Long term threadworms - I think I have found a solution

Infections
1

6 months ago I suddenly realised that my children and I were infested with threadworms and had been for at least a year prior to that. It has caused me intermittent, unexplained diarrhoea attacks and obviously itchiness. I had put the latter down to thrush as I obviously had them in my vagina. I also had unbearable itching at the top of my bottom (near the small of my back).

This has been so distressing, and the information I have found on the internet has been frustratingly simplistic and unhelpful, occasionally alarmist and contradictory. The most irritating advice is from people quoting the leaflets in the Ovex packets. Here is my experience, which I hope adds information that is genuinely helpful and also new to the war against threadworms.

I did all the right things - Ovex, cleaning, children trained not to scratch, scrub nails and wash bottoms in the morning. It would clear up in the children then come back and I treated them a few times over a couple of months. I would say that now they are free of infestation.

BUT, despite spending the best part of £100 on Ovex (Ha! That's why the drug companies don't find a permanent solution!!), I personally just could not shift them. I was absolutely scrupulous in NEVER touching my bare bum, keeping up the cleaning regime, etc. The Ovex just DID NOT WORK. I still found worms in the days following treatment and there was no let up. I took Ovex daily for 5 days, with no effect.

I also could not understand why I felt itchy and saw small worms on my anus during the day. I was showering 4 to 5 times a day and it was really distressing. My research told me that the female worms come out at night to lay eggs, only after they have reached maturity, at which point they are upwards of 1cm in size. I was seeing 3mm worms on my anus throughout the day. The itching was accompanied by a sticky sensation which I was desperate to wash away.

Then I realised what had been happening:

When I shower in the morning I wash thoroughly. However this is not enough. The females lays her eggs in the folds of the anus. And she lays hundreds of thousands of them. When I wash with soap, I am not cleaning every fold in my anus. My childrens' bottoms are positively smooth and flat compared to mine which is ravaged by childbirth and the odd haemorrhoid. This would explain why I have been itching and seeing worms in the daytime. The eggs that have been laid at night are hatching during the daytime, then crawling back up into my intestine. This is retro-infection, claimed by some to be \"rare\".

This was always accompanied by the appearance of tiny skin flakes in my knickers. I made sure I wore black knickers so I could monitor this. Sure enough, the level of itching was directly related to the amount of small white flakes in my underwear. I can only assume this is debris left behind after the worms have hatched.

Solution:

I changed from washing with soap, to using an emollient cream (diprobase for eczema), which I carefully work into all the nooks and crannies before rinsing, then repeat the process. While not convinced they have left yet (I've only been doing this for about 3 weeks), I no longer have to shower in the daytime and do not get the flaky debris in my pants.

Aggravating factors:

I definitely noticed that a day or two after having a sugar binge (e.g. eating huge packet of sweets) I would have an explosion of worms, day and night. If you can manage it, giving up sweets and sugar is very likely to help you win the war.

Whilst trying to break the cycle, it's also worth making a rule to always wear long pyjama bottoms over knickers to bed. This eliminates the need to wash bedlinen daily, as long as you are sure you are not scratching during the night.

What didn't work:

Ovex

Eating garlic cloves

Pumpkin seeds (nice though and very good for you!)

The doctor! Couldn't offer anything stronger than Ovex and just told me not to put my hands near my mouth.

I have laid myself bare in this post, which is still uncomfortable even with anonymity, in the hope that my experience may help someone else who is suffering from this hideous parasite. Unfortunately the medical profession couldn't give a sh*t, as it is \"harmless\"! They seriously need to update this attitude....

2

We have had similar experiences and myself plus three children are in the same boat except it gives me extreme anxiety,sleepless nights and huge guilt.

I have never found a solution and neither has any consultant or doctor who normally either just say it doesn't exist or it is a skin complaint. This sounds extreme but it has affected my life a lot as I worry that the children will have it all their lives like I have had.

I would be very interested to hear how you get on. There needs to be new drugs on the market as there are so many of us with this problem which really does affect our health.

3

I have had this for over a year now, but still not actually technically been diagnosed with it.

I have read several postings now, and I am now more distressed than ever because it seems you never get rid of it.

Whilst I cannot prove anything, I am quite certain I got this from hospital following a routine colposcopy /biopsy where the Dr apologised for making a tear, which he then cauterised.

I have been told all sorts, had all sorts of people look in my anus, poked all sorts up there, and given various samples.

