“Tonight I went to use the bathroom to urinate but when I looked down I noticed a living worm there”, writes Alberto in his submission regarding the dark, long, worm-like creature pictured below. “My first thought was that the worm came from me, and that it was a parasite (I did use the bathroom in the morning, but I didn’t use the bathroom until the night when I saw the worm), but when I started researching in Google it didn’t seem like the worm looked like the typical parasite that infects humans. Those seem to be white or cream, while this worm looks black with a bit of red and some transparent parts when it stretches. Also I didn’t have any symptoms the days before, like itching, however I did have some light digestive looseness the day before, but I think I’m pretty sure it was something I ate the same day, but I’m not sure though. I did take a dewormer just in case, but I would like to be sure if that worm could be a parasite that came from me. I’d leave a video and some other pics of the worm, thank you very much! I live in Monterrey, Mexico.”

To start with, we want to thank Alberto for sharing his story, as well as the great photo and video: they definitely help us identify the organism as quickly and as accurately as possible. Given the location the worm was found and what it looks like, we think this is an earthworm. Earthworms are not parasites, and they do not pose a threat to human health whatsoever. With that said, given Alberto’s specific concerns about this worm coming from him, we are unqualified to completely write off that possibility, as we are not medical professionals. Only a medical professional is qualified and legally able to identify a parasitic worm, as doing so is diagnosing a medical issue.

If Alberto is concerned about his health as a product of finding this worm, we recommend that he disregard our identification of this as an earthworm and instead seek the opinion of a medical parasitologist: a physician that specializes in diagnosing and treating problems caused by parasites. To find a medical parasitologist or other health care provider who can actually help, Alberto can do one or more of the following:
– Visit our parasite care resources page here: https://www.allaboutworms.com/get-medical-attention-and-tests-for-parasites

– Search for a medical parasitologist in Monterrey, Mexico using this directory of medical parasitology consultants: https://www.astmh.org/for-astmh-members/clinical-consultants-directory.

– Search for a local parasitologist by doing a Google search for “medical parasitologist Monterrey Mexico” or “tropical medicine specialist Monterrey Mexico”.

If the physician concludes that this is not a parasite, then we think this is an earthworm. Its clitellum (which is barely visible in the photo) gives it away (the thicker, paler band of skin near the worm’s head), as well as its shape and location of discovery. It is not all that uncommon to find an “earthworm in one’s toilet“. This tends to happen because there is a leak somewhere in the underground piping through which the earthworms crawl. They will be attracted to toilets which contain stuff they can eat: organic debris. From the photo, we can tell that Alberto’s toilet needs a clean. It is important to keep one’s toilet clean, as this discourages critters like earthworms from showing up in them. We recommend that Alberto adopt a consistent cleaning schedule for his toilet and bathroom in general (all drains should be cleaned regularly!).

In conclusion, if a medical professional concludes that this is not a parasite, we think this is an earthworm. In any case, we suggest that Alberto cleans his toilet and other drains regularly, as it helps prevent creatures from showing up in one’s home (at least from that route). We hope this helps, and we wish Alberto the very best.

• 
•