During Ethan’s recent checkup at the PD’s, I mentioned to Dr Jessica that I was rather worried about Ethan’s eating habits; that he did not want to eat pieces of meat and vege, but instead only liked the carbs. I told her I was concerned if he had worms in his tummy. And that was when Dr Jessica said she was glad I brought it up, because she normally dewormed her patients when they turned 2.
She prescribed Vermox for Ethan, and it was probably a good thing too, because lately he has a bad habit of playing with his mouth and tongue. And goodness knows what he has touched before that. The booklet of instructions contained in the Vermox box specifically warned that it should be administered on kids 2 years and over only. The dosage was 10ml (the entire bottle) and according to Dr Jessica, it had a sticky constituency.
Pete and I were scratching our heads, trying to think of an effective way to feed 10ml of foreign liquid to Ethan, when even 2.5ml of medicine would be met with protests, kicking and screaming. I know the Vermox is a chocolate flavored one, which is usually okay with kids, but Ethan doesn’t really like chocolate too.
I kept the box of Vermox in the fridge for a few days, and of and on, Ethan would pick up the box out of curiosity and ask me to open it. We did consider pouring the Vermox mixture into the small plastic cup provided and coaxing Ethan to drink from it, but the whatif was if Ethan pushed away the cup, the whole mixture would be wasted.
Then Pete suggested mixing it into Ethan’s “nenno”. I was a bit apprehensive at first because the risk was that if he rejected it, then he might reject future feeds of “nenno” too. But then last night, I took a look at how much 10ml was compared to Ethan’s nightly 6oz feed, and it was rather negligible.
So I bit the bullet, made Ethan’s milk last night with 6oz of warm water, 3.5 scoops of Pediasure and poured the 10ml of Vermox into the mixture. The 0.5 scoop of Pediasure was a little assurance to offset the smell and taste of Vermox, if any. I took a whiff of the mixture I had concocted and it smelled vaguely like chocolate milk, though visually it still looked like “nenno”.
After Ethan’s shower, I took him to the room to dress him up in his peejays. Gave him his milk when he asked for it, and sang him a few songs. While singing “The wheels on the bus”, I mentally kept track of the decreasing amount of milk in the bottle. Halfway through “Thumbkin”, and he was almost done. I sang a few more nursery rhymes, complete with actions, and voila! He polished the entire bottle of milk 
….together with the Vermox 
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July 2, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Collin
Wow!!! Choc-flavored medicine?!!!! Weee!!!
Joyce says: Not really medicine in a way, but yeah, smells like Milo, sorta.
July 2, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Bart
And after that…? :o)
Joyce says: Well, the Vermox is supposed to kill all worms, larvae and eggs (if any) in the intestinal tract, and (ahem) it gets extricated accordingly. I have informed our babysitter to be on the lookout
July 2, 2008 at 4:08 pm
michelle
Did you find any worms coming out of him….hehehe? I haven’t deworm my children
Joyce says: The babysitter said none wor…hehehe.
July 2, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Paik Ling
Well done
Sometimes we worry too much…too many “ifs”
Joyce says: I think first-time parents worry more.
July 2, 2008 at 10:40 pm
rinnah
I wonder if us adult need to be dewormed also? LOL.
Joyce says: I think can la, if you KNOW you have worms in your tummy LOL
July 4, 2008 at 2:48 am
slavemom
It happened to my boy. He rejected his normal milk after I tried to give him Isomil (lactose-free) when he had diarrhea. Luckily his rejection din last long. Pheww…
I oso like to mix med into his milk. He can be quite strong for me to hold him down sometimes (when need to force feed). Oni thing to worry when the milk doesn’t cover the med’s taste. N they reject the milk althogether.
Hmmm… I din know kids r normally dewormed at 2 yo. Must ask my paed the next visit.
Joyce says: The milk rejection was what I was afraid of at first. I don’t know if it is common practice to deworm kids, though if it is not necessary, I wouldn’t mind either.
July 4, 2008 at 6:21 pm
allthingspurple
One time, I read that you are supposed to find out whether your kids has worms or not before deworming them. symtoms includes scratching backside, grinding teeth in sleep etc. I wonder if its necessary to deworm kids if they dont have these symptoms, you know?
Joyce says: Hmmm…I think Ethan has those symptoms, just that we weren’t completely sure, i.e. didn’t see any huge worms in his stool. I’m not sure if deworming is necessary if the symptoms are not there though, and also I am not sure if the deworming meds can be treated as a preventative measure. I hope I don’t have to do it again.
July 4, 2008 at 11:10 pm
wen
we usually go for Zentel but i find no effect at all. i will try this brand
Joyce says: I have smelled Zentel and I find Vermox smells better. Let me know if you find Vermox better.
July 6, 2008 at 11:06 am
chinnee
qq just had this sometime ago too….hmm…taste very nice one hor!
Joyce says: I don’t know, I didn’t taste it, but it sure smells like chocolate milk!
July 10, 2008 at 2:45 pm
KittyCat
Some people have been telling me to deworm Lucas too but I wonder if it’s necessary…his paed hasn’t suggested it as it’s normal for tots to have food fetishes.
I don’t like drugs, you see
Joyce says: I dislike drugs too, but we figured we had nothing to lose this way.
July 21, 2008 at 11:01 am
sasha
but what was the outcome? he started taking veges and meat?
Joyce says: Not sure if it was due to the deworming meds, but a few days after that and up till now, his appetite seems to have improved. He’s still not taking vege as I hope he will, but he will sometimes take slices of chicken. He especially likes Nando’s
And he definitely feels heavier now!