Most recently I was told they were going to investigate for threadworm, having waited 4 weeks (nothing in grand scheme of it all really), for a result of a stool sample I was asked to provide by a specialist.

I was then informed that was the wrong thing, they should have given me a threadworm kit, which they said was very new, and so unlikely the VERY young Dr would have heard of (!!!!).

This was last Thursday, I was then taken badly ill and only just feel more myself today (Monday). I have no idea when the best time to do the test because although they said morning, I have felt what I suspect to be the worms hatching about 3am, and I didn't like to have the 'cellotape' as the nurse at my local GPs described it, to hand, thinking it could get dust on it while I sleep - or am I just paranoid now!

Anyway, it is only really slightly comforting to know I am not alone in my itching/burning/embarrassing state.

I actually remember saying to one nurse about 6 months ago, I am 41, I need to know what this is, I don't want to be scratching my bum for the rest of my life.... looks like age isn't the issue.

My partner knows all about the issue in general, but he has no idea of fact this could mean pyjamas AND knickers to stop sheets needing to be cleaned daily.

Nobody has mentioned intercourse, so I hope that this won't be a problem because that will be the end of our relationship for sure. We're solid as a couple, but I couldn't allow him to go without, it will almost kill me to have none!

I came here looking for answers, and sadly feel there is no light at the end of this tunnel, if you parden the pun.

Maybe there will be an experimental drug on the market soon that they will be looking for volunteers to try - I'm up for that!

4

I was then informed that was the wrong thing, they should have given me a threadworm kit, which they said was very new, and so unlikely the VERY young Dr would have heard of (!!!!).

This was last Thursday, I was then taken badly ill and only just feel more myself today (Monday). I have no idea when the best time to do the test because although they said morning, I have felt what I suspect to be the worms hatching about 3am, and I didn't like to have the 'cellotape' as the nurse at my local GPs described it, to hand, thinking it could get dust on it while I sleep - or am I just paranoid now!

The Sellotape test has been round for years and is the definitive test for threadworm so GPs should know about it. When the females lay eggs they also produce an irritating mucus which is what causes the itch. The natural reaction is to scratch thereby infecting fingers and continuing the cycle of self-infection. This is one reason why wearing of PJs/pants is recommended, to avoid scratching while sleeping. The worms lay their eggs during the night (probably what you felt) and so the test is done first thing in the morning, before washing, to improve the chances of finding the eggs as this is when they are most numerous. Once the area has been \"sellotaped\" the normal washing as part of the hygiene measures should be done.

It is a simple test and very quick for lab staff - they just look at the slide under the microscope and if eggs are there in large numbers it takes seconds to diagnose. (I am an ex-lab tech and have looked at many of these smile ).

5

Dear OneFamily, thank you SO much for this posting. So much of what you say makes sense. We found we had this in August and all three of us took Ovex. My 10 year old was clear within 4 days and hasn't shown any sign of reoccurence, my husband never showed any symptoms in the first place but I carried on getting loads of live worms showing up during the day for the week after the tablet. Like you, it was during the daytime too and not just at night. I thought mine must be Australian and thinking it was night in the day!!

Went to see my GP who said he had never heard of the tablet not working and that there wasn't anything else to offer. Told me to take another tablet even though it was only a week since the first one. I did and carried on having symptoms for about 6 days before finally they have stopped. We are all going to take another tablet this weekend which will be 2 weeks since my last one and 3 weeks since the boys first took one to finish off any eggs that may have hatched in the meantime through all the cleaning.

Interestingly, I have been for an ultrasound scan today on my stomach and pelvis. Suspicions of stomach cancer or ovarian cancer were raised because I was experiencing stomach pain sporadically in various places, a sense of being full too quickly when eating and generally feeling unwell. All of those symptoms left after I took Mebenzadole (Ovex) so I suspect that the pain/discomfort and digestive problems were caused by the infestation. I mention it in case anyone else has these problems with it too. (I was given the all clear after the scan - no tumours, gallstones or other nasties!)

My house is so clean that you could eat off any surface now! Hot washing bedding and towels like there is no tomorrow and hoping we have seen the last of the beggars.

Just wanted to encourage anyone who is struggling with this to keep hoping - you CAN defeat this thing in the end. I would be interested to see if ultimately someone will develop a drug that DOES kill off the eggs and not just the live worms. That really would help and stop the feeling that I am a walking time machine..........!!!

Best of wishes to anyone suffering out there. Hang in there!

