Hair-like Organisms Surrounding Stick May Be Horsehair Worms

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“What kind of worm is this?” asks this reader in Dallas Texas regarding the long, thin objects pictured below. At a glance, the photo seems to display hair-like strands of matter that lay scattered around a big twig.

To be frank, it is a mystery to us what exactly we are meant to be looking at. Our reader does not provide any context to go along with her picture, besides the fact that she is in Dallas, Texas. We do not know if the worms she is asking about are meant to be these hair-like objects, or the stick-looking thing, or both.

In any case, if the stick is meant to be the worm, then we suppose it might be a stick caterpillar. These creatures look exactly like their name describes, and it is a general term that applies to all moth species whose caterpillars resemble sticks. This family of moths is called Geometridae, and there are over 300 species of moths that belong to it. Stick caterpillars prefer damp environments and will grow up to two inches in length. What has us doubting that this stick would be a stick caterpillar is that they are most common across Europe and Asia, whilst our reader lives in the US.

Moving on, if the hair-like objects are meant to be the worms, then we suppose these might be horsehair worms. Horsehair worms, otherwise known as Gordian worms, are parasites that infect insects of all kinds, specifically those that hang around bodies of water. This is because horsehair worms are aquatic, and it is from a body of water that they infect an insect. They are not dangerous to humans, and the only known human ‘infections’ of horsehair worms have been accidental (usually caused by a person eating an insect that is already infected with a horsehair worm). So, our reader does not need to worry for her own health in this case.

To conclude, we are not entirely sure what it is our reader wants us to identify, which makes it difficult to write a response that provides concrete answers. We nonetheless hope that our suggestions prove insightful, and we wish her the best.

 

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Summary
Hair-like Organisms Surrounding Stick May Be Horsehair Worms
Article Name
Hair-like Organisms Surrounding Stick May Be Horsehair Worms
Description
"What kind of worm is this?" asks this reader in Dallas Texas regarding the long, thin objects pictured below. At a glance, the photo seems to display hair-like strands of matter that lay scattered around a big twig.
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Author: Worm Researcher Anton

18 thoughts on “Hair-like Organisms Surrounding Stick May Be Horsehair Worms

  1. For 2 yrs I’ve had what looks like thin twisted string in various colors come from my scalp. Red, black, blue. I also have had shiny crystal loke looking different colors of I want to say, pillow stuffing but not as dense in colors of black, orange & pink about the size of an eraser head tip & at times with other colors intertwined & a leaf green in pars of them & almost all the time tveir are my hairs attached all in between everything I mentioned just now & also the intertwined shiny crystal “string” & my hairs also shoot out of tghe ends & sides of the both I mentioned as well. I was diagnosed with Seborrheic Dermatitis & that’s the only part of everything comes from my scalp/hair that I can identify when the Seb Derm is is attached to these things. I have also had green & brown thin flexible stick/twig things come from my scalp/hair & also, & not as many times as everything else above, some that looks like a a half dried out piece of grass with tiny green flowering plant looking buds, that’s the best way I can describe & also at times I have a combo of every single thing I ment5above with metalicic pink, blue, green , purple etc .. attached to these things as well & it looks tok well put together, manufactured almost. Ive also had flat clear like looking worms come from my scalp & on one end it sort of turns up & sometimes I can see a slight black intertwining inside of the flat clear type looking worm. I was prescribed Ivermectin shampoo but it is extremely temporary & I was very reluctant explain all this to my dermatologist & another Dr & the first time I tried with my Derm5he misdiagnosed me & continue to pass everything off & not give me proper care & the 2nd time I started to mention everything to a Dr. I was told I should tell my med prescribing Dr to change my meds so I never spoke about it again & needless to say my quality of life is almost non-existent & I’m so terrified by this situation. I just want to crawl out of my skin. I have been extremely fatigued also since this started 2 yrs ago & was told that I have low immunities & that is the reason for my Seborrheic Dermatitis, that because of my low immunities my body isn’t processing my issues correctly & so therefore everything is attacking my scalp. I cannot remember the professional way to explain what I just did exactly but if you read far enough up on Seborrheic Dermatitis & low immunities the professional explanation is in there related to what I said about the Seb Derm as far as what I was told by a Dr. I have no other symptoms far as anything coming from any other parts of my skin)body except my scalp, which is skin, & extreme fatigue. I was also told that any of what I’m going through scalp wise & fatigue wise could be related to the COVID I had gotten 2 yrs ago. I NEVER spoke in depth about any of this to anyone for the very same fears that everyone else going through similar to what I am & I’m thankful that I came across this & was able to do so. I am extremely open to hearing any feedback whatsoever. Thank you for giving people like me & others on here this
    much needed opportunity

