Real Talk: Kids are Gross - Pinworm Edition

Caution: Do not read this post while eating or before bed.

I remember learning about pinworms during my masters' program core course in 2006 at the Charité here in Berlin. The curriculum featured various experts on different aspects of tropical medicine and public health. The expert teacher during "parasite week" was a 30-something father to preschool kids. When teaching us about pinworms he said "of course all parents with small children get it". I believe there was an audible gasp of disbelief from the class.

Seventeen years later, pinworms came to Casa Biggs. They were truly our most disgusting childhood illness to date. Although our current lice battle reminds me that pinworms are more manageable. I'm posting this info to save any people in my orbit the trouble of assembling their own treatment strategies. I error on the side of conservative without doing the super time/soul sucking measures - for example washing your sheets every night. 

Pinworms 101

How to know if your kid has them?

One of our littles is very sensitive to things not being ok in its little body. (Thank you German for giving me "das Kind" to use the neutral pronoun for anonymity.) After a super "off" day, aforementioned little person mentioned an itchy bum. I did a quick check then, but the true test is to put the kid to bed and then check 2-3 hours later. The disgusting worms come out of their little bums at night to lay eggs.

Most recently I figured out one of our kids had it because he/she kept sleeping in 30 minutes later than normal. Friends who've had it say that another sign is seeing worms in the poop. My little canary in the coal mine gave me a heads-up before it got that bad. Although in subsequent rounds I've seen dead worms while wiping. The pediatrician said it's normal to see dead worms for 2-3 days after treatment. She also said that adults can usually pass worms without treatment in a week. 

The internet also talks about the tape test first thing in the morning. I don't know anyone who's had success with the tape test however. As such, the best way to play this is put your kids to bed, watch a movie to stay awake, check their bums when the movie is over, and then pray somehow to erase your memory of the horror you just saw so you can sleep.

How to treat?

Our pediatrician said that we should treat only the kids with the worms and only once. The nurse wrote a prescription for pills to take based on their body weights. However, my general practitioner is of the American mindset that everyone in the house should be treated twice. He wrote a prescription for Paul and me. Because the package was based on the typical German body weight - we had enough to treat the kids twice too. #petitperks

Pinworm eggs are super sticky so in addition to being aggressive about constant hand washing, you'll also need to do a bunch of cleaning. Some people are super aggressive with bleach, but I shot for the middle of the road cleaning strategy. I should have been more methodical about what I did while kids were asleep vs awake, so I wrote out an order of operations below.

Late note: Our next two rounds of pinworms - months later - we just treated the child in question and that was enough. 

1. Drug store run

Supply list:

• Nail brush 
• Lysol or similar surface cleaner
• Sadly no alcohol should be taken with the medication

2. Cut the kids' nails and scrub with the nail brushes. 

3. Bag and store all the stuffed animals and non-essential blankets. They are going on vacation for a month to be sure you get through the second round of treatment without washing them again. 

4. Vacuum all the things - sofa, floors, chairs, etc. 

5. Change all the sheets, bath towels, and hand towels. Wash everything in hot water.

6. Take the pills. Put kids to bed.

7. Wipe down all the surfaces, door handles, and toys with the antibacterial surface cleaner.

The pills are supposed to kill the worms immediately. However, we start the next morning with a bum wash, new undies, and then subsequent towel wash, just to be safe. The evening (3-7 days later) before Alla comes to clean our house, we do an evening butt check to be sure we don't need to retreat. As we've now dealt with multiple rounds, we usual check bums once a week for a month after the first infection to be sure we're in the clear. 

Thankfully we've managed to keep from infecting friends who come to visit. The last time we stayed with team Stanzel in Hungary we gave all six of their kids scarlet fever. 

But no worms or lice this last visit which brings me to my last point...

How do I keep from getting pinworms?

The first thing our kids do every morning is wash their hands and brush their nails with a nail brush. If anyone mentions an itchy butt, we stay up late to do butt checks. The pediatrician told me that some kids are more susceptible to worms. Unfortunately that's life with the little Biggs.