“I’m in need of your assistance with the identification of the suspected worm in the short, attached video,” writes Helena in her submission regarding the super thin, black, worm-like creature pictured below. “More information will gladly be provided if needed, and upon your request. Your help is greatly appreciated! As the video shows, it was on me. I’m not suggesting it came from me. When I removed it, the worm had fallen to the floor and I couldn’t locate it to take any other photo or video of it. I’d just never seen anything like it and thought you might be able to identify it as such. If so I’d greatly appreciate your knowledge of what type of worm it could be or who might know, if not yourselves.”

“This came out of my nose”, writes this reader regarding the pink matter pictured below. “What is it? I am in Whittier, CA.” More context than this is not provided, but in any case, we will not be able to identify this worm, given the nature in which it was found. Since it came from our reader’s body, it is possible that this is a medical situation. Since we are not medical professionals, we are neither qualified nor legally able to identify organisms that potentially could be negatively affecting a human’s health. That said, what we can do is point our reader in the direction of some resources she can use to get a medical professional’s opinion.

“What type of worm/parasite is this?” is all this reader writes in her submission regarding the white and red organism pictured below. From the looks of it, if this were a worm, it would be a pretty mangled one. It has lost the uniform, long shape that a worm possesses, and looks like a blob of tissue. For that reason, as well as due to the lack of context, we will have to say that the identity of this worm is inconclusive. We would not even be able to guess based on the coloration, as it is uncertain if the red color was actually a part of the worm originally, or if it is blood from its mangled body.

“I want to get the information about this worm, cause today I found this worm in my drinking glass”, writes Viashnavi in his submission regarding the transparent organism pictured below. “I noticed it while drinking the water, so I got scared. Then I tried to vomit, and I vomited all that I ate before too. I think it’s not harmful to my body. So can you please reply to me. I need all information about this worm. Thank you.”

“I vomited this animal”, writes this reader in her submission regarding the gray organism pictured below. She wrote to us in German, so the following is a rough translation: “Got little worms in me. They lay black eggs through the skin, these will fly. White coating comes out of my tongue and gums, and black eggs come out of it. If I touch meat with my hands, these things develop like in the mouth. Please answer quickly, nobody takes me seriously.” Right off the bat, we will unfortunately have to say that we will not be able to identify these “worms”, because this situation is clearly medical in nature.

“I found this in my bathroom while I was brushing my teeth”, writes this reader in her submission regarding the tiny, pinkish, worm-like creature pictured below. “I had just gotten out of the shower and had a towel wrapped around my hair. While I was brushing my teeth over the sink this thing fell from somewhere, and I almost threw up at the thought of it coming from my tooth brush. Please help so I can get peace of mind or go to a doctor.” Firstly, we want to express our sympathies for our reader, as finding a worm when brushing your teeth cannot be a pleasant experience. Secondly, we do suggest that our reader see a doctor.

“After two years of misery, I finally dug out from a burrow this parasite, three days ago”, writes this reader about the organisms pictured below “Please help me identify it. I have nowhere to turn. The one I dug out has the worm body. The other is the same I believe without the body. Please help me.” Unfortunately, we will not be able to help our reader in the way that he wants us to. The reason for this is because our reader believes he is dealing with parasites, which makes his situation medical in nature. We are not medical professionals, and so we are not qualified or legally able to identify any organisms that could negatively affect the health of a human or pet.

“What is this?” is all Shawna asks in her submission regarding the thin, translucent object pictured below. Suffice to say the photo is quite blurry: all we can tell about the object Shawna is asking about is that it seems to be clear, long, and hair-thin. The only worm that comes to mind is the horsehair worms, though they are not colorless like this one: they tend to be black or white in color. Without any context, it will also be impossible for us to identify the worm based on information that could have given away its identity, such as the location in which it was found, or if it was found on or near a pet’s food or bedding.

“Can someone please help to identify this parasite”, asks this reader about the tiny, translucent object pictured below. “I dug it out of a burrow on my top denture. I tested negative for parasites a year ago but I know the doctor missed it. I now have the actual parasite you see in this picture. After rinsing peroxide these S-shaped scars appeared on my cheek. Please help.” Straight off, we have to tell our reader that we will not be able to help in the way that he wants us to. We cannot identify parasites because they always pose a medical concern, and in any situation where an organism is affecting someone’s health, we cannot identify that given organism. Doing so would be tantamount to diagnosing the problem, and only a medical professional is qualified and legally able to do so, which we are not.

“I have been having these weird things in my stool for a long time now”, writes this reader about the ovate, red objects pictured below. “They look like red sesame seeds but they are not something I ate. Do you know what they are or where I can send this picture for assistance? I have had several stool tests but no results!” To begin with, we have to say immediately that we will not be able to tell our reader what they are, and the reason for this is because of her medical concerns. In any situation where a reader has a medical concern, or believes that an organism is in any way affecting their health, we cannot involve ourselves so far as identifying the relevant organism. Since we are not medical professionals, we are neither qualified or legally able to do so, as identifying such organisms is tantamount to providing a diagnosis, which only a medical professional can do.

“I found this on my bathroom floor”, writes this reader about the strange-looking, yellow creature pictured below. “I’m unsure if it came from a person, a cat, or a drain. We’ve all had some illness and my dad, whom I care for due to brain atrophy, had a stomach/bathroom issue earlier that day. This was found all by itself, however, on the bathroom floor. Can it be identified? Also, obviously the photo is zoomed in. I believe it measured around an inch long. Also, if it matters, I live in rural south Texas on the San Marcos river and have many livestock and wildlife in my yard and around me, as well as cats that stay inside and had an infestation of fleas but finally got rid of them completely!”