6

I have suffered with threadworms on and off for years. At the moment i havnt had any sympstons for around 2 wks but before that and the previous few months i had a terrible time. I went to the drs in desperation because i couldnt get rid of them by 'breaking the cycle' and asked for PRIPSEN - the stuff that paralyses the worm s as I'd read that Vermox kills the female worms and then the eggs are released and you get more of the damn things hatching out inside. Anyway, i took 3 doses of PRIPSEN 2 wks apart - just to make sure, this stuff causes me slight sickly feeling but only slightly. After the 3rd dose all well for a just over a wk and then i had them again. I was gutted as having them gets me really down sometimes.

I eat pumpkin seeds and took Black Walnut tincture and i dont know if that was getting rid of them because i was having 2 or 3 come down aday but all has been quiet for the past 2 wks. I think if i can keep the numbers under control that will be good. Last wk i did have bloated stomach and a knotted feeling around my belly button for afew days dont know if this was realated to threadworms or not. I hope evryone has success in getting rid of these because they are so annoying and horrid..

7

I just can't believe how bad this is getting for me now. When I first mentioned to an older friend of mine (50) tthat me (29) and the kids had TW, she told me how she and her kids had them when her kids were young, they all took a tablet and that was the end of the TW story. How different this is being for me. I seem to have it worse than the kids whose symptoms seem to dissapear following treatment, but mine never go following anything!! Then I must accidentally reinfect my own kids and we go on and on and on. My bottom is always itchy, with the mucous and white bits in knickers in morning, I can feel them 24/7 at the mo wriggling taking PRIPSEN seems to have made them just come back stronger???!!! I'm not THE most clean-housey person, I have depression so i do my best. I expect other ppl would have washed the bedding more often and done more than i have but oh my god this is horrible now sad I've ordered some diatomaceous earth food grade, wonder if that will do anything?

8

You are not alone Boons i feel i am sharing your boat. Take a tip from 'OneFamily' as i am going to, and don't blame yourself. I too have depression which just makes keeping on top of things impossible! Constantly washing bedding etc & cleaning the house religiously is not realistic for most of us. I too have felt i am to blame for not doing more to beat this vile parasite. Thank you 'OneFamily' for good advice, fingers crossed anything is worth a try!

9

Gave up taking the Pripsen as it did not work. Also, various dietary measures only had ltd success.

A friend told me about DE (Diatomaceous Earth) and i bought 5k of food grade DE last august and have been taking that ever since. The DE has transformed my life. Wish i'd known about this yonks ago but obviously the doctors and drug company big pharma arnt going to tell you anything that can help you as they want your ££££. I started off by taking a rounded tsp. 3 times per day and at New Year i changed to 1 tsp morning and 1 tsp evening before bed. I mix in alittle juice or water. FANTASTIC!!!!!! biggrin

10

I am the original poster and many times I have wanted to update this post to say I am finally free of this. However I have wisely resisted, as it just kept on coming back. I am now rid of the threadworms, and can confidently say this as I have not had symptoms for around 6 months now. Ultimately I think repeated doses of Ovex cured me but it did take over a year.

When I started this war I was very heavily infested, due to ignoring symptoms for at least a year. I think this is why the initial attempts at treatment with Ovex did not work. I have read that Ovex leaves dead pregnant females in your gut and the eggs survive and hatch in your intestine. I think this theory has weight and it would explain why Ovex did not shift my heavy infestation. To start with at least, every female worm that is killed potentially leaves behind thousands more eggs to carry on the cycle, leaving you worse off.

After trying everything I read about, I simply ended up taking Ovex on a weekly then fortnightly then monthly basis according to symptoms, until symptoms eventually disappeared totally. Which they did after more than a year of this. I think this regime simply reduced the numbers each time, until they were no more. There were many occasions when I reverted back to weekly doses as they seemed to be back with a vengeance. But I got there in the end.

I would say to everyone don't get hung up on being reinfected from your home. If you do a single big clean, then you will have removed alot of eggs from the environment. But there are bound to be some you have missed. Yes they might reinfect you, but be reassured that they will not survive in the house more than a couple of weeks maximum (more likely days). If you are in this for the long haul like I was, this time frame will not affect the long term outcome. As long as you wear clean pants/pyjamas to bed each night and do not scratch, then from now your home will be worm free quite quickly.