  2. I have been looking at these things in my body through a microscope and taking pictures of it all. I also have a progression of how the symptoms came on and went from brown sputum and crystals that I was coughing into my sink in Dec 2022, until today when I realized that the giant mold spot in the plaster wall where I believe the landlord tried to hide mold and water damage was plastered and painted over. So here is where this gets interesting… I had the black strings or worms going through my tissues… scalp skin, lip skin (which has been peeling for the last few months showing the little circles and a few small short line shapes, then leaving raw burning sores when the skin peels off), and in my nose with either hardened tissue i would remove or mucous “snot”, and in my urine.

    Worse was when I pulled out a few of these lice looking insects from my nose where they were already encased in tissue somehow. Like they died in a casing. Anyway, what I also noticed under the microscope within all the tissue was red and blue string like fibers as well just like the black string looking ones. There are also black strings that look like worms, but there are also some that look like fungal hyphae with basidiomycota.

    I was totally freaked out to see the red and blue because I’ve heard of morgellons before and know of the association people make with psychosis. I first heard about it when reading an article about joni Mitchell.

    Anyway… it felt like the kiss of death to see red and blue strings under the microscope along with the black.

    But I was convinced this was related to a fungal infection because the landlord had intentionally tried to cover up the bubbling spot on the wall which is actually the wall with the shower and tub on the other side of it.

    There is a light green mold growing in the basement along one wall that also has water damage.

    I decided to scrape some of the bubbling plaster off the wall in my bedroom that has the shower on the other side, suspecting there would be mold there which he tried to cover up. Well…. not only did I find rust and black colored mold, but the plaster appeared almost like white effloressence. Either than or it is the fungus itself. But it surrounds the darker part of the fungus and looks white crystallized as opposed to the rust and dark grey/black of the centre that looks like fungus. These crystals though look exactly like what I had been coughing up in December along with brown sputum.

    So either than crystals are a by product of the parasite, or perhaps they are the eggs and the parasite is feeding on the mold.

    The fact that I’ve pulled multiple insects out of my nose already that are dead and encased in some kind of tissue makes me think that something else is eating them and crapping them out. So perhaps that is the worm.

    But the most startling part of all is that when I scraped the sample of plaster off the wall I did so directly into a zip lock bag, and then I put that zip lock into another zip lock. I was paranoid that disturbing the wall might release even more mold spores into the air, and wasn’t sure if this house would have had asbestos in the plaster. I still don’t know the answer to that. But the point is that I was very careful about it.

    So yesterday when I did this I saw the mold and the white crystals and I was livid. I called the tenancy board to see if there was anything I could do to demand the landlord clean up the mold. They told me to call the health inspector to come and assess the place. I am still waiting for the health inspector to call me back now, but this morning (less than 24 hrs later) I went to look at the plaster samples again and there was the black strings and the red and the blue! All twisted around the white crystals and the mold. I don’t recall seeing anything but tiny black chunks yesterday.

    So this is kind of huge I figure because the specimen has been inside TWO ziplock bags this entire time yet here are the fibres. And here is a wall with a mold and moisture problem. And here I have the physical mites or lice or whatever they are that are incased in tissue still sitting on my microscope slides in the kitchen.

    If this is what causes morgellons then this could be quite a big deal because I’ve got a wall here that is producing those fibres out of damp crystallized plaster. Not a “crazy human”.

    I don’t know who to call.

    I am in Canada.

    Someone please email me?

    Va***********@gm***.com

    1. I’m here to try to help you!! I’m not a docter. This is happening to myself and family. Sounds like Morgellona. Wait before you stop reading. This has been debunked!!Mold mites. Soil mites. Bird mites and so on . There are mass different types of! So oh if you have mites. Changes are your test with come back negative.! That’s 87% per test performed. When in fact weeks later back to drs.. Again some neg. So this is what I have learned in the past 7 weeks.parasites! Look up a few things on Google and utube. 1 st being USC University Micro lab micro organism. Microfiber on both sites. It could very likely be single cell organism. It’s a mammal. Bere with me.
      Microfiber threads are either protecting the mites or mites are helping produce them ..?? Still learning.. ugh.. Hope that helps it might.

