To      : Gloria B.
Re      : Vermox (mebendazole)


It is true that mebendazole is not cleared for children less than 2 years of
age.  Remember, less than 20% of medications are cleared for children.  Put
another way,  80% of the meds used in pediatrics are not cleared.

As Dr. Newman has stated,  the oral bioavailability of mebendazole is poor,
only 2-10%, and the maternal peak plasma levels are miniscule (0.08 ug/ml). So
it is very unlikely the amount in breastmilk would be clinically relevant.

I asked my pediatric gastroenterologist(next door) about this and he said if
the child is "documented to have pinworms", it should be treated, and he would
use Vermox.  According to him,  it has minimal side effects even in this age
group.

As for the one case of reported milk loss,  the patient was a 24 yo woman who
received metronidazole for 7 days, then on the eighth day received 100 mg twice
daily orally for three days.  Thereafter a marked reduction in milk was noted.
The loss of milk is inexplicable and is probably very uncommon.

Regards

Tom Hale, Ph.D...