I am hyper vigilant for future signs of the children getting it again, but if they do I am confident that early treatment is likely to be much more successful this time. I still change pyjamas and trousers daily, so a lot of washing gets done in our house, also lots of handwashing. And I always have a box of Ovex on hand just in case, I keep it next to the nit comb......

11

Hello one-family thanks for posting this. I'm in the middle of a nasty itchy bout and ive just discovered this site. Took Ovex but i was still itching last night, when will it stop? im on my own no children to worry about but i wonder if i got these latest from a friends little boy. she didnt tell me till the end of my visit about the problem. Im going to phonr her tomorrow and get the latest. You say use ovez regular but some people say it just makes it worse, which is true? Im spending part of my weekend today looking thru the site. Lots of washing ahead if i need clean knicks at night as well as day! What i need is a MAN to give the things to and see how he deals with it lol

12

Hi there. I agree about Ovex possibly making things worse. But that is perhaps only to start with. Once you start taking it regularly I think you are killing most of the worms before they have a chance to develop eggs. I am not sure of the science of this though. I just felt that each Ovex tablet was killing slightly more than were coming back and that is why it took sooo long to get rid of them entirely. With hindsight, it might have been better to use the Pripsen treatment that actually expels the worms, then you don't get any eggs left behind. All the best, hope you sort it out.

13

Oh and I wanted to share an interesting fact I gained from my experience. They totally live in your ears!! I think all it takes is a one off transfer of eggs from scratching your bum and then putting your finger in your ear at night. I noticed an insane itching inside my ear canal at nighttime, often when they were wriggling down below as well. I don't think they last forever in there, but they definitely survive much longer than when they get into the vagina. Maybe they can live on earwax? I noticed a faster reduction in my symptoms after I religiously stopped putting my fingers in my ears if they were itchy, day or night.

14

Gross!!!! When i went visiting i just slept in my knicks wont do that anymore! i cant get to a chemist now till Mon so just hoping this itch wont get anyworse, it drove me crazy last night.

15

Hello Onefamily, i've just posted on the If you have threadworms please read this... site. Spent my weekend reading up, here and wiki! Good luck everyone here, and i need it too.

16

Help, I have researched so much and have definitely got this. I'm 13 and my mum is a total hygiene freak, it's hard to explain but I could never tell her this. I tried super hygiene regimes and weeks later I still found lots more worms in poo. The sugar tip really helps, thanks. Shall I just hope they die in 6 weeks or get some menbedezole, a drug available for over-the-till purchase that's apparently the most effective?

17

Oh yeah, the most odd thing in my case is that I've had NO ITCHING at all?...!

18

Hi! From all the symptoms I've read here and on other places, it sounds like I have these Thread-worms. But, being a teenage girl I find it extremely awkward to tell my parents. I have younger brothers and I think I must have caught it from them; which makes it even worse. Should I just wait until they go away and regularly wash, or should I tell someone so I can get some proper treatment. Bearing in mind I have to take Methotrexate weekly... I'm really worried!

19

Hi, Have been suffering from these infernal things for two and a half years now. Thought at first (like many others) that my haemorrhoids had returned. Needless to say it was not and my self diagnosis of threadworms is confirmed. Doctor was not helpful, neither was Ovex, Albendazole nor Ivermectin (seriously powerful drugs) they did not help in any way but to give me serious skin rash with very dry skin and skin splitting. I have done the homeopathic remedies i.e. black walnut, wormwood and clove remedy - useless. Tried Diatom a while back and in desperation am trying this again over a period of 13 weeks ( 10 to go) haven't found much relief up to now. Took laxatives every other day for about three weeks which like previous so-called remedies only made the situation unbearable.

The small white things that appear in your panties are the male worms (1-2mm long). Females must lay eggs outside of the bowel because the eggs MJST HAVE OXYGEN in order to hatch. It takes the eggs approximately 2 hours plus to hatch and some get lost and go back into the bowel where after making their way to the small intestine they mature into females and the cycle begins again - known as retroinfection.

It is the eggs which are impervious to all disinfectants, bleaches etc.

I believe that there must be research done into producing something to kill the eggs in the stomach before they have a chance to mature in the small intestine.

My sympathies go out to all who are suffering with these tenacious parasites whose only purpose in life is to make every day hell for its hosts. With possibly up to 50% of the population infected, some of whom are oblivious to the fact they are infected or have not been diagnosed with threadworm, this will spread hopefully to some members of the human race (member of parliament, royalty and the like) to be safe in the knowledge that perhaps more research into a cure for threadworms will be found.

