Biomedical Autism Treatment – Autism, Constipation and Worms

Chronic constipation is a topic I have spoken about many times in the past and it is something I seen commonly in my practice. And not only do children with Autism suffer from all of the digestive issues that are commonly recognized but there is also a regulatory issue involved. The nervous system’s input to give the sensation to have a bowel movement can also be compromised. There are various things you can do for constipation, magnesium, probiotics, vitamin C, and even laxatives can be helpful, even necessary for some chronic constipation. But something that often is unrecognized when discussing chronic constipation is an underlying worm infection. And it is something to consider when fiber, dietary intervention and supplements have not helped. 
Vermox, or also known as Mebendazole, is a remedy that I have used very successfully for a worm infection. Vermox comes in a 100 mg chewable tablet and usually a dose of 1 tablet is sufficient to treat most pin worm infections. However, in the case of a persistent infection or when dealing with round worms, the dosing may need to be a little longer. In those cases I will dose Vermox 1 tablet twice a day for 3 days. Interestingly enough, this has worked very well for some children with Autism who also suffer from chronic constipation. If you use Vermox in this manner and it does resolve your child’s constipation then you know that a worm infection is contributing. And it can be very hard diagnostically to determine whether your child has a worm infection. It is not uncommon for a comprehensive digestive stool analysis to come back as not finding a worm.
When I have a patient who has chronic constipation that will not resolve using other remedies, I have used Vermox successfully. But what I do is I change the dosing a little. I will dose Vermox 1 chewable 100 mg tablet two times per day for 3 days. Then you take a break for 2 weeks. Then you repeat the dose of 1 tablet twice a day for 3 days. So the prescription would read Vermox, 100 mg chewable tablets, 1 tablet twice a day for 3 days. And you would have a refill on that prescription so after the 2 week break you could refill it and do it again. So if your child suffers from chronic constipation that will not resolve with the help of other remedies or laxatives, this may be something beneficial to discuss with your child’s doctor.