How Often Should You Deworm?
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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 six months is sufficient. But, if you suspect/notice that your child is getting worms more frequently, then deworming your child/whole family more frequently as deemed appropriate by your primary physician 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 interval that should be adopted, the deworming medicine that should be taken and its dosage 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.
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24 Comments on this post
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Dee said:
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.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:51 am -
Raj said:
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.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 pm -
Sabeen said:
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,
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:38 pm -
dennis said:
this is 3rd time this year i found pin worm in my body, nobody shows any symptoms in my family, we got kids an adults no pets.
im convinced at this point that most people simply scratch their but and never think twice.October 1st, 2008 at 7:43 am -
Laurie said:
Diatomaceous earth! Look it up! I try to give my family at least 3 tablespoons a day in a drink, and we put it on our bodies every so often.
I also mix a little in the cat food when we feed them, and I put it on their fur!
Works great! It is cheap, easy to use, and it is a miracle worker!Raj reply on November 4th, 2008 7:34 am:
@Laurie: I have heard of it being used as a water purifier/filter in the treatment of low turbidity drinking water supplies and as an abrasive in industries. Personally I don’t know anything about food-grade diatomaceous earth, its actions while inside the body, or whether it has deworming characteristics, and I don’t have any information of FDA endorsement of deworming characteristics in food-grade diatomaceous earth.
Everybody else, better Google out for the reliability and efficiency of food-grade diatomaceous earth in the said functions before trying it out.
Thanks Laurie for this piece of great information.
November 4th, 2008 at 6:17 am -
Josh said:
Hi, I live in the southeast US. I live with 4 people and 5 cats. The cats clearly have worms and are today beginning treatment. I have seen no hard evidence of any sort of personal infection, but I have noticed many symptoms with vague and inconclusive similarities to various typed of worm infestation. I have no money for doctor visits currently, but I’m too terribly worried to do nothing. I wonder, how can I find out for sure, and remedy or vaccinate without a doctor. Also, for when I can see a doctor, what type should I seek out? I have searched much and found much on diet, herbs, and supplements, but nothing ever certain. I appreciate all your information already shared, it seems to be a good lead.
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm -
chris said:
your page is informative continue with the strength to make readers more educate
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:04 pm -
Donna said:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/12/31/his_parasite_theory_stirs_a_revolution/
read this article about why you shouldn’t de-worm….
Raj reply on April 21st, 2009 1:30 am:
Thank you. That is a nice piece of information. Excessive hygiene makes immune system lazy, underequipped and inexperienced to fight diseases. And after reading that article, one will be in a dilemma whether to deworm or not to deworm! Read the last para what I said, do it all in consultation with your family physician because the prevalence of parasitic worms vary from place to place and the intensity of their action/impact on human bodies too vary from person to person that your physician will be able to decide better. Furthermore, World Health Organization (WHO) still recommends school deworming twice a year in low-income countries of Africa, South America and Asia.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:58 pm -
Donna said:
Raj,
I found this site after finding the link I posted above, as I’ve been searching for reasons and cures for my husband.After a trip to Tibet and rural China he developed Alopecia Universalitis (auto-immune disease where the body rejcts all hair). We travel quiet a bit and I don’t think I’ve ever seen AU outside the USA or Europe. So, I certainly wonder if Dr. Weinstein is on to something. I’d like to find doctors aroud the world and ask them if auto-immune disases & allergies exist in rural areas in the numbers that we see.
Dr. Weinstein says hay fever doesn’t exist in underdevelped countries, and he thinks auto-immune diseases could be caused from worming, it sure seems to me that with this invention–the computer–we could validate or invalidate his theory, and maybe be on our way to a huge discovery!
Thanks for yur help!
Raj reply on April 21st, 2009 2:56 pm:
This information has triggered my anxiety to get more information on this and will be my next question to whoever doctor or naturopath that I’ll have a chance to exchange information and a topic to research in my free time. I could find allergies in this part of the world, India, but have to find out the statistics.