  3. If it’s worth anything, I had a rash for 7yrs intermittent, half circles and some whole circles, intense itching. A year ago my scalp started itching after getting a new car. Then my scalp started to feel buggy. Then my face and scalp got numb. This would happen after woke up. I started noticing dark pigment on the mine of my scalp and on my arms, I wore hair extensions and literally didn’t wash my hair with water for six months. I thought I had hookworm and the online dr gave me ALbendazole for it. Well, that kicked off a frenzy of hyper infection that nearly killed me. I don’t know if it was nematomorpha meeting the cause of my stomach rash strongyloides stercoralis, or it was the meds that weren’t strong enough, but my body was in a living nightmare I didn’t want to live anymore. Literally. That is the most unlike me of anything on this planet. I have worms similar to horsehair,similar to strongyloides, and this weird worm that is flat, black, white on both sides and white s or a like worn on top of it like a magic carpet ride. They differ in length, and they are mostly in my scalp. I feel them move, and now they are behind my eyes. I need help. If you can do that you would be a God

  4. Hello Kristina
    Seems to me you have been dealing with this for quite some time and know what you’re talking about, These parasite are very active when you get out the black light , if you turn off all the lights and turn on a high powered black light they come out of all parts of your body , and what are these little fly’s that come out of my skin also , from my research it is a infestation of the parasite, I have pictures of these fly’s there very small with long legs and wings, My wife and I have had these parasites for going on 3 years and my 4small dog , I was devastated when we lost our male dog chance I’m still not over that and it’s 2 years now he was like one of my kids to me and now because the doctor’s around here won’t diagnose me well I couldn’t get Chance diagnosed from the vets either they all thought I was crazy delusional well it’s far from that I’ve been living with these things for quite some time and they’re a big pain in the ass in my life I’ve been searching every day for 3 years trying to find something that would lead me in the right direction to resolve this but I still keep coming up with that end I’m sorry for everyone out there that has these parasites because they do make your life hell , what do we do I’ve come to the end of the rope where doctors thinking say that I’m crazy I know that I’m not and I know that people out there that you’ve been talking to they’re not crazy either seems like a conspiracy to me or something I don’t understand why they cannot diagnose and tell us what’s going on I was told an MRI or genetic testing would show what it is so that’s my next step it’s about to drive my little dogs crazy they have to have a bath almost every single day I can say one thing though these critters do hate lice shampoo it does slow them down that was in this house when I moved here that’s how I contracted him and the man knew that the girl had some type of disease and didn’t tell me before I moved in anyway all said and done I’ve got these things and they’re horrible just like everyone says wish everybody all the luck in the world out there and god be with you but I’ve seen several people around me not make it couple friends of mine just passed away not long ago they said it was intestinal cancer y’all take care out there and wish you the best of luck if you can tell me any good please reach out to me

  5. Ok to be honest I been all over looking for a Treatment or cure. The Medabendazole – Albendazole both take a Script by doctor to get ahold of. Meaning yes you would have to look nuts n tell your Hair brain Tale to another doctor, since Parasites seem to not be realistic. I have gone around trying to retrieve help the only place that makes me feel sane to speak of the matter is Here! I’m sick of this! Someone must be able to identify these organisms, at my house we’ve seen several pathogens collected them and they live out side of our bodies a week in a pill bottle. Resil

  6. I’m in Dallas too!! Have these and I thought it was horsehair at first. I created a group for women with the same issues. On fb. There’s something to this in Dallas as I keep reading on here if the same symptoms and things coming out of body. There’s an outbreak here fo something.

  7. Fascinating information, Michelle. Frances, I’m from Dallas and have experienced the same things for about three years though I recently fled the state. Light is a huge factor which is one of the most terrifying aspects to me. When I take some from my body and place them in water, I have experimented with blocking light then unblocking it and they sort of float to and fro. LS, I’d love to get in touch with you. If you have seen Kristina’s post, she includes her email and is working on a central hub for all of us where we can share information and stay in contact. Additionally, here is my new dedicated email in case anyone wants to reach out. I’m working on a master list of of my personal descriptions and symptoms which is quite laborious but it will be helpful to have it saved as a file as it’s very hard for me emotionally to revisit all of the early awareness of this due to the pure fear and the mistreatment I received from doctors. My email is Kr*****************@gm***.com
    Wishing everyone the best.

