# De-worming your Kids???



## Hawkfamily (Jul 13, 2004)

Do you annually de-worm your kids? I have a friend who also lives on a small homestead who has just been recommended from her playgroup that she deworm her kids. Apparently it is something that they just do every year, along with the sheep, goats, pigs, horses and cows.....
I've never considered doing this preventatively like that - just if there was a problem.
What do you think?

Jodi


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

I have done it with the whole family! Used an herbal tincture. Nasty stuff!
I believe it did the trick, and I have snuck in a dose or two last year, sorta preventative.
With kids you can usually watch them and tell if they are wormy. Watch for lots of scratching in the rear area.... restless sleep and such.
If you have little ones that play in the barn yard, it wouldn't hurt! I have to stay on mine about shoes in the goat pen... when they forget all I have to say is "do I need to go get the wormer??" *shoes on instantly!* lol! Like I said, nasty stuff.
I would not consider a chemical wormer... I don't even like using that on my goats. I figure I get 'wormed' when worming the goats, cause I usually end up wearing quiet a portion. Surely it soaks in and does me good too... I hope.

Keeping all the mess picked up will help, around the dogs and other animals especially. And, keeping the chickens contained (mine don't like being contained)


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

We used to do it twice a year when we lived in the tropics, and it was easy to buy the tablets in any drug store. But since we returned to the USA I can't even get a doctor to prescribe de-wormer without doing a stool sample and answering a lot of questions. I don't see what the big deal is - the medication isn't harmful, and many people have pinworms.


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## Nette (Aug 17, 2003)

mamajohnson said:


> ...all I have to say is "do I need to go get the wormer??"


Lord have mercy!!! Y'all are just TOO funny!


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## shelljo (Feb 1, 2005)

When I was a kid, Mom always had a bottle of wormer in the fridge for us kids. Nasty red stuff. But, my brother and I always played outside, in the barn, in the barn yard, ate dog food, and cow cake and chewed on alfalfa and weeds.

And, yep, we had pin worms. Quite regularly.

I sure hated that nasty red medicine. 

But, I've never wormed my kids.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

I do know that the horse de-wormer Invermectin, has been used in 3rd world countries for humans


> Of particular importance was the finding that ivermectin was highly effective against Strongyloides stercoralis, with a 94% reduction in prevalence that was sustained for nine months. This provided field evidence for a paper that predicted that strongyloidiasis in heavily endemic communities could be successfully controlled with a highly effective drug, owing to its low transmission potential


http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/82/8/editorial30804html/en/index.html


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

I grew up being neighbors with a fairly large Mennonite population. I know my mom sent my youngest brothers over for a dose when she found out that all of the boys that he played out in the yards/woods with were being dosed. She figured if one was showing symptoms, then they probably all would since they all ran around together getting into the same things. I couldn't tell you what they used, but I could check with my mom. If she didn't remember, she would be happy to ask.


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

I remember being wormed as a kid, but nowdays doctors look at you like you grew a third arm if you ask them about it.


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Cheribelle said:


> I remember being wormed as a kid, but nowdays doctors look at you like you grew a third arm if you ask them about it.


This is why I just use the herbal wormer. Takes a little longer, more doses, but no questions, just place your order and wait for the mail!!


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## Hawkfamily (Jul 13, 2004)

We have over-the-counter wormer here in Canada available for humans, so finding it isn't the problem. What about building up a resistance to the medication, though, if treated unnecessarily?
I think my young ones would be prime candidates in upcoming years, given their activity on our farm.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I've never been wormed intentionally, nor have my kids, but like Mama Johnson, I figure dd and I get wormed regularly when we Ivermectin the goat herd. There's no way to get the whole herd wormed without wearing some wormer yourself! As it is "pour-on" wormer we use (orally for the goats), I'm sure we absorb enough to take out anything but tapes (which Ivermectin doesn't kill). 

Where else but a homesteading board would you see a question like this posted...and answered in the affirmative by so many posters, lol!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I got stuff from the drug store to treat for pinworms once. When my son was little and palyed in the sandbox at school, he brought home worms, lice and probably other things I never knew about. 

I think the wormer I used was called Pin-X.


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## Backwoods Momma (Feb 26, 2008)

I use black walnut tincture with mine. Just 10 drops twice a day for 10 days and poof. I never did when we lived in the city but, now one the farm, I try to at least once year. I figure if my animals get worms why not us.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

arabian knight said:


> I do know that the horse de-wormer Invermectin, has been used in 3rd world countries for humans
> 
> http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/82/8/editorial30804html/en/index.html


Thats was what it was developed for.


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## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

This question cracked me up when I first read it. I thought you were joking!
Okay so seriously, who should be doing this? Should all people be doing this....no matter where you live or what you do?


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## Becca65 (Jul 13, 2005)

Yuck! My oldest kept getting pin worm they are the nastiest things i've ever seen!! Finally it went away and never came back..


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## Michgranny (Sep 9, 2008)

I am 53 years old and have never been dewormed. As children we were always barefoot, running and playing in all sorts of stuff. I don't think I ever had worms or knew of any one that did! I don't think I would weigh as much now if I had 50 years of worms in my body! Never thought about till this thread!


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## jer (Sep 2, 2003)

At my age and weight I wouldn't mind having some worms for awhile. They just need to eat enough to make me skinny then I would get rid of them.


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## Jenn (Nov 9, 2004)

Was just thinking of this- did I see your thread title and not realise it? As a doctor, as I see it the worst thing worms do is cause blindness- usually round worms- or encephalitis/brain infection again usually round worm. Now of course any worm will cause anemia/malnourish you- more of an issue in growing kids than overweight adults but I am going to consider worming some of my scrawny looking adult patients here in AL- especially the anemic ones! One article said "all anemic patients in endemic areas have worms, not all with worms are anemic" (is the Southeast US or only foreign countries considered an endemic area nowadays? It used to be endemic here until Rockefeller's "hookworm commission" taught SOutherners to wear shoes and not poop in the fields- now dogs and animals spread it not humans).

So anyway I am considering treating me, DD8, and DD15 if she wishes (DH refuses) since our dogs have had worms and do off and on and I garden. None of the kdis eat dirt and we avoid (not always) going barefoot in the yard.

Dose I plan to use is Vermox 100 mg twice daily x 3d

Then of course how often to repeat? Annually sounds good.


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## red_lynn (Oct 9, 2003)

I heard this discussed on the radio the other day and went looking for information. The articles cited at the end make for some interesting reading. I was very interested in article #9 since my mother has autoimmune liver disease. I think it really depends on which worms are present. 

I know for myself if I do have any I'll probably leave them alone since I don't have any symptoms. I also have no autoimmune conditions and no allergies. I know I flat refused to keep shoes on in the summer till I was a teenager so I must have had something at some point. Of course if I had serious anemia or any of the other nasty problems I'd pester my doc until he tested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy


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