The most common worm you will encounter with your child is the pin or thread worm

These are approximately 1 cm long and white in colour

You can sometimes see the worms in your child’s bowel movements and they may complain of an itchy bottom

The itchiness is caused by the worms migrating out of the rectum to the surrounds of the anus to lay more eggs

Often when children scratch their bottoms, their fingers end up in their mouth and they may swallow more eggs and the cycle continues

Other symptoms of worm infestation are irritability, poor or increased appetite, lethargy, and disturbed sleep

what to do

• include garlic in your food preparations raw and cooked
• crush a small clove of garlic, mix with honey and eat before breakfast
• other foods that worms don’t like are pumpkin seeds, carrot juice, and raw turnip
• fennel tea can be useful for expelling worms
• all of these treatments will have to be taken over a period of time to break the cycle of eggs to worms
• be sure your children’s hands are washed, fingernails kept short and discouraged them from scratching
• paw paw cream can be applied to the anal area at night to help relieve itchiness and stop the worms from laying eggs
• worms love sugary foods and refined carbohydrates so it is important to avoid these foods
• take charcoal tablets over a period of 3-4 nights to help rid the bowel of the parasite and the eggs
• worms do not like chilli,  so for the adults lots of hot chilli can also be added to your diet