  8. And just noticing Frances, what you said about light. Something I’d never bring up to the doctor, but maybe I should…. Whatever I’m dealing with is definitely attracted to light. So much so, I have a pair of black and white striped knee socks and when I wear them, my legs alternate redness / swelling at each alternating stripe. The socks aren’t too tight or anything. Whatever filarial worm is under my skin prefers the white stripes and there’s associated edema and inflammation that alternated each stripe! Same thing if i wear black capri pants – my ankles swell. Lmao, because I know it sounds crazy but what worms cause that? I’d never even mention it to my doc in fear of getting put in a special jacket.

  9. My gut is telling me it’s an infestation if multiple pathogens that breeds feeds on fungal infections. Could it be a type of lice or mite that is carrying the horsehair worms into the skin, more of pseudo infection of horsehair worms? Perhaps! I’m saying this because I’ve had these worms identified as horsehair worms by the extension office. But…. they come out of my skin. I’ve also plenty of nasties found in my labs – pinworms, d fragilis, ecoli, proteus vulgaris, klebsiella, candida, cryptococcus, dacrocytes all identified. I initially thought i had lice or pinworms.

    I had a seizure after taking weight-appropriate pyrantel dose and also after using a topical ivermectin. I had larva migrans run from my scalp and collect under my chin after I naired my skull thinking i was going to kick lice in the butt. We were then given albendazole. Within hours, black gunk. Strings of worms or egg cysts painfully exited our feet. No one can tell me what that is or whether we got them all. But we have these moving hairlike organisms all over the house still. They’re relentless.

    I’m trying to find the symbiont and figure out if it’s a louse, beetle, scabie, fly, worm etc that spreads this or what the heck eats all the stuff I have managed to build up in my system – i.e. the perfect storm to literally have horsehair or hair like worms exit the skin. There’s gotta be an explanation. If it were as straightforward as – you just have body lice and need to better launder, someone would have been privy and diagnosed, documented that theres a freeliving hairworm stage. I havent seen this documentation and none of my doctors seem to think its lice. When the doctors don’t know and the varied issues persist they give up on you. They can only treat the obvious. But there’s more to it.

    Let’s get to the bottom of it. I have money, time and an open mind. What the heck is this? I also work in precious metals, have had exposure to raccoon and chipmunk cadavers and have cats and a 4 year old who are affected. If it was just body lice, the cats wouldn’t be affected to my knowledge. If it was just heavy metal or fungal toxins, worms wouldn’t exit the skin or eyes still MOVING. Unless it’s a bird or rodent lice or something we dont know about. Perhaps Cappilaria, Cheyletiellosis? Heartworm? Lung worm? But I’ve just not seen the details of horsehair worms parasitizing lice. And if that’s a thing I’ll get right on the protocol for lice. It’ll save lives if we can define this.

    1. If it’s worth anything, I had a rash for 7yrs intermittent, half circles and some whole circles, intense itching. A year ago my scalp started itching after getting a new car. Then my scalp started to feel buggy. Then my face and scalp got numb. This would happen after woke up. I started noticing dark pigment on the mine of my scalp and on my arms, I wore hair extensions and literally didn’t wash my hair with water for six months. I thought I had hookworm and the online dr gave me ALbendazole for it. Well, that kicked off a frenzy of hyper infection that nearly killed me. I don’t know if it was nematomorpha meeting the cause of my stomach rash strongyloides stercoralis, or it was the meds that weren’t strong enough, but my body was in a living nightmare I didn’t want to live anymore. Literally. That is the most unlike me of anything on this planet. I have worms similar to horsehair,similar to strongyloides, and this weird worm that is flat, black, white on both sides and white s or a like worn on top of it like a magic carpet ride. They differ in length, and they are mostly in my scalp. I feel them move, and now they are behind my eyes. I need help. If you can do that you would be a God

  10. Interesting Michelle! Because many people are searching for answers, having initially thought they had lice but it wasnt appreciated by docs. Months or years later there’s these bizarre moving hair like organisms and still no louse found. I’m so very interested if this is an unknown molt or stage of an advanced louse infestation.

