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Posted in Parasite Worms Round Worms Worms in Humans

Live Roundworm Worm Found Living in Australian Woman’s Brain

While we don’t usually post about parasites that infect humans, we are posting about this, including a link, so that people can point to this story as proof that yes, people have parasitic ‘worms’ of all sorts infecting them. Medical editor Melissa Davey wrote an “article on a live worm that was found inside a woman’s brain“. The worm was a roundworm, one of Earth’s most simple creatures. There are many species of parasitic roundworms that can be contracted in various ways, but this particular discovery was a first. The species of roundworm they found inside the woman’s brain was a species normally found in pythons, not humans.

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Posted in Marine Worms Parasite Worms Round Worms

Dozen White Worms on Sidewalk Could be Roundworms or Gordian Worms

“I found a dozen of these on my sidewalk, what type of worm are these?” asks this reader in their submission regarding the long, white, tangled worms pictured below. No further context is provided, but we do have to point out that the photos our reader sent in are just fantastic: it is this level of quality that lets us, as well as our other readers, more easily identify the organisms in the photo. It helps us identify the creatures faster, and it helps other readers identify the worms they might be dealing with. In our reader’s case, we think these could be roundworms or horsehair worms, though given the nondescript nature of the worms’ bodies, it is hard to tell for certain.

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Posted in Parasite Worms Round Worms Worms Generally

Yellowish White Worm Looks like a Roundworm: Medical Consultation is Recommended

“Identity please?” is all this reader writes in her submission regarding the long, off-white worm-like creature pictured below. In any case where the worm photographed is not unique in its appearance and thus instantly recognizable, identifying a worm based only on a photo is nearly impossible without context. For that reason, we will not be able to provide our reader with a concrete identity of this organism: its white color and nondescript body renders this worm generic in appearance, which is makes it all that much harder to pinpoint its exact identity. With that said, what we will do is provide an educated guess and give our reader some pointers as to what she might want to do, depending on what her concerns are.

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Posted in Hammerhead Worm Parasite Worms Round Worms

Woman Worried for Her Health Believes Home is Infested with Bed Bugs, Hammerhead Worms and Roundworms

“I keep finding what looks to be small worms” states this reader, who is worried about the organisms in the photos below. In her submission, our reader brings up bed bugs, flatworms, and roundworms, so we will address all of these in this article.

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Posted in Marine Worms Parasite Worms Round Worms

Noodle-Like Gray Worms in Swimming Pool May Be Roundworms

“I just found these after vacuuming my pool” says this reader about a tangle of gray worms pictured below in the photograph our reader sent us. “They are quite long and active” and are “at least two inches” in length. “What are they?” our reader asks.

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Posted in Marine Worms Round Worms Worms Generally

New Species of Nematode Discovered with Three Sexes

In the human world, matters of gender and sex are topical and have been debated for many years, but it seems in the world of worms, they simply do not care. One such mascot of this is a new species of worm discovered in California which has three sexes.

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Posted in Earthworms Round Worms Worms Generally

Worm Studies Tell Us About the Nature of Death

Death is one of the greatest mysteries of life; we grieve it, we run from it, and many are trying to solve it. Surprisingly enough, studies into the process of death in worms have given us a lot of insight into how death might work for humans as well.

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Posted in Parasite Worms Round Worms Worms in Humans

What Are Cod Worms?

If one were to look up ‘cod worms’ on the internet, one would be met with a plethora of woeful tales of people finding worms in their fish. Ranging from personal accounts posted on social media to articles published on news sites, the cod worm has made quite the buzz on the internet.

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Posted in Composting Worms Parasite Worms Round Worms

Worm in Toilet a Roundworm, Earthworm, or Something Else?

A reader in Buffalo, NY sent in a photograph of a long brown worm found in a toilet and asks if it is an ascaris worm, which is a type of roundworm. According to our reader, her bathroom has not been properly cleaned and the worm has been eating and growing inside the toilet.

