Hi All
In a recent visit to our GP (a wonderful British doctor whom we like because he tends to think outside of the box), we mentioned on the side that our 16 month old has been rubbing his nose quite a bit lately. Our GP then asked if he has also been waking up crying in the middle of the night and we answered that yes he does that every now and then but goes back to sleep on his own after a few minutes. We had never thought much of that as it only happens occasionally and it doesn't last for very long at all. Well, the good doctor then said that he might have WORMS! At first that freaked me out a bit but apparently he said they are very common (most parents never even realize their children have them) and harmless (outside of causing disturbed sleep because they wiggle around in their intestines and lay their eggs outside the anus early in the morning). He also said they are so tiny they are not detectable even under a magnifying glass. You'd have to put tape on their bottoms before they go to sleep and then bring the tape over to a lab for them to examine under a microscope.
I know that a baby rubbing his nose during the day and waking up in the middle of the night is not conclusive evidence that he has worms... and our doctor certainly did reassure us of this. But what he suggested (just the possibility, even though generally they are harmless) still grossed me out and made me concerned.
Anyone out there have any other thoughts/experience on this, or been told something similar by their doctors/pediatricians?
Thanks in advance!
In a recent visit to our GP (a wonderful British doctor whom we like because he tends to think outside of the box), we mentioned on the side that our 16 month old has been rubbing his nose quite a bit lately. Our GP then asked if he has also been waking up crying in the middle of the night and we answered that yes he does that every now and then but goes back to sleep on his own after a few minutes. We had never thought much of that as it only happens occasionally and it doesn't last for very long at all. Well, the good doctor then said that he might have WORMS! At first that freaked me out a bit but apparently he said they are very common (most parents never even realize their children have them) and harmless (outside of causing disturbed sleep because they wiggle around in their intestines and lay their eggs outside the anus early in the morning). He also said they are so tiny they are not detectable even under a magnifying glass. You'd have to put tape on their bottoms before they go to sleep and then bring the tape over to a lab for them to examine under a microscope.
I know that a baby rubbing his nose during the day and waking up in the middle of the night is not conclusive evidence that he has worms... and our doctor certainly did reassure us of this. But what he suggested (just the possibility, even though generally they are harmless) still grossed me out and made me concerned.
Anyone out there have any other thoughts/experience on this, or been told something similar by their doctors/pediatricians?
Thanks in advance!