Tapeworm during Pregnancy. Grooooossssss

Mama210 · April 2014

Ugh. So, I fear I may have tapeworm. So damn disgusting and scary. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow, but have been trying to find out more info about tapeworm during pregnancy online.

I will spare everyone the symptoms and details. I am more interested in finding out if anyone else has dealt with this. Also, if anyone has knowledge pertaining to the dangers of tapeworm during pregnancy and if/how they can treat it.

Help! Eww.

Mama210 · April 2014

I am 21 weeks along in my pregnancy, in case anyone was wondering regarding meds or treatment.

rlyttle · April 2014

Oh my!! How do you even get tape worm? Ingest one?

portentosa · April 2014

Ewww. I'm so sorry! There are some tapeworm and coccidia infested animals at my job (petstore) that are currently being treated by the vet and I have been avoiding them like the plague!! I've had ringworm while pregnant (but that is just fungal).

Good news, there is no direct effect the tapeworm will have on your baby. But the general parasitic nature of it is (obviously) not good for you....and therefore not good for baby. There are two Category B drugs (Praziquantel and Niclosamide) that your doctor could prescribe to kill the worm and one Category C drug (Albendazole) that is not recommended for pregnant women. 21 weeks....second tri..... I imagine your doc will prescribe the medicine immediately, but your doctor will let you know if you need to wait for baby to be a bit older...but you will be treated while pregnant.

Good luck to you!

ETA: To address the cause of your tapeworms...... definitely cook your meat well (pork most especially), wear gloves while gardening (neighborhood cats and wildlife can deposit tapeworms in the soil), and treat any pets you have (medication & scooping poop daily so they don't reinfect themselves during treatment....and treat pets for fleas if any are present as that is the number one cause of tapeworms in pets).

Justabean3 · April 2014

Hmmmm

raseco2 · April 2014

oh man, I want to know the disgusting details

)

awc1986 · April 2014

raseco2 said:
oh man, I want to know the disgusting details )

This. Too curious.

Mama210 · May 2014

Hello! OP here. I am not sure what happened, but I could not get into the site with my original name for the last few days (which has happened before, hence my 2 profiles), so here I am with an alternate one.

So, the gory details. . . for those of you who want to know. .. . . My cats ended up having tapeworm. We vacuumed, bleached and hot washed everything we could. They were still running their butts on everything until the day after we got them treated. That being said, I know it is highly unlikely and very difficult to transfer from feline to human. I never gave it a thought. Of course we kept cleaning and kept our hands clean and such . . . till a few days ago. My butt started to itch. I was hoping it was hemorrhoids or some other lovely pregnancy repercussion. Then I went to the bathroom, looked at my stool and saw small little things in it that looked like rice. SOOOOO disgusting. I am sorry for the disgusting visual, but some of you requested, haha (dry heave). I noticed it in almost every stool since that one. My butt is still itchy, my vagina feels slightly swollen and a little itchy. Of course I am not sure if the itchy or irritated feelings are from over cleaning as I have been showering twice a day (forever unclean!!) since I saw the stuff in my poop!.

I went to my GP. They gave me a stool sample kit and a popsicle stick to attach a piece of scotch tape to (not kidding, you can look up that method if you are unfamiliar). I made my deposit and brought it to the doc. He said if I do have a parasite it most likely will not affect the fetus. I won't know for 5 days. Ugh. I have also thought that maybe it could be something like a yeast infection or vaginosis or something other than a parasite. I made an appointment with my OB for today, just to get my lady bits checked out too. I am grasping at straws, admittedly paranoid and itchy all over from thinking about it. I know I probably sound like a hypochondriac, and I hope that in this case I am just being one. But, ewwwwww.

That is my story. Sorry for the details. Sorry for the delay in response and change in profiles. I will update you once I get some results back.

Mama210 · May 2014

and now it is logging in correctly with my original profile name. . . so strange. Not sure what is up with my account.

portentosa · May 2014

I'm so sorry OP, and yeah.....ewwwwww! I hope you get it all sorted out soon.

Mama210 · May 2014

Seriously, if I were not preggers I would probably be chugging bleach in efforts to sanitize my guts, lol. Ick. I hope I am wrong!!

awc1986 · May 2014

Yick. Sorry you're dealing with this OP! Hope it gets resolved soon!

