Please, I need a lot of attention with this one. I am absolutely out of my mind with worry of a roundworm exposure (my kids and their friends).
Here is the situation. About a year ago, we had our deck redone and a section removed entirely. After the small section that we decided to remove was down entirely, we discovered a pile of raccoon poo (I am fairly sure it was raccoon as we used to see raccoons go under the deck).
TRIGGER WARNING IF YOU FEAR ZOONOTIC DISEASE
It turns out, raccoon poo harbors a terrible roundworm egg that lives in the environment for YEARS, outside a host. The CDC recommends cleaning it with a propane torch, which we did, as well as pots and pots of boiling water. WE removed the soil where the poop was.
So the poop pile (which was maybe 2 sq feet) was in a section of about 60 sq feet of gravel. In addition to clearing the poop-soil, we also torched the gravel, raked it over, and torched again. HOw well did we do? I don't know. The eggs are microscopic so all I can do is hope I did a good job.
There was too much gravel to dispose of it entirely, so I moved a lot of it to a trail on our property that we don't use much.
Well, over the weekend, I found my 11 year old son out there with his friends, and my 3 year old was out there for a little bit, too. Each of the boys has a younger sister, my daughter is 3, one boy's sister is 2, and the other boys' sister is 4.
TRIGGER WARNING AGAIN
Young children are most at risk of contracting the raccoon roundworm disease due to putting things in their mouth. Much of the writing on the roundworm cases (yes, it is very rare, only 25 cases since 1980) talks about actually ingesting the poop or soil being implicated in getting the disease. Basically, raccoon roundworm is a parasitic worm that grows to 12 inches long and can travel to the eyes and brain. It wreaks havoc in small children, basically destroying their brains. Children who get it can die, or else end up blind, in a vegetative state, or aware but having lost the ability to see, sit, stand, walk, talk, and do everything in life you pretty much want to do.
Now, I am a catastrophizer. I never let an occasion go by without concocting some tragic story out of it. Here is the current one- that the boys tracked the eggs on their shoes, trailed it in my house, but even worse will take it home with them to their own homes, where their little sisters will get the chance to chew on the shoes (in the case of the little one) or have it get transferred to their toys or carpet that they they chew or put in their mouth. I will absolutely DIE if anything happens to any of these three girls.
My husband is sick to death of me, but I am so stressed over this. It has even made me forget about my cancer fears. The incubation period is only a month (they say) but, because the eggs can live years and are very sticky, I guess there will be a possibility for more than a year or until these girls get out of the Danger will robinson window of time.
So, anyone want to say anything? PLEASE????
I know this is a novel and there really is nothing to say, that I have created a catastrophe that may never happen and is really unlikely to happen.
BUt, it does happen...so...I am stuck with that thought.
Reply With Quote