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Posted in Fishing Worms Marine Worms Round Worms

Red Worms in Man’s Toilet are Midge Fly Larvae

Red worms were found in the toilet bowl belonging to this man, who wishes that we identify them and provide instructions on how to get rid of them. The picture provided does not offer much insight into what these worms look like, other than the fact that they are minuscule in size, and that their bodies are very flexible, and they can bend and curl in many different ways.

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Posted in Parasite Worms Round Worms

Worm Emerging From Reader’s Nose

One of our readers reached out about a worm coming out of her nose. We aren’t able to diagnose medical issues, but we have given a brief overview of roundworms, which are parasitic worms that can emerge from their host’s nose. We encourage our reader to visit a doctor ASAP!

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Posted in Garden Worms Round Worms

Tiny Translucent Worm Found on Moss Plant

Today we responded to a reader who found a tiny, translucent worm near her moss plant. We believe this creature is a nematode, which is a roundworm! While there are parasitic nematodes, and even some that infect humans, we believe the one our reader has discovered is harmless.

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Posted in Parasite Worms Round Worms

Is Worm in Toilet Roundworm?

A reader sent us a photograph of a brown worm he found swimming in his toilet. We think this might be a roundworm, which is a parasitic worm that lives in the gut. However, since we aren’t medical professionals, we encourage our reader to see a doctor as soon as possible to weigh in on the matter.

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Posted in Earthworms Round Worms

Worm in Toilet Bowl Could be Ascaris Worm or Earthworm

A reader discovered a long worm in his toilet. He thought it might be an Ascaris worm, which is a parasite. If it is not an Ascaris worm, we think it might be an earthworm.

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Posted in Gross Worms Interesting Worms Parasite Worms Round Worms

Yes, There are Worms that Can Live in the Human Stomach

We received a question from a curious woman who is wondering if there are worms that can live in our…

bottom of glass terrarium
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Posted in Composting Worms Garden Worms Round Worms Thread Worms

Will Tiny Worms In Terrarium Kill Plants?

Our reader has begun an eternity terrarium (pictured), and after three days has started seeing white, threadlike worms in the…

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Posted in Hook Worms Parasite Worms Pinworm Round Worms

Worms that Cause Pimples on Head

We recently heard from a reader about her son. We are pretty sure we have been contacted by this reader before, and perhaps even answered a similar question, but we are happy to clarify. She explained that her son had some itchy pimples on his scalp. Thinking they were boils, she squeezed them. A month later she treated him for worm and the pimples disappeared. She wonders what kind of worm this was.

tapeworm
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Posted in Parasite Worms Round Worms

Worms in Your Belly Button (Navel)

A reader wrote us a couple of days ago with an interesting and distressing question. She reports that her “belly button is a little big,” and that sometimes she has “worm like movements” in her belly button. She says this “makes it hard and paralyses me,” and also that it’s “like a battle is going on in there.” Understandably, she wants to know how to address the worms in her belly button – or, technically, the worm-like movements in the area of her belly button – as she has been dealing with the problem for years. What’s going here?

medical caduceus
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Posted in Cat Worms Dog Worms Heart Worms Parasite Worms Round Worms

Immiticide Heartworm Medicine Shortage: 2012 Update

Those who own or have treated dogs infected with heartworm have been waiting for an update on the 2011/2012 Immiticide shortage. The veterinary profession went into a near panic when drug giant Merial, makers of the only canine heartworm treatment on the market, Immiticide, announced in August of 2011 that they had to temporarily halt distribution of the drug for several weeks to several months. Citing a “technical issue in the plant,” the company went on to say that their inventory of Immiticide was depleted and that veterinarians should work on alternative protocols for treating and managing heartworm disease, such as a combination of steroids, antihistamines and preventative heartworm medication.

Posted in Hook Worms Round Worms Tapeworm

Help! My Cat Threw Up Two Tapeworms

Symptoms of worm infections are similar regardless of the worm that has infected the cat or kitten. The only way to be 100% sure of the types of worms infecting your animal is to provide a stool sample to your local veterinarian for testing.