Rx · By prescription Image for illustration Antiparasitic Medicine
Pinworm is one of several common intestinal worm infections treated with mebendazole, a prescription anthelmintic. Peoples First Rx makes it available only after your intake has been reviewed by a board-certified physician who is licensed in your state. If a prescription is written, it is dispensed as compounded oral capsules by Rush Pharmacy, which holds a state pharmacy license.
You need a prescription for mebendazole, and finishing an intake is no guarantee of one: whether treatment is appropriate is decided by a physician licensed in your state.
The service
You see every cost before you pay: medication is not charged until a physician prescribes it, each order is a one-time purchase, and there is no membership fee.
The physician who reviews your intake, someone board-certified and licensed in your state, makes the call on whether mebendazole is appropriate for you.
If mebendazole is prescribed, your compounded capsules are made in a licensed facility. Before shipping, every order gets a pharmacist's check and a tamper-evident seal, and it travels in a plain outer box with tracking.
Board-certified physicians from LocumTele review visits, and Rush Pharmacy, a pharmacy holding a state license, dispenses and ships prescriptions, and its name is on your paperwork and label. Both work with Remedora Inc., Peoples First Rx's pharmacy and fulfillment partner and the company we hold our partnership agreement with.
Medicine basics
A worm needs microtubules, tiny structures built from a protein called tubulin, to take in glucose. Mebendazole binds to that tubulin and blocks the building process, so the worm runs short of energy and the intestine clears it. Your gut passes very little of the dose into your bloodstream, and that low absorption is part of the reason the medicine is usually well tolerated for the infections it is used for.
The FDA-approved form of mebendazole in the United States is the chewable tablet. Its approval covers pinworm, whipworm, common roundworm and hookworm infections, whether they occur alone or two or more at once. Mebendazole also features in the Model List of Essential Medicines from the World Health Organization, which includes it for soil-transmitted helminth infections. Patients of Peoples First Rx receive a compounded oral capsule instead, and it is not FDA-approved.
Clinical reasoning
Pinworm, whipworm, roundworm and hookworm infections each have their own pattern. From your symptoms, when they started, where you have traveled and who at home might be exposed, your physician judges the likely cause and whether a different medicine would be a better match.
Living together makes pinworm easy to spread. Expect your physician to raise whether the people you live with need an assessment, along with the hygiene steps that prevent a repeat infection.
You might take a single dose, or you might take it over several days; it varies with the infection. The choice is your physician's to make; the directions will be on your pharmacy label.
A second course, taken a few weeks after the first, is part of treating some infections. If yours is one of them, you will know before you begin.
Practical notes
The FDA-approved chewable tablet is not what you receive through Peoples First Rx; your mebendazole comes as a compounded oral capsule. Follow your pharmacy label's directions exactly.
It takes time for an infection to clear. You will learn from your physician what a typical timeline is and at what point to get back in touch if things are not getting better.
Medicine is only half of it, especially for pinworm. Washing sheets and bedding, trimming nails short and washing hands carefully count just as much, and people who skip them often get reinfected.
Compounded oral capsules are the only form of mebendazole dispensed for Peoples First Rx patients. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, which means the FDA does not verify their safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed. Only the chewable tablet form of mebendazole holds FDA approval, for treating pinworm, whipworm, common roundworm and hookworm infections. Off-label use, meaning any other parasite or purpose, is legal, and whether to prescribe that way is the prescribing physician's call; the FDA, however, has not evaluated mebendazole for it. The capsules have no FDA-approved uses of their own, and your physician will explain plainly what that means for the condition being treated.
Everything on this page is general information and none of it is medical advice; if you have a medical emergency, call 911.
Mebendazole is not for sale on this site, and a physician licensed in your state must approve treatment before any is dispensed. Controlled substances, in any schedule, are not prescribed here.
Adults 18 and over can request it from every U.S. state except California, and it ships to U.S. addresses only. Check your state
Your care team should hear about any side effect, and you are free to report it to FDA MedWatch yourself at 1-800-FDA-1088. Patient Safety & Complaints
How it goes
Tell us about your health history, the medicines you take now and what you would like treated.
Every answer you give is read by a physician licensed in your state, and whether mebendazole is prescribed is entirely their decision.
If you are prescribed it, Rush Pharmacy, which is state-licensed, dispenses it and sends it to you with tracking. You won't have to book another appointment to reach your care team afterward, whether about questions, side effects or adjustments.
Patient questions
Not in the United States. A prescription is required here, so the process begins with an online visit that a physician licensed in your state reviews.
No blanket rule applies here; your physician weighs each situation. For pinworm in particular, guidance often suggests that each person in the home be checked. Raise the question during your intake, and your physician is sure to take it up with you.
The clinical team hears about it once you contact patient support. Returning symptoms do not always mean the treatment failed. A new infection is also possible, and which of the two it is shapes the next step.
Rush Pharmacy dispenses it under its state license and ships it with tracking, in plain outer packaging that gives no hint of what is inside.
It is offered in the 49 states we serve (every U.S. state except California), and even there a physician must decide it is right for you. Where you physically are during your visit matters twice: only a physician licensed in that state can review your intake, and medication can only be dispensed into a state where the pharmacy is authorized to dispense. peoplesfirstrx.com/states-we-serve/ names each of those states.
Report it to your care team, either in your patient account or by email to support@peoplesfirstrx.com; your prescribing physician and Rush Pharmacy both receive what you send. Reporting directly to FDA MedWatch at 1-800-FDA-1088 is always open to you, and it does not require us. Severe symptoms such as chest pain, fainting, difficulty breathing or a swollen face, lips or throat mean calling 911 first. Before stopping any medication abruptly, speak with your physician.
Didn't see your question? Ask our support team
Neither ivermectin nor mebendazole can be obtained without a prescription, and through Peoples First Rx they are dispensed only once a board-certified physician holding a license in your state has gone over your intake and decided treatment is appropriate. Some people who complete an intake are not prescribed anything. What is dispensed is a compounded oral capsule in both cases, and no compounded capsule has FDA approval. Ivermectin may cause dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, itching or rash; mebendazole may cause stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea or gas. Your physician needs to know every medicine you take, your health conditions and whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
To report a side effect, contact your care team or go straight to FDA MedWatch at 1-800-FDA-1088. Treatment is limited to people 18 or older, and only while they are located in one of the states we serve: every U.S. state except California. This is general information and not medical advice, and it cannot take the place of emergency care. Call 911 in an emergency.
A short online intake is where it begins. The board-certified physician who reads it holds a license in your state and will be honest with you about whether mebendazole suits your situation.
Every visit is reviewed by an independent physician licensed in your state, and prescriptions are written only when medically appropriate.
Need a hand?
Real people read what you send, and the clinical team answers clinical questions.
Having a medical emergency? Call 911.
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