, city kids are rarely (if ever) wormed. It won't be THE answer, but I (along with my friend) strongly suspect it's a large contributing factor. So far, of the 1000 obese kids she's gotten to, over 1/3 had worms. That's HUGE statistically, if her numbers continue in even a similar trend.

Hmm. I'd take one of those bleach baths everyone was complaining about earlier, couldnt hurt.
It does appear to be pretty contagious. Your daughter probably got it at school. You should probably notify her teacher, there may be other kids that have them as well.
I'd have to honestly say that if you informed me your child was being treated for pinworms I probably wouldnt want my child to play with her until it was eradicated.

I didn't think there was anything worse then lice but after reading this..ewwww. One thing I remember hearing is to put a piece of tape across the anal opening at night and the worms will stick to the tape. Good luck and Bless that little one.

As for the cousin's mother, I can't blame her for wanting to wait until she doesn't have anymore before letting her play with her child. If the cousin had lice, wouldn't you want to keep your daughter away until they were taken care of without any chance of expoisure?

Pinworms are contagious. They are also very easy to treat, My daughter had them a few years ago -- and, lucky me, I caught them, too. When you treat your daughter, you will need to treat EVERYONE in the family at the same time--whether they have symptoms or not. There is a chewable tablet you can buy OTC called PinX: http://www.amazon.com/Pin-X-Chewable-Tablets-12-Each/dp/B....

After you take the medication, wash all clothes--especially pjs and underclothing in the hottest water you can and dry them as usual. We only had to do the one treatment.

From what i have heard, they are pretty contagious. So sorry that you and your daughter are going through this. Hope she feels better soon :(

We got another contagious problem right now. Ring worms. Sure they aren't really worms it's a nasty fungus that our new baby kitten brought home. I've been told the fight will be an uphill battle. Doc said quickest he's seen it go away was 3 weeks and he's seen it take FOUR months!

Well my daughter while being treated developed two spots on her face so she was sent down to the nurses office. They called and I informed them she was being treated. They explained how contagious it is... as I already knew but that if the doctor would send a note releasing her to go to school she could still attend. Otherwise no. I was confused. The medicine doesn't stop them from releasing their spores... she's contagious till she's healed... so what difference does it really make if she's been seen or not? The doctor told me I could have gotten about any over the counter anti-fungal and it would have done the trick to.

So schools confuse me. I guess because she could have them for so long they are not caring as long as she's being treated... as if that solves people getting it right now. I've just kept her in long sleeves and pants. Her father now has 3 and her baby brother 2. So it's still spreading in spite of all the cleaning and washing and I was told that was rather normal and to just keep treating. So really I'd ask the school. My experience you can send your kid to school with something contagious and as long as they have been seen by a doctor they are happy.... even if it has no bearing on the current situation in all actuality.