COMBANTRIN

It’s the uncomfortable squirmy feeling that no one ever wants to talk about, the one that keeps you up at night conjuring up horror stories about the kind of reality that is playing itself out in your lower intestine as you sleep - or rather - don’t sleep. You know what I'm talking about: threadworms.  

In children especially, the level of discomfort caused by the havoc they wreak is paramount. So instead of removing them from…the source (is it just me who needs a vomit bag?) we can thank our lucky stars that brands such as Combantrin have taken a seat at the table to make the disappearing act of threadworms a seamless and easy one. So dedicated are they to the cause of worm removal that they have created tablets in chocolate flavour, so your kids probably won’t even know they’re taking medication. 

Being that the causes of threadworms are surprisingly vast and easy to activate, you wouldn’t be remiss for keeping a box of Combantrin tablets, or something of that ilk, in your house for when they do decide to start breeding within yours or your children’s lower intestines. 

It should not be of great surprise to anyone that inadequate hygiene is one of the primary ways to become infected by threadworms. If someone who has already been infected by threadworm scratches where it’s itchy, and then touches either their mouth or other surfaces, there is a high risk of re-infecting themselves or infecting someone else. This is more common in children (we can only hope) whose sense of hygiene is not as adequate as it should be. The message is clear, here: WASH YOUR HANDS. Thankfully this is something that cannot be done too much, so take advantage. 

Although threadworms can usually be eradicated with medications such as Combantrin, there are other things you can be doing to stave off another infection, or becoming infected by someone else. Obviously, these methods are all rooted in good hygiene. More specifically, you should be taking care to change and wash yours and your children’s bed linen regularly, as with your hands and any surfaces that might attract a lot of physical contact. If anyone in the household does have worms, it is all the more important to be washing and wiping clean things that have a lot of human contact. Even though animals cannot become infected by human worms, the worms are able to live in the fur of pets you might keep in your house. It is especially important that your children steer clear of pets while they or someone else in the household has worms, so as to lessen the risk of infection. 

Even with the utmost care to maintain excellent hygiene, it is impossible to eliminate every risk of becoming infected with threadworms. As soon as symptoms appear in you or your children, make sure you treat them with medication to stop them from breeding further within the digestive system, and to kill the ones that have already taken residency. 

Never mind threadworms in adults (that’s it’s own conversation), de-worming your kids has to be one of the most revolting aspects of parenthood. But just as the period in time where parents had to - I can't believe I'm even putting this in print - clear their kids’ congested noses by sucking up the mucus and spitting it out (I can’t…seriously), the methods for de-worming have become a lot…cleaner. I would not know of one parent who is not immeasurably grateful for the invention of Combantrin and medication like it, that kills the worms and means no one has to put their hands anywhere near the Infection Zone. 

Gross.

The grand invention of the nasal aspirator has meant that parents no longer have to go anywhere near their baby’s nostrils. Imagine that. The simple invention consists of a tube that creates suction to loosen everything within the baby’s nose. I can’t say the ‘m’ word again, so from here on it’s ‘everything’. You can figure it out from there. Obviously, this device is targeted specifically for babies. We assume that anyone beyond the age of about one and a half can successfully blow their own nose into a tissue. Either way, this is another innovative contraption that parents must be thrilled exists. 

These are the kinds of inventions that grandparents must be resentful of; even if just in jest. “This wasn’t around in my day.” I can hear them grumbling. “We had to roll up our sleeves and get right in there.” (And no, I do not want to deconstruct what “in there” entails in this hypothetical situation.) 

It is interesting to imagine the progress that is still to be made in medicine and medical devices. Will there exist some so innovative in the future, that one day we will turn around to our children in mock resentment and regale them with tales of the kinds of things we had to do for them when they were young; the way we had to roll up our sleeves and “get in there”? 

As far as de-worming is concerned, it cannot get much simpler than a tablet - especially one that is disguised as chocolate. You would not imagine that any device simpler to use than a nasal aspirator will ever exist either. 

If ever we decline in our innovative progression, and require, once again, for parents to have to get rid of *everything*...manually, that may also be the point that I take my leave as a parent. Maybe self-sufficient children can be the next great invention? Ones who can manage their own bodily issues. At that point, you can count me as parenthood’s biggest fan. Until then, I remain sceptical. 

Hats off to the Baby Boomer generation and every one prior, who had to roll up their sleeves and sort out the gross things without the aid of medication and devices that make the process simple and sanitary. If you ask me, they reserve their right to complain about the progress that has been made after it was relevant to them.