Please update the readers of this blog with any useful information that you may come over or the successful outcome of any treatment that you may be trying. Our sincere prayers.
Donna reply on April 22nd, 2009 1:29 pm:
I am so happy to have found you, as I can see that you are in the loop and motivated! It’d be great if you could submit your findings to a medical journal. I’m sure Dr. Weinstein would love to hear your findings. Where are you in India?? I know a lady in Mumbai who has two teenagers with AU.
They say the odds of AU in the USA is one in a thousand people, however, in my small town of 3,500 I personally know 7 people who have it. So, I wonder, how many actually have it here? However, my “small town” is a world class destination resort, where you hear foreign languages all day everywhere.
I am not saying that you are more apt to get an auto-immune disease because you travel, because it seems to me that with the advent of world travel we travelers carry these new bacteria to new areas everyday, and so everyone is at risk. But if you could find out if auto-immune diseases, allergies are as prevalent in out of the way places, without de-worming, etc. ?? then that’s news ~ and could certainly lead to a great discovery.
I remember some people from Mexico who told me whenever they come to America they get sick, so swapping bacteria must be hard on all of us!
As far as a cure for hubby’s alopecia universalitis, he has tried everything natural, from diets to supplements to lotions, the only thing anyone has found that actually works is steroids, Prednisone taken once a month, at a dosage of 150mg. But, if you ever quit — all of your hair will fall out promptly. At least this disease doesn’t come with any pain, only life altering mental condition, and sadly it attacks anyone of any age, sometimes, although rarely, it completely reverses itself, and you grow hair again.
Raj reply on April 22nd, 2009 2:05 pm:
I live down south in India in Coimbatore.
Yes, corticosteroid is a treatment option for alopecia areata with possibilities of recurrence once stopped and since alopecia universalis is a further advanced stage, I doubt it will be a permanent solution.
We have to rule out the possible causes one by one. Will get back to you once I have any sufficient satisfactory information for your help.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:28 pm -
Raj said:
Diphenylcyclopropenone and efalizumab have been tried for alopecia universalis, still not a perfect solution.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm -
Kathleen said:
With regards to deworming, my 16month old daughter’s pediatrician doesn’t want my kid to be dewormed just yet because “she’s too young”. However, I’m a bit worried because I noticed that my child would seemingly scratch her bottom by rocking back and forth on her bath tub, and her stomach has grown quite big enough to be noticed. She also has scratch marks on her bottom. She’s not really a thumb sucker but she would frequently put her hand in her mouth. And now that she’s confidently walking on her own, she has easy access to dirty things. We have a dog but she’s doesn’t live inside the house with us.
My question is, is my child manifesting symptoms of worm infestation? If so, I will insist a prescription for my daughter. However, is it advisable to deworm a 10-kilogram baby?
Raj reply on April 23rd, 2009 8:02 am:
You can take all the medical information that you find on the web just for informational purposes only. Your physician will be the best person to come to a conclusion as he/she has access for physically examining a patient.
The symptoms that you reproduce here can be of parasites as there is a pet/child puts hand in mouth/has access to dirt or fungal infection because of wet diapers. So the best person would be your doctor itself to suggest you any other alternative for a complete cure.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:47 am -
SHILTI said:
Thanx Raj & Donna for all the information u’ve provided here.
I was searching the net to look for some information abt my three year old daughter’s deworming…I felt she needed to be dewormed..but now i m really confused..i guess i’ll have to take her to a paediatrician…since we are constantly on move we don’t have a fixed paediatrician for her…
I’ll be back for more advice after a visit to the doc….thanx
SHILTIJune 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pm -
mike b said:
just look at how unhealthy alot of people look and its an easy cure de worm your dr will never tell u if every 1 was healthy they would not make a dime
October 16th, 2009 at 1:10 am -
Sandra said:
If one has dogs that stay in the house and one has worms. Do the humans and the other dog need to be dewormed?
December 8th, 2009 at 4:32 pm -
Sandra said:
The dog has roundworms. I dewormed her yesterday and in a couple hours she was passing them.
December 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
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