“What is this worm in my head and where can I get blood work done?” asks this reader in her submission. “Doctors have me as delusional parasites. You can see it’s a worm. It has been two years. Thank you.”

“I have been dealing with these things in my nose and in my mouth above my dentures”, states this reader in Northeast Florida. “Please tell me what they are”, she requests, asking about the multitude of organisms pictured below.

“What is this?” asks this reader about the organism in the photograph below. Our reader states that he has been having diarrhea for two weeks and this, brow-green organism came out the day he sent in his submission.

“How does someone get rid of this clear worm? If they have gone to the hospital and got Baker Acted?” asks this reader in her query. Though she provides no photographs or more context than this, we will do our best to guide our reader toward the help the person in need requires.

“What kind of parasite is this?” is all this reader asks in their submission regarding the various organisms pictured below. The creatures range in color and shape: some white and some black, and most of them worm-like in shape with the exception of one that looks more ovate.

“My daughter had this weird-looking object in her stool” says this reader about the long, thin piece of matter pictured below. Our reader states that the “odd shaped worm” has not moved, but is worrying them “to death”.

“Can it get on or in a man’s blood and skin? Because I have […] different spots on my body.” asks this man in his one-line query. No photos or more context accompany his question, but we will do our best to help our reader with his issue.

“Where can I get help?” is the first thing this woman writes in her submission, posing the question that many face when they are concerned about parasite-related health concerns. This reader in particular is concerned about a “hookworm” that “came out of [her] dog” which has spread to her and her family members.

“Can a person’s gut be so full of, like, pinworms […] that they come out of the skin and nose and start biting the skin on the outside?” asks this reader in his submission. He seems concerned about his eating habits and the symptoms he has been experiencing.

“I have been struggling with these white, lightweight, hair-like worms in my hair and all over my body,” says this reader located in Northwest Washington, “out in the rural farm lands near the Canadian border.” Although our reader does not ask any specific questions in her submission, we will provide some resources she can consult if she worries for her health as a result of these worms.

“These things have been plaguing my family for 3 years plus” says this reader in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who worries about the “mostly translucent” organisms which “have completely brought down [her family’s] quality of living.” Our reader states that she “needs answers”, and has thus come to us.

This reader “would be extremely grateful” if we could help her identify some parasites that have invaded her family. Our reader writes to us in the hopes that the answers that we provide may “hopefully prevent others from experiencing a terror” such as the one our reader has faced.

“Have recently found a very small” worm, states this reader in his submission regarding the “black, glossy” creatures pictured below. “Maximum size is three quarters of an inch, to an inch.”

“What is this larva I found on my daughter’s windowsill?” asks this reader from Chicago about the transparent, long creature pictured below. “If it helps there’s also some kind of nest outside the window (at the top left) and pigeons sit out there often.”

“I have had these in my hair for over a year”, states this reader in her submission regarding the black and transparent organisms pictured below. “Can you identify these things?”

“I was told I have head lice” says this reader, who sends in multifarious images of organisms, her hair and what appear to be wounds on her skin. Our reader asks us for help, and states that she has “no insurance.”

Horsehair worms are one of the most common parasites found in nature, and also one of the most misunderstood. Between the myths that surround them, as well as the vast claims that many make about them, this article intends to clear up any of the misinformation about horsehair worms, particularly their relationship to humans.

“Can anyone identify these red worms?” asks this reader in her submission. “They are in my scalp.”

“I keep getting attacked at night by something” states this reader in his lengthy query about the creatures that have been bothering him since “August of 2020”. Our reader is concerned about his health and is currently not getting any medical treatment that is helping his issue.

“I have had these weird things in my stool for a long time now”, states this reader in the submission she sent us. “They look like red sesame seeds but they are definitely not something I ate.”