Dad Goes Viral for His Reaction to Finding Out His Son, 5, Has Worms: 'No One Tells You About This' (Exclusive)

The dad documented his journey to handle the situation and the hilarious results

<p>@drumbeatlane/Tiktok</p> Dad reacts to son having worms

@drumbeatlane/Tiktok

Dad reacts to son having worms
  • A TikTok dad was horrified to discover his son was experiencing pinworms

  • Pinworms are common in children under 10, per the Mayo Clinic

  • @drumbeatlane's hysterical reaction to finding out about his son's worm and navigating getting his medication went viral as parents could relate to the distressing situation

One dad on TikTok shared a parenting moment he was never expecting to experience.

Walking briskly through a store parking lot, Justin — @drumbeatlane on TikTok — revealed, "My son has worms in his anus," through gritted teeth.

"No one tells you about this stuff when you are thinking about becoming a parent," he lamented. "But apparently, it's like, super normal for a child just to have worms in his booty hole."

Sarcastically describing his experience as "super chill and totally normal," Justin went on to share his misadventures in getting his 5-year-old son the medication he needed.

Justin detailed spending 20 minutes looking for the medication in one aisle, only to realize he couldn't spot it because the box was turned to its Spanish language side instead of the English side.

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"I would have died on that aisle if I had not sent pictures to my wife," he admitted, adding, "Of course she found it because she's brilliant but I would have never thought to turn it."

Speaking with PEOPLE about the viral moment, Justin explained the events were proceeded by his son "complaining off and on about having an 'itchy booty crack' for a few weeks."

"We have been working hard to get him to wipe himself after using the bathroom, so we assumed he just wasn't wiping good enough," Justin tells PEOPLE. "After several days of checking him after wiping and seeing that he was doing a good job, my wife started googling about pinworms."

After checking the sleeping little boy, "her suspicions were confirmed with visual proof of the worms."

"We have been trying hard to break him of his thumbsucking habit, and based on what we have discovered, this is most likely what led to the worms," Justin explains. "Touching something in public with eggs on it and then putting their fingers in their mouth is a common way a child develops the condition."

At first, Justin and his wife decided to "give him the medication without sharing details" but later had a change of heart.

"After giving him the medication, my wife let him know he had worms living inside of him that were making him itchy and assured him that it's somewhat common and not a big deal. He thought this was very cool, and had no concerns," Justin shares.

"My daughter, on the other hand, heard what was going on and completely freaked out. Based on the recommendation on the medicine label to treat the whole family, we gave her a dose and assured her that if she had worms, this medication would solve the problem. Taking the meds seemed to calm her fears."

Initially, Justin was worried it would be difficult to treat the situation. "Having never heard of them, it sounded like a horrible and dangerous condition. I was shocked that this situation was so common that you don't need to go to the doctor and do not need a prescription to treat the issue."

The over-the-counter solution has kept his entire family "symptom-free," although commenters on the video warned that "simply washing the sheets and moving on does not mean you are safe."

"Some people shared that they had to take the meds again weeks later when the worms returned," he notes. "We will all be very aware of how our 'booty cracks' feel for a few weeks as we wait to see if we need to take another dose."

Justin says that he's happy sharing his parenting highs and lows on TikTok because of "how easy it is to find parents who think the same things I do."

"For many years, it was easy to feel alone in parenting. In my head, I knew that other parents probably felt some of the same things I did, but finding that so many people resonate with the same struggles as me has been a huge encouragement," he explains. "Being able to assure other parents that they aren't alone by posting videos that are honest and transparent has been a really positive experience."

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Read the original article on People.