    Couple questions. What parasitologist are you working with? Would you please share their info? Do you have any papers establishing / debunking the correlation between apparent free-living nematodes and body lice or just your experience and and the parasitologist happened to nail it and you got better? Did you have a coexisting fungal infection? Also, is this a human body louse or some type of animal louse you had?

    I don’t care what it is. If you found a name and or diagnosis and have found a doctor to call it something and give you a strict 3 month protocol to end the hairlike worm phantom lice madness – I want to say congratulations and work with your doctor and hopefully be freed of the suffering. Please do share and tell us anything you can that will help, I’m all ears. So many people suffering and not getting answers. You’re litrrally a beacon of hope here.

  11. I know Exactly what that picture is because I have pictures JUST like it, and so many more. It’s a zoonotic parasite and those “hairs” are produced by it in the epidermis. It feels like a very pointed poof of air, you look and theres the hair. Occasionally, they leave <.5mm "trough" scars that hard to see umless in angled light. Symptoms from this parasite are complex, some are chronic, some are present for a few months and disappear, some are chronic and self limiting, such as the Extraordinary Painful mouth/tongue ulcerations which present as squamous cell cancer, but are not and the default diagnosis is TUGSE, which is incorrect because they arise on their own following oral tissue changes, tongue swelling (fat tongue) with scalloped edges, sensitive and burning mouth and there they are. Of course they're aggravated by anything at all, including sharp teeth,but swallowing, talking, eating are ALL Extremely painful.
    One thing is certain. It doesn't go away by itself. It infests your home, car, pets, children and makes your life a Living hell. Painful stings, dry coughing, vision change, sore, tight muscles (mine are traps, neck, scalenes, occipital muscles, swollen neck and groin lymphs, nasal discharge, oral, Ocular, aural and nasal manefestions, painful muscles and joints, on & on.

    If you are interested, I'm starting a group of us who are trying to sort this out since western medical doctors prefer to diagnose everyone with parasitic Psychosis instead of Doin Their Job.
    Kd**************@gm***.com

    Best,
    Kristina

    You're Not alone. You're Not crazy.

  12. Hi,

    I have been dealing with a leading parasitologist as l was convinced l had horsehair worm as l followed a site which l had the same symptoms and pictures. Horsehair worm cannot sustain more than a 24 hour period in a human and will eject itself via vomit. The DNA do NOT work with each other and the fake diagnosis written up by this lady was proven to be typed by a typewriter.

    I sent my samples in and it was body lice.

    They live and breed in fabric, especially clothes, bedding and mattresses and unless a strict cleaning regime is done everyday, you will never get rid of them.

    I soaked my clothes in hydrogen peroxide, washed with a laundry sanitiser in the final wash. Always wash clothes daily or you are wasting your time. Steam the mattresses every 3 days as the small hairs you find are the ‘nits’ that produce the hair to stick into fabric.
    Your hands are a contact point to spread also, when preparing anything in the kitchen, wear latex gloves, they WILL stick to other surfaces and a way of contamination. Taps, door handles, toilet flush, shower handles, steering wheels. The fabric in your vehicle will also need to be cleaned and remember to vacuum everyday to suck them up or you are just waiting your time.

    A double dose of mebendazole or abendazole 3 times in 2 weeks will irraducate them from your body, but unless you keep up this regime to the word, you will NEVER be free.

    I did this and it worked. It took 3 months
    but finally back to normal. As they are not a noticeable parasite, the small hairs are a good sign that they are present, so be vigilant.

    Good luck

  13. Regarding lady in Dallas and her picture…I live in a Dallas suburb of Garland. I have been dealing with a terrible infestation of tiny specks and hairs of different colors and sizes in my two cars and house. A pest man said it is an infestation. They are attracted to light…they go crazy in bright light in my car. They come out in a swarm around my skylight around eleven or twelve each day. Today I sat and watched these hair like things of different colors and sizes float or fly all around me…NOT lint. Nobody can figure out what they are. Could they be horsehair worms? Two years ago I had a large push broom full of what I think were black shiny horsehair worms of different sizes. And they were moving. The tip of the broom bristles were covered with dozens of shiny eggs?? Could this be what has infested my property; the problem is disturbing.

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