“What are rope worms?” asks one of our readers in Canada. This is all she writes in her submission, and yet this short, simple question is an excellent one. It’s a question that has been posed many times on the internet, with very different responses coming from all sides. The truth of the matter is that rope worms are not really worms at all. What ‘rope worms’ actually refers to is the mucus that is shed by the human intestines. The point of intestinal mucus is to protect our body from harmful microorganisms that could enter our bloodstream through our intestines, and humans excrete intestinal mucus all the time, like we constantly shed skin. But we do not excrete this music in the rope-like structures that ‘rope worms’ refer to. Excretion of intestinal mucus in this fashion could be a sign of gastrointestinal problems.

“So I got a rental home in Glendale, AZ, and the first month me and my family were fine”, starts this reader in his submission regarding the long, thin, black worm-like critter pictured below. “Well, the second month being in this home, the city of Glendale decided to clean out the sewers. Ever since then it has only been me and my dog and I feel like we are the ones being infected by these things. I honestly think I have a few that I have in mind. I think it’s microflair or lymphatic filariasis, and the other two I think are a Guinea worm, which I contracted from my dog, and horsehair worms, AKA Gordian worms. So I see black and white thin-like parasites, but the black ones are a lot bigger and huger, I guess you can say. And then, when they, like, go over each other, they produce a greyish little one – well, that’s what it looks like to me. My husband and the people I live with honestly think I’m going crazy.”

“Three and a half years ago I had occasion to visit with my father, and during the long term visit encountered some type of parasitic bug/worm”, writes this reader in her submission. “It seems that the “bug/worm” things are various colors but usually range anywhere from clear, white, tan, orange, yellow, chlorophyll green, red, pink (I believe it’s due to where and on what they lay their eggs), and come in 2-3 different shapes and sizes (I think it’s just different levels of their life cycles) – from microscopic to the size of a large flake of dandruff. They are so small that it’s very difficult to see any details with the naked eye, so I bought several different brands of Android cell phones which had better and better zoom quality on the cameras and then I purchased a microscope that clips onto the cell phones.”

“Does anyone know what this is?” is all this reader asks about the strange, lobster-shaped organism pictured below. We have never seen anything like it, and it is not particularly worm-like in appearance: this, in conjunction with the lack of context, makes it impossible for us to identify this creature. We also do not know what concerns we could address, since our reader did not make any known to us. For that reason, we will simply do a quick overview of some information that may prove helpful.

“Can you help me identify this worm?” asks this reader in her submission regarding the white organism pictured below. “It’s super tiny and I have been getting bites which have left welts. The last ones have even pushed up.” We are not exactly sure what our reader means in this last sentence, but, in any case, we will unfortunately not be able to identify this worm-like critter. This is due to our reader expressly stating that the organism is harming her body, and as such, the situation becomes potentially medical in nature. Since we are not medical professionals, we are not qualified, or legally able, to identify such creatures, as doing so would be tantamount to providing a medical diagnosis.

“I had a horrific feeling of something crawling up my nose”, begins this reader in her submission about the worm-like creature pictured below. “I blew my nose continuously and it still hurt. When I breathed in, it hurt. I sneezed and sneezed. Finally, I blew out this tiny worm, white/beige: it had a sharp point at the end. I felt intense relief. I had no other symptoms. It is about 1 cm (0.4-inches). It was very much alive! Now, I am paranoid that I am infested with pupae. Do you think this could be a one time event? We live in the country, deep in the woods, in the South. We do have all sorts of insects around. I do my best to keep them out of the house. I will enclose a picture. Thank you so much!”

“I have found these super small, almost invisible worms”, states this reader in Poland about the horde of tiny white organisms pictured below. “I am really worried. Please look at the picture. Is it dangerous? I could not find them in any of the food in my kitchen. They seem to be attached to this coffee machine.” She also includes a video (linked below) that shows the creatures swarming the coffee machine. Based on the location they were found, as well as their ovate shapes and white coloration, we have concluded that these are likely grain mites.

“I found these silvery things moving at the bottom of my toilet bowl when I urinate,” states this reader in his submission regarding the translucent shape pictured below. “I thought it might just be the warmer liquid mixing with the cooler liquid – it kind of swirls. I’m gonna attach a video. Oh, by the way, I’m in Dallas Texas but was in the Navy and have traveled to many countries. I apologize for the language.” Firstly, we want to thank our reader for his service and let him know that the language is absolutely fine: we want our readers to be as direct as possible when they give us the context of their situation, as it helps us get the clearest grasp on the situation we can get. Secondly, we must say that this does not resemble any organism that we know of. It really does just look like swirls of liquid.

“I live in Toronto, Ontario, and was wondering if you could identify this worm/larvae”, states this reader about the white worm-like creature pictured below. “This small larva, which is approximately half an inch in length, was found in the bathroom and may have been an intestinal parasite (due to how it was discovered). It moves quickly and seems to have six small appendages and a segmented upper body. It has a small reddish brown “head.” It looks closest to a clothing moth larva, but the body shape is not the same and it is physically flatter. Any help would be greatly appreciated.” Now, since our reader states that he thinks it may be an intestinal parasite, we cannot identify this organism for him. This is because we are not medical professionals, and are thus not qualified or legally able to identify any organisms that affect the health of humans or animals.