Hey there David, so I’m pretty sure my 3 year old has pinworms. He’s really good with taking herbs so I’d like to give it a shot, though I know you said it’s tough and tend to defer to the conventional treatment (which I know nothing about). Never had a chance to treat it though and I’d like to take a crack at it. I put the pieces together when he said his butt was really itchy the other night, I noticed his anus was pretty red, inflamed, and really sensitive when I was wiping him the other day, and he’s been waking up A LOT at night and pretty upset when he does (like freaking out fussy, pretty unlike him). I haven’t checked to see any worms protruding though. Seems like that should be clarified first before diving into treatment? Amy other diagnostic criteria I should consider? I was curious about dosage and duration for a little guy like this. I read an article from Dr Yarnell saying something along the lines of 10 days on, 10 days off then another 10 days on for treatment. Just wondering what you have to say about dosage and duration of treatment. Thanks!

Go into his bedroom at night when he is sleeping with a flashlight, pull down his underwear and shine the light on his anus, if there are pinworms they come out at night to lay eggs. Use a piece of kleenex to grab them. You can also put vaseline around his anus at bedtime and the worms get stuck in it. You need to make sure he wears underwear, keep his fingers out of his itchy butt and out of his mouth (reinfection), wash hands frequently, vacuum his bedroom daily.You need to wash his underwear, bedsheets and pajamas in really hot water Kids usually get pinworms from other children or cats (litter boxes, sandboxes that cats have used as a litter box). If he plays with other children who are infected it is likely he will get reinfected and you and your family can get them too. I used to recommend Vermox (mebendazole), it was an easy to use, low toxicity pharmaceutical, one dose and you were usually done. It seems they stopped making it but no one I have spoken to knows why (it was not due to lack of efficacy or due to adverse effects). Another company now makes Emverm which is the same medicine at a really high price $702.00 for 1 pill, which is usually all you need, stills that is highway robbery. I usually treat for a month solid, and the herbs I use are gnarly and not herbs I like using for 3 year olds - Neem, Quassia (has toxicity for small children), Artemisa annua, Elecampane, Pippali Long Pepper, Black Walnut, Wormwood (not great for small children either) and garlic. Dosage will depend on the formula and use his weight divided by 150 to determine accurate dosage.