Puppies with worms

Question
Hi. I just got 2 new puppies that are about 4-5 weeks old. The mother was killed and I have been trying to wean them to puppy food. Today my friend came over and wormed my puppies and now they have some kind of worm in their stool. Their little tummys are bloated and as a first time dog owner I am not sure if my friend did the right thing or he hurt them in the long run. Could you please help me I need to know whether or not I need to take them to the vet or just watch them closely. I have 3 small children in the home and I am afraid that they will somehow get the worms in them.  

Answer
Hi, Kelli!  Well, the puppies do need to go to the vet, but I don't necessarily think its because of the dewormer.  They are coming up on the age when they will need their first vaccinations.  The worms you are seeing are most likely roundworms.  They are very common in puppies - almost all puppies are born with them.  Puppies tend to have bloated bellies at 4-5 weeks anyway, but especially if they have intestinal parasites like roundworms.  I would still have your vet check a stool sample on the puppies because the dewormers you can buy over the counter cannot kill all intestinal parasites, so they can check and see if there is anything besides roundworms they need medication for.  As long as they are having bowl movements (sometimes worms can make them constipated), or are not having diarrhea or vomiting, I don't think they need a physical because they're sick.  Humans can get roundworms and since you have kids there are a few things you will need to do to ensure that they don't pick up anything.  First, any time the puppies have a bowl movement, make sure you pick it up from the yard (if they're going outside), so that the eggs can't mature.  Roundworm eggs are not immediately infective (meaning capable of infecting a host) as soon as they are passed in the feces.  They do require an incubation period, varying anywhere from 3-14 days, depending on the particular species, so if you pick up any mess they make that drastically reduces everyone's chances of picking up anything.  Make sure to keep the puppies clean, and make sure your children wash their hands after they play with the puppies (or outside - other animals could be leaving eggs too).  With proper hygiene the chances of picking up any parasites is very low.

Amanda