Ever hopeful.

20

I had long term symptoms of threadworm and I'm now completely cured, I think it's important to tell my story for those of you who have had a similar experience to me.

17 years ago I got repeated infection of threadworm through kids stoking my cute dog, and me being very close to my dog.

At first Ovex and pripsen worked well to clear it up, then at some stage it stopped working and no amount of Overdosing on both would work.

When my dog died 3 years ago, I felt I could look forwards to a worm free life by hygene measures, which I became obsessive with, but this failed, and a few years later as I approached my wedding, I did not want to go down the isle with the symptoms which had turned in to what felt like huge and vigorous wriggling things descending from my anus and vagina, and crawling over my buttocks and down my legs, and feelings like the eggs were hatching on my face and other areas, you can imagine what an impact this had on my sex life with my fiance'! I had been to the doctors before and they had done at least 2 poo samples for eggs but found none, and instead said it was down to stress.

I did not believe them, I could not ignore the evidence of my senses, and saying I was stressed offered me no solutions, so I was hell bent on proving I was infested, this is where it gets really gross, I started poo watching and even putting poo samples on a microscope and taking it back to the doctors along with my black knickers to show white flecks on them, evidence I thought of worm debris, I also limited my diet to eating only pineaple, and I started douching myself with garlic enemas, inserting garlic cloves in my anus at night, and so on, and on, and on......sigh!! I have to say, that during all this time I never actually saw any thereadworm evidence, but what I thought might be worms were actually pinaple fibers, it was all horrible and horrible awful, at this stage I had been infected 15 years!

I pestered the doctors so much they sent me to a skin specialist, who then sent my to another specialist in London, now here my story takes an unusual twist, the specialist said that he had come across many cases identical to mine, and there was a simple solution to it, he asked me if I was depressed, and I said what I had been saying all along, that apart from the worms, I was a very happy woman, he talked to me a bit more and decided I wasn't depressed, but prescibed antidepressants! I thought W T F! He said it might be psychosymatic, and effected more women that men over the age of 40, which I was.

I left him saying I was so desperate I would try anything, I go my antidepressants, took one before bedtime, and that night the worms seemed like 'ghost worms', they were there, but less noticable, the following night they completely vanished! And they stayed vanished! I slept in heavenly peace for the first time in years! 

I simply could not belieive my head could play such trick on my body! And I'm not suggesting to anyone that their worms aren't real, especially if there is physical evidence of them, but in my case, my symptoms were real, but the worms, at this stage did not exist! My symptoms were so real, that when I scratched my bottom, the itching would stop, and I concluded I had ruptured the little buggers and killed them, I could also wash them off in the middle of their frenzied activities down there, and it would make it stop, concluding in my mind, that I'd washed them off.

My story does not end here, I had a very happy wedding day, and was so overjoyed to be cured, that I wanted to forget all about it, and so I did, till a month ago, six years after being cured, the little buggers returned, now I was confused!

Were they phantom worms or not! I had no way of telling, still taking my antidepressants ( becaus I get deliciously lovely sleeeps with them : )

I thought even a psychosymatic person might still actually to get worms, well! No one is immune are they! So, I launched back into all my old and depressing habits, determined to eliminate the possibility them actually being real, and finally went back to my GP, ( different guy this time ) he said with rather hurred impatience and nochelance, that I should take some antihisthamine, so I did, and it has stopped again!, over 2 nights!

This time I am convinced it's my mind playing tricks on me again, don't get me wrong, this isn't something like imagination, the symptoms were as real as before, but because this is the 2nd time this has happened, I decided to look up my symptoms, and I was knocked out to read about myself in wikepidia definitions amongst other things. Look up DELUSIONAL PARASITOSIS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusional_parasitosis

I felt as though they were talking about me exclusively, but I guess there are others out there just like me! Which is why I'm telling my story on this forum, in the hope that one of you may be helped if your experiences are like mine, I felt it was important to tell you, because I am not a doctor, I was a fellow sufferer, and had I been more comprehensively diagnosed early on, it would have saved me years of misery, and I would not have gone down the exhausting challenge of proving I was right, that my worms were real.

This may not be right for you, but if you even suspect that it might be, please approach your doctor in the spirit of eliminating every possibility, and no! I don't like the idea of being delusional, but you can say what you want, as long as I don't have worms, you can call me what you want!

I offer you every sympathy with your condition, and I hope you find your way through it.