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How Often Should You Deworm?

We have seen briefly about the human parasites viz., hookworm, pinworm, roundworm, tapeworm and whipworm and their life cycle, their entry points, preventing them from getting contracted etc. Still, the world is full of parasites that there are chances of acquiring them however clean you are. For instance, a simple lick from your pet, a barefoot walk on your lawn, a swim in a reservoir or a pool with untreated water or negligence on your part to wash hands thoroughly before eating/preparing food after gardening or unwashed salad or untreated drinking water/milk/fluids or under cooked meat or school going children in your family can get you the eggs/larvae of these parasites. UNICEF report of “The state of the world’s children 1998” says that about 1.5 billion people have roundworms, making it the third most common human infection in the world, whipworm infects 1 billion people, including nearly one third of all children in Africa and more than 1.3 billion people carry hookworm in their gut. Hence the picture is very clear; the chances of these parasites creeping inside ourselves are very high.

Worm infestations often cause serious health problems and impact a child’s ability to attend and perform well in school and another UNICEF report says researches have shown that regular deworming can substantially increase school attendance and significantly improve a child’s ability to learn in school. Eventually the growth rate and weight gain of children who are regularly de-wormed is pretty higher than who those who aren’t. Hence regular deworming is the best solution for many of the childhood illnesses.

Now the pertinent question arises; how often should I deworm myself and my family? Especially you should have a fair knowledge on deworming frequencies when there are school going kids or thumb sucking toddlers at home. A quick or thorough search on the internet may not bring you the answer to your question. There are thousands of sites which may guide you through deworming schedules of horses and pets, but you won’t be able to find a definite answer for the deworming frequencies or schedules to be adopted for human being and that is the cause of writing these series about parasites beginning from hookworm.

Now, the answer to the question is that in most cases, deworming once every three months is sufficient. But, if you suspect/notice that your child is getting worms more frequently, then deworming (the whole family) once every six to eight weeks may be necessary. Except tapeworms (as in the case of pinworm or whipworm infection), a second dose may be necessary after two weeks or 73-75 days after the first dose to break the life cycle/to kill the migrating larval forms of these parasites. In any case, deworming the whole family twice a year is necessary. Mebendazole/albendazole in suspension or chewable tablet form is the conventional drug of choice and the side effects too are few and those side effects that there are, are usually caused by dead worms being expelled from the body, rather than by the drug itself.

For more accurate information, consult with your primary physician to know the prevalence of the parasites in your area, the deworming medicine that should be taken and its dosage and intervals needed to keep the parasites at bay. Inform the physician about the allergies and existing diseases/pregnancy that you have, before your physician charts down the prescription.

Filed Under Health Care | 6 Comments

6 Responses to “How Often Should You Deworm?”

1Dee

What type of broad spectrum dewormer do you recommend for human use? Our pharmacist and physician said “it’s not a problem in this day and age” and if “I’m not seeing symptoms, don’t deworm.” They basically laughed at me. I’m a vet tech and I know the prevalence of worm infestations in animals. I also know that often it goes undetected without studying their feces. How often do humans have their feces tested? I believe it’s a huge problem world wide; however, modern medicine doesn’t recognize it because it’s going undected. When my parents were young, they were routinely dewormed by their doctor. What has changed in the past 50 years? Not much. . .except for the fact that routine deworming is no longer practiced in the United States. Please tell me what products you would recommend for deworming my entire family on a broad spectrum basis. We have pets who like to lick us and we know this is a catalyst in the spread of parasites among other factors. There are 2 adults in my family, a 5 year old and a 7 month old (having a hard time finding anything at all for the 7 month old). Please advise at your earliest convenience and provide places these products can be purchased. Many thanks.

[Reply]
2Raj

Dee,

Even I was dewormed regularly during my childhood days but that practice is getting dropped nowadays.

Any benzimidazole derivative will do. (albendazole, mebendazole or febendazole). Check for the appropriate dosages according to body weight.

[Reply]
3Sabeen

Hi, my son is almost three years old and weighs 11kg. What dosage of albendazole is suitable for him. I live in Turkey and all the instructions of this medicine are in turkish which I don’t understand. I am giving him 5 ml twice daily for three days, then after three weeks I will give him the same dosage again. Should I deworm him again in three months time?

Thanks,

[Reply]
Raj reply on July 18th, 2008 1:26 am:
@Sabeen: Check with your primary physician for the dosages and frequency as it depends on the type and severity of the infection.

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