Should humans be routinely wormed?

SillyMangoX

Just thought this might make an interesting topic of discussion, those of us who are responsible pet owners have no qualms over routinely worming our pets every 3-4 months, but should we be worming ourselves along side our furry friends? Obviously humans aren't at as big a risk of catching worms as we don't hunt, don't eat off the floor, don't eat dogs poo (well I hope not anyway!!) and general good hygiene like hand washing keeps them at bay. But I do remember being wormed as a child, and also am working in a job where I would be high risk of developing worms off of untreated animals. Well I've certainly got a few flea bites, so who's to say I won't catch worms? I know I was discussing it with the other nurses on my last placement after watching one of those monsters inside me type programmes and they said they would definitely consider worming theirselves every now and again! So what do people think, should those of us with pets/ working with animals routinely worm ourselves?

Nody

Hmm, high risk areas definitly. I've gone through a deworming before when a family member got it (no clue how) and it's not something I'd like to do on a regular basis unless I'm in a high risk zone though :P

gctest50

Or you could keep them as pets and have them sort out your asthma in their spare time

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/4/30/91945/8971

SillyMangoX

gctest50 wrote: »

Or you could keep them as pets and have them sort out your asthma in their spare time

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/4/30/91945/8971

Might come in handy for me as I have both asthma and hayfever :P

lorebringer

I worm us (humans) at least once a year... usually in the summer time. When I was in college, there was a lovely situation involving worms found in the toilet (bleugh - so gross) so we all had to be wormed and since then I worm the household - myself and the OH - at least once a year. Maybe it's overkill, but the whole college incident has stuck with me. (the dogs are wormed regularly too!)

anniehoo

I deworm myself twice a year with Vermox I'm in contact regularly with a lot of dogs that are riddled with various parasites so my exposure would be higher than a lot of people who would only encounter their own dog etc. If you have kids it's also relatively easy to get Pinworm from them too.

Vermox is cheap and easy to take, so for peace of mind that's why i do it. It's estimated that ~2bn people worldwide harbour some parasitic infection and many live quite happily with no ill effects.

SillyMangoX

anniehoo wrote: »

I deworm myself twice a year with Vermox I'm in contact regularly with a lot of dogs that are riddled with various parasites so my exposure would be higher than a lot of people who would only encounter their own dog etc. If you have kids it's also relatively easy to get Pinworm from them too.

Vermox is cheap and easy to take, so for peace of mind that's why i do it. It's estimated that ~2bn people worldwide harbour some parasitic infection and many live quite happily with no ill effects.

I dose myself with vermox too when I'm finished my placements, so once a year, I guess I'll have to step it up if I get a full time nursing job!

bluecherry74

I remember being wormed regularly as a child - I can't remember the name, but they were little red tablets. I've often wondered whether I should still be doing it. The dogs and cats are wormed regularly and I rarely come into close contact with other animals, so I'm not too worried about it.

anniehoo wrote: »

Vermox is cheap and easy to take, so for peace of mind that's why i do it. It's estimated that ~2bn people worldwide harbour some parasitic infection and many live quite happily with no ill effects.

:eek: Well now I'm slightly worried about it! I always assumed I'd have some symptoms if I had parasites living inside me. Can you buy Vermox over the counter?

baby and crumble

I think if you have an animal who spends a lot of time outdoors you have to worm yourself. I had to take worm tablets before and it's not always pleasant but I'd rather that than suddenly find I had a couple of nests inside me!!!

anniehoo

bluecherry74 wrote: »

I always assumed I'd have some symptoms if I had parasites living inside me. Can you buy Vermox over the counter?

Nope we can have various different parasites e.g hookworm lying dormant in us for years, even decades with no ill effects. It's only when we're immunosuppressed for example that these infections can become a problem. We can have little Demodex mites live among our eyelashes too, quite happily unless the balance is upset. Giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis will be symptomatic though and will cause extreme diarrhoea. The list is endless, but in well sanitised and developed countries most of these are not an issue. Parasitology isnt even taught in Biomedical Science here, it's generally considered low on the list of medical issues that cause problems. But, i still feel anyone who's regularly in close contact with a lot of unwormed animals it isn't a bad thing to dose yourself once/twice per year.

Most chemists will have Vormex. They're well used to people asking for it (esp for kids with Pinworm) so don't be embarrassed

boomerang

I have taken worm tablets as a precaution, but that's because I work with huge volumes of cats/kittens and hence volumes of kitty poop. Have to clean up dog poop in the vets, too. You never know...

tk123

gctest50 wrote: »

Or you could keep them as pets and have them sort out your asthma in their spare time

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2006/4/30/91945/8971

Wow... I just forked out €80 for an inhaler today but don't feel so bad now lol!

grey_so_what

tk123 wrote: »

Wow... I just forked out €80 for an inhaler today but don't feel so bad now lol!

I'm in the same boat but I don't know at this moment how I feel!......:eek::eek::eek:

kowloon

Kids don't play outdoors in the muck as much these days, there was always someone with worms, ticks or lice when I was a child. People also keep their dogs locked in now, they used to roam about the place.

baby and crumble

kowloon wrote: »

Kids don't play outdoors in the muck as much these days, there was always someone with worms, ticks or lice when I was a child. People also keep their dogs locked in now, they used to roam about the place.

Oh God TICKS! I hate them. I had this massive one on my arm once, it was insane looking. All my city friends are like "you had a WHAT on you???!!?????!" :pac::pac::pac:

SillyMangoX

Haha that brings back memories of me and my college house mate finding a tick on her cat, it hasn't attached yet so was still crawling around his fur and the two of us were running around screaming and eventually manages to get the tick off the cat and drown it on vodka. At least it died happy! Poor cat must have been freaked though!!

kowloon

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Haha that brings back memories of me and my college house mate finding a tick on her cat, it hasn't attached yet so was still crawling around his fur and the two of us were running around screaming and eventually manages to get the tick off the cat and drown it on vodka. At least it died happy! Poor cat must have been freaked though!!

There are worse ways to go.