Is your child about to start kindergarten? Then you’ll want to read up on pinworms in kids and other things they don’t warn you about kindergarten!
Pinworms in Kids and Other Things They Don’t Tell You
A New Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Unmentionable Things You’ll Face When Your Child Starts School!
*This post is sponsored by Reese’s Pinworm Medicine. As always, all opinions are completely my own and I only recommend products I would personally use. Additionally, I am not a medical professional so if you are in need of medical advice please consult your primary care doctor.
As we are preparing to go back to school I’m feeling nostalgic about Little Man starting 1st grade. Seriously…when did he grow up??? It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 7 years since I brought him home from the hospital and started this little blog because I needed an outlet as a new stay at home mom.
What I’m not feeling nostalgic about is all of the gross and unmentionable things we encountered last year when he entered kindergarten. Most parents will tell you that kindergarten is a BIG first step for your child’s future. Others will tell you how much school work you’ll have to start dealing with. Some of my friends even told me about how exhausted Little Man would be trying to adjust to the longer days.
But, not a single one of them told me about the horrors we would experience.
NOT one person mentions this thing called Hand, Foot, Mouth disease!
Seriously…who names something “Hand, Foot, Mouth disease“??? And, it’s just as scary as it sounds! It’s literally red blisters all over your poor baby….but you don’t want to touch your poor baby for fear of catching the dreaded disease yourself.
So that’s the first crazy thing we encountered in kindergarten. That stuff spreads through a classroom like glitter in front of a fan. There was no avoiding it…every child in the classroom contracted that…and most of the siblings too.
Luckily, a trip to the pediatrician and a week out of school got us through that ordeal.
The next crazy thing we encountered was lice.
So, we’ve all heard about lice and probably experienced lice at some point during our childhood but man….lice are NOOOOOO joke! And getting rid of them is an even bigger joke. Seriously y’all, lice went through our entire kindergarten (all 6 classes) at least 3 times!
It got to the point that the kids were stripping down in the garage, changing clothes, and I was combing through their hair BEFORE I’d let them in the house…it was INSANE.
But, nothing…..and I mean NOTHING could prepare me for the pinworms.
Pinworms in kids is the most awful thing you’ll experience during the first year of school. Seriously, I think I’ll take the flu over a pinworm outbreak at school.
Pinworms are EXACTLY what they sound like….teeny tiny worms the size of a pin. But, what I wasn’t prepared for was HOW you find out if your child has pinworms. Pinworms are most active at night so you have to wait until the evening to “check”. And during Kindergarten you wind up checking A LOT because there seems to be an outbreak all the time. Pinworms are pesky little buggars that lay eggs along the outside of your child’s anus.
Yes…you read that right…their anus. You know the little folds of skin right at the edge of their “pooper”…that’s where you have to go to find out if your child has pinworms.
Pinworms are easily contracted because those infected can pick up the eggs without even realizing it and pass it from kid to kid through clothes, countertops, desks, door handles, etc. Pinworm eggs can survive for 2-3 weeks on a surface…makes you want to scrub the whole house every day…right?!
The primary symptom of pinworms in kids is them complaining about their bottom itching. But, when they’re in kindergarten there are many reasons WHY their bottom may be itching. Maybe they didn’t wipe well. Maybe you changed detergents and they’re irritated. Maybe something they ate caused extra acid in their stomach and made their bottom sore when using the potty.
So, in order to verify if your child has pinworms you have to take a piece of tape, spread their cheeks, apply the piece of tape to their anus, remove the tape and close it together, then repeat for the next 3 nights. You can either take the tape to your pediatrician to examine or you can take a look at the tape under a magnifying glass and see the little white worms.
Luckily, if your child does have pinworms, there’s an easy fix…and you can treat the whole family without everyone needing a trip to the doctor.
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Reese’s Pinworm Medicine is available over the counter at most retailers and Amazon…and they have “Family Packs” so you can treat everyone at once. Reese’s Pinworm Medicine is safe for ages 2 and up and it’s very affordable! So, instead of waiting for the dreaded “pinworm outbreak” letter to come home from school, I keep a family pack in my medicine cabinet along with a pack of Reese’s Pinworm Itch Relief Wipes….the thought of little worms wiggling around in my intestines really grosses me out!
The anti-itch wipes are perfect for when your kid won’t leave their bum alone. Scratching is the main reason that pinworms are able to spread so quickly….your kid scratches their bottom and picks up microscopic eggs then touches something and the eggs stick to that surface. When another person touches that surface and then touches their mouth the eggs are digested and hatch in the intestines…thus the pinworm cycle continues.
So until you’re certain that the pinworms have been eradicated it’s a good idea to use Reese’s Pinworm Itch Relief Wipes to keep the scratching to a minimum and provide relief.
Pinworms in kids is not the end of the world…it’s actually quite common and pretty benign…they’re just annoying and gross. I feel like I have now TRULY prepared you for kindergarten and what to expect. This is a fun time in your kid’s life and you’ll have a blast this year….it’s just always good to be prepared and aware of what’s ahead.
You can find out more about Pinworms in Kids on the Reese’s Pinworm website. You can also get a mail-in rebate for Reese’s Pinworm Medicine to save some money!