PandaCon · May 2014

From your lovely description It could also be Pin-worms.

I had them as a child. Itched like crazy and they were in my stool. Had to take a few days of a medicine to kill them and they would then leave through more stools.

Gross huh?

Mama210 · May 2014

Thanks. I am freaking out. Not only is it disgusting, but I don't know which is worse - living with worms or taking a medication that could potentially harm the baby. And because it is so damn disgusting.

Mama210 · May 2014

Also, I saw the same stuff in my 3 year old's stool today. He has an appointment for the doctor tomorrow.

The hubs and I are scheduled to go away for a babymoon/anniversary getaway for 3 days this coming Tuesday. Guess there won't be any sexy time. . . I am not letting him go anywhere near my lady bits! ugh.

an02102 · May 2014

It sounds like pinworms. Good luck

Jentech84 · May 2014

Let me go on record & say that you don't have tapeworms. You can't get tapeworms from the segments found in stool - be it from cats, voles, mice, etc. They aren't 'ready' to develop into adults at that stage. Plus you aren't the preferred host for those species of tapeworm. You'd need to EAT a mouse/cat that HAS tapeworm that is properly mature in order to get infected.

Now for tapeworm from infected meat/fish - that is possible, but highly, highly unlikely.
I agree with PP's - way easier to be pinworms as they cause abdominal discomfort & itching bowels. Easy treatment for them too. If your decal tests come up negative, request to be treated with a simple deformed anyway as they're very safe to take.

kirstynikole · May 2014

Jentech84 said:
Let me go on record & say that you don't have tapeworms. You can't get tapeworms from the segments found in stool - be it from cats, voles, mice, etc. They aren't 'ready' to develop into adults at that stage. Plus you aren't the preferred host for those species of tapeworm. You'd need to EAT a mouse/cat that HAS tapeworm that is properly mature in order to get infected.

Now for tapeworm from infected meat/fish - that is possible, but highly, highly unlikely.
I agree with PP's - way easier to be pinworms as they cause abdominal discomfort & itching bowels. Easy treatment for them too. If your decal tests come up negative, request to be treated with a simple deformed anyway as they're very safe to take.

What she's said is very true..I'm a veterinary technician and have had to deal with this question on a Avery regular basis. The possibility of getting a tapeworm from your pet is generally rare because the most common type of tapeworm found in pets is due to the direct ingestion of a flea or animal infected with the parasite. Merely coming into contact with it's shredded segments in the stool won't cause an infection. However getting it from undercooked meat could be a possibility... I'm going with PP that maybe it's pinworms.

Sorry you're going through this, it sounds mortifying!! Hopefully you'll get your answers soon and you and your three year old will be back to normal ASAP!

Mama210 · May 2014

I know pregnancy cravings are crazy, but I should have stopped myself before I grilled up my wormy cat for dinner!

hahaha, just kidding,

Ugh. So, I am pretty sure it is pinworms. I called my GP today for the results of my stool sample and still have not heard back. It did get a call from my OB and was advised that I have bacterial vaginosis. Which I read can go hand in hand with having pinworms.

Quite frankly, I feel like I am going to have a nervous breakdown. I am going on antibiotics for the BV and then once I hear back from my GP I have to call the OB and crosscheck whatever they are going to put me on for the worms with the antibiotic for the BV.

I feel so disgusting. I show daily (now twice daily due to heebie jeebies), keep a clean house and clean (for a 3 year old) kid. It sucks. I am sure I am not the first person this has happened to. I am sure I won't be the last. But this is hard to deal with.

The hubs and I leave tomorrow to go away for a couple of nights. I have been looking forward to this for months.Now I just feel like staying home, scrubbing my house and crying in the shower. It sucks.

Mama210 · May 2014

Thanks everyone for all of the advice, kinds words and letting me vent. It helps, truly.

kirstynikole · May 2014

I'm sorry.

Rest assured you're not the first and probably won't be the last pregnant woman to deal with this so try not to be too freaked out with yourself. I hope you are able to not worry too much and have a nice mini vacation with your DH.

Mama210 · May 2014

So, much to my surprise both my and my son's stool samples came back negative for parasites. I am so happy and relieved.

Tapeworm during Pregnancy. Grooooossssss

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