OK this is a wierd request but Im wondering if anyone has had experience with this. A week ago, I noticed a small (1/4 inch) brown worm on one of my daughter's diapers. It was a used diaper that was lying on the carpeted floor in my bdroom (it missed the garbage pail in the middle of the night). Since it was on the floor I thought the worm could have come from anywhere so I didnt think much of it. So today when I was changing her clothes & took off her onesie, I saw one on her head. I think it fell out of the onesie. I've done some research & think its either a carpet beatle larvae or moth larvae (i read online of another instance where a woman found tiny brown worms in a diaper & it was moth larvae). I'm wondering if its from the Seventh Generation unbleached diapers? Have you heard of anything like this? Do you think it could be a parasite? My daughter seems to be healthy. I appreciate any advice. Thanks!
Some moms suggest to take the worm and your child to the pediatrician to be checked out, make sure she didn't pass the worm in her bowel movement. Then call the professional to clean the house to make sure it's safe for children.
Thanks for all of your advice. I did put a call in to my pediatrician just before I posted the question on this site. She said that parasites in humans, especially babies, would be very small, almost microscopic and what I described sounded more like a bug larvae. I guess I should have been more specific in my post. They were not in her poop. I did find one on her diaper but the diaper had been on the floor for a few hours. Also there were only two, the first one I threw in the outside garbage w/ the diaper and the other one fell on the floor when I tried to show my husband. I couldn't find it again so I vacuumed my carpet really well. I have also cleaned out my room, getting rid of all my old magazines, washing all the laundry & bed linens. I have not seen any more but I have seen moths in my house in the past so that could be it. We don't have any pets. It has been an educational experience though! Thanks again for all your advice.
I would take one to the doctor and another one to your vet to make sure what it is. The vets know more about worms. Good luck!
If it were me, I would get the next poopy diaper to the doctor and call asap. I am not sure about the diapers, but I think you'd have to disinfect them with bleach or in a steam cleaner or something. Please discuss this with your pediatrician, as I thinking that you'll need to do something different with the diapers. Also, do you have any cats or other animals? I would be very concerned about finding two worms now. Please call your pediatrician asap. Good luck!
I'd take a stool sample in to her ped. office. Pin worms, redowrms, roundworms, and other parasites are very very very common...especially in more affluent communities. (Immigrant communities tend to be far more aware of the problem and take more steps.) The last study done in Seattle showed that approximately 18-22% of children in the city are estimated to have them (untreated...the % of treated cases is much lower)...and 3 out of 4 parks and playgrounds tested positive for worms. So even if you don't have pets of your own, the parks are a common infestation point. Plus, of course, cross contamination from other kids and adults at schools, parks, etc. Dogs, cats, & raccoons are the most common carriers. Hence, why we have to worm our pets once a month. But 20% of kids....that's one in FIVE. Shocking isn't it?
Expect to receive some flak if you're in Seattle trying to get treated. When I was a child we used to be wormed (it's just a chewy tablet) every 6 months, prophylactically by our schools (one at beginning of term, once coming back from spring break), but not only do schools not do this anymore there is some kind of idiocy existing in this city where many people actually believe that PEOPLE DON'T GET THESE KINDS OF PARASITES UNLESS WE'VE BEEN TRAVELING! Ridiculous!
When we were dealing with this problem earlier in the year (new puppy and a 5 year old, go figure)...we hit wall after wall after wall with APPOINTMENT SECRETARIES and nurses. (We have a pediatrician and adult practice...so we had to battle twice.)I finally had to make an appointment for something different, just to see the doc (and I came armed with printouts of all the research I'd been doing), and the Dr. was like "Oh yeah, this is really common, I'm actually surprised we don't see more cases. In the last city I practiced in..." Hah. I tipped him off to the problem I'd been having making an appointment.
Anyhow. It may NOT be intestinal parasites. But I would get it checked out. A super easy 1-3 dose fix.
Z.
don't freak out. It's probably a bug larva. I work in veterinary parasitology, and it would probably be wise just to have it checked just in case. One thing about children and parasites: roundworms look like spaghetti, tapeworms look like sesame seeds in stool. Other worms look similar to rounds. They also migrate to other parts of the body, including the eyes and brain. Your description sounds like an ordinary beetle larva, but just have it checked just in case.
Whoa, moms, please do NOT sprinkle borax on your carpets. According to a chemical safety data sheet at http://cartwright.chem.ox.ac.uk/hsci/chemicals/borax.html
*** Borax is harmful if swallowed.
*** Borax dust is very irritating if breathed in.
*** There is some evidence that prolonged or repeated exposure to borax may cause reproductive defects.
Borax also irritates eyes and should be washed thoroughly off skin. You are not likely to ever vacuum all of it out of a rug, because like any powder, it can settle into the fibers, then become pulverized into a finer dust that can rise again under foot traffic.
It's a good cleaner, deodorizer and disinfectant, and it's okay to use it in your wash where it will be thoroughly rinsed out. (It is poisonous to ant and other critters, and is used in some insect baits, but these should never be placed where kids or pets can get to them.)
Put one in a baggie and take it to your doctor. My nephew had tape worms at one point and they were not fun.
Good luck!
Take the worm and your daughter to the pediatrician to be checked out. You don't know if she passed the worm in her bowel movement. Do you have flies in your home, you mentioned moths, do you have several of them? Parasites are a possibility, but taking her to the pediatrician will eliminate this possibility. Ask your boys not to flush the toilet until you check their bowel movements. If it were a parasite, it might be passed from your sons to your daughter. Keep your floors and carpets vaccuumed and clean. If your daughter is on the floor crawling, put down a sheet to cover the floor for her to play, lay on. Wash it every day. Hope you find the source, it's perplexing and worrisome.
I had this same thing happen to me... but with my story I first noticed one in a clean baby diaper when I pulled it out of my wooden ottoman where I store the diapers and wipes. Later when I was sweeping my floor in the kitchen I found another two along the baseboards. Then again one day when I moved my couch found another one under couch by baseboard. It looks like a small brown worm/ inset larva with hairs all over is and it curls in defence ... my mom told me that it could possibly be from cat food.... but I've been researching and as disgusting as it sounds... our food my contain lava eggs for these bugs and when some falls out of reach (under stove, baseboards... somewhere dark and hidden that doesnt get cleaned as often) that they can mature... and become these gross household bugs...
THEY ARE WEEVIL LARVA http://www.ehow.com/about_###-###-####_weevils.html
Sounds like round worms. They are more common then you think. The child can pick them up anywhere and babies are more likely because they crawl and are exposed to dirt and soil. You have to have your carpets cleaned and wash your bedding everyday for a week. Then you need to tell the doctor you think is round worms and get the babies poo to a lab 3 different times. An ultrasound on the tummy may help. Most importantly keep your house and bathrooms and kitchen VERY clean and make sure everyone washes their hands after using the bathroom everytime with soap and scrubbing under the nails. And there is an over the counter treatment you can give the whole family. The little ones you can go by weight or do half the youngest child requirement. Do all of it finish the required amount and re-treat every month around the full moon for 3 months and then again 3 months later. For adults doing a colon cleans helps. 1 out of every 3 people has parasites in their digestive tract (you can ask any procto dr) Hope it helps keep it clean!
This may not be the same thing, but when I started feeding my daughter bananas, there were always little "worms" in her diaper. I called the dr. and since they weren't moving, and went away when she didn't eat bananas, I was pretty sure that was the culprit. They looked EXACTLY like worms, tiny brown ones, but didn't move. Hope that's what it is!!!
