Worms in my poo

I slunk surreptitiously into the pharmacy. Not my usual local one where all the staff know me, of course.

 

Seeing another woman at the counter, I hovered around the vitamin section while I waited for her to be served. She handed in a prescription and then took a seat as she waited for it to be filled. Blast!

 

I contemplated leaving and returning later when an on-the-ball assistant caught my furtive eye. She approached me discreetly and asked if she could help.

 

“Worms’” I whispered.

 

“Who?” she asked sympathetically.

 

“Me,” I replied, the blood rising to my cheeks. “I have young kids, I must have caught them from them,” I explained, quickly passing the blame and shame onto the smallies.

 

“You probably all have them,” she agreed and gave me a bottle of magic medicine. She told me that one spoon each should do the trick if the wrigglers in question were from the common tapeworm family.

 

Ok, I know it’s nothing to be so embarrassed about. I mean, it’s not as if I had to admit to having gonorrhea or crabs or anything but still, it is really cringey, isn’t it? Having to tell a stranger (albeit one used to hearing far worse) that your stools are alive?

 

I decided to consult Dr Google who informed me that threadworms (also known as pinworms) are the most common worm parasite in kids, affecting up to half of all under 10s. The risk of other family members getting them from an infected child is as high as 75% - see, I knew it was all their fault.

 

The worms hatch in the gut and then wriggle out of their victim’s bottoms at night to lay more eggs. Lovely! They are passed on by poor hygiene, not washing your hands after going to the toilet (those pesky kids) or coming into contact with objects contaminated by the worm’s eggs.

 

So for the next few days and weeks, I have to keep a close eye on all poos passed in our house. Man Child can look after himself in this regard.

 

I have to strip all the beds tonight and wash the bed linen and towels as treatment alone does not kill the eggs and good hygiene is the only way to prevent re-infection.

 

And to make matters worse, now my head is starting to itch.