Saturday, November 28, 2009

Is it safe to de-worm a 21 month old?

Lately, my little girl is not eating as much as she used to and is not showing keen interest in food except for some selective food ie her all time favourites like cheese, yogurt, peanut soup etc. She is also putting her fingers into her mouth quite often and scratching her buttocks more frequently too.

The babysitter suggested that I de-worm her. She said its a common thing to do for toddlers her age due to the food they eat (and the other junk food she gave her quietly without my knowledge) and the frequent 'hand in mouth' habit.

I checked with our paediatrician and she recommended Zentel which can be given every 6 months. The prescription would be 5ml for toddlers below 2 and 10ml for 2 and above. I bought Zentel (syrup type) from pharmacist a few days ago but have not (until now) decided if I want to give it to her. Maybe I'll give her later today and I certainly do hope not to see the squiggly friend tomorrow when she poo.

As an adult, I don't even practice de-worming every year. I only take it when I remember or when I feel some discomfort 'there'. What about for kids? Do you know if it's safe or if it's recommended to de-worm every 6 months?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello there, first timer here. Actually it's safe to de-worm her since she's already 21 months old. In fact if ur child receive vaccination at govt clinic, it's standard procedure that they de-worm the kids every 6months.

Kiasu Mom said...

Hi lyncpf513, thanks for dropping by. Yeah I did de-worm her after writing the post. She was alright :-). In fact, I de-wormed the whole family :-).