Combantrin (thread worm treatment) during pregnancy

[Isadora]

I discovered today that my 3 yr old DD has contracted thread worms from daycare and I also am having symptoms of thread worms I am 35 weeks pregnant so I dont know whether I too can take combantrin? The pharmacy where I bought it said to treat DD but not to do myself. I just spoke to the poisons hotline and they said its safe during pregnancy. Just a tad unsure of who to believe.... Has anyone had to deal with this before? Such bad timing!!!

[Just Me]

From what I understand it is okay to take in pregnancy (after the first trimester) but you should check with your doctor. The recommendation is also not to take it unless you are sure that you have to treat it - not just as a preventative thing.

The reason they say it is unsafe it because there are actually no test carried out on pregnant women to show that it is safe. No adverse side effects have been recorded from using it while pregnant and in all animal studies it has shown to have no adverse effects.

It is important to use just the basic Combantrine though and not Combantrin-1 or any of the other worming preparations because they are definitely not safe in pregnancy.

Honestly, I would check with your doctor before doing it just to be on the safe side but those are the reasons you would have had 2 different answers. Chemists are legally obligated to tell you not to take it or to consult your doctor first.

[Crystalwings]

Hi,
I too had this a couple of weeks ago at 30wks pg. I went to the pharmacy and they said that there is one type you can take which is pyrantal and is classified as a category B drug so is safe in pregnancy. They copied out the info on the drug for me and i read more about the classifications on BB, in the main pg section (it's a sticky started by Allen).
I decided to take it as i knew i had them and didn't want to eat raw garlic every day for 2wks and hope it works. I had the recommended dose and so did dd and dh and we are now worm free and not having to worry about it anymore. Also i tend to believe Mothersafe over a lot of pharmacists as their information can be quite outdated from when they study to now.
i feel your pain though and i really hate taking drugs in pregnancy. hth

[mummy of 3 boys]

i would also check with a Dr first as pharmacies arnt always right as Crystalwings mentions from the time they study till now things change

When i was earlier on in my pregnancy i had major heartburn nothing would work (mylanta, even numbing stuff from a dr) so i mentioned it to my midwife and she recommended Zantac now when i went to the chemist to get some Zantac they tried telling me its not appropriate for pregnant women well when i mentioned that my midwife suggested it she went and looked it up and said oh they have trialed it and doesnt seem to have any major effects so i took it and here i am almost ready to pop, so please get a second opinion

Also im interested in worming out my family but been holding it off as ive obviously been pregnant and i want to worm everyone together

[Little Chicken]

I noticed you are in perth. King edward has a great drug information in pregnancy phone line. Thier pharmacists are really knowledgeable about drugs in pregnancy and during breastfeeding.

[LimeSlice]

I was told the same thing last preg - ie not to take it. I wasn't as far along as you though, so could be ok 3rd tri?

For myself though, I would trust MY pharmacist over a GP any day of the week.

[~Kim~]

Recently we had some 'wormy' issues and when i went to the chemist I was informed that there are 2 formulations of combantrin. When I told the lady I was BFing they recommended a particular one, so I'd def recommend getting in touch with one of the major hospital pharmacies to check.

[Isadora]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I ended up taking the combantrin, for future reference its the pryrantel combantrin which is safe to take.