A man has been having “something crawling all over” his face, ears and clothing for 15 years and wonders where he can go to receive help. Despite not providing any photographs, and very little context, we will do our best to provide some helpful information to this man.

Our reader’s primary questions were: “how do I get help”, “who will help” and which resources he could turn to, to obtain this help. Now, although no context was provided about the “something” that has been crawling all over himself and his clothing, we would assume that given he wants help, he is either facing an infestation of some sort in his home, or is concerned about his health.

If our reader is facing an infestation, there are various things he can do. First of all, in order to identify whether or not his home is infested with some kind of creature, he will want to look for a source. This is indicated by a concentration of the organisms — or their larvae (if that applies) — roaming about, eggs (though they are not always visible to the naked eye) or faecal droppings and other matter that they may leave behind. Secondly, consistent housekeeping is vital to battling and controlling an infestation of any kind. Vacuuming one’s home often can prevent infestations before they even happen, as it is easier to vacuum up eggs than moving organisms, as once they have matured, who knows what spots they could hide in that are unreachable? It is important to even vacuum spots of one’s home that perhaps are not cleaned out that often, such as behind and under furniture. Many bugs will hide in these spots for the purpose of not being detected. Thirdly, one can also take preventative measures against bugs entering one’s home. The simplest and most effective way is to ensure that there are no points of entry in the home, such as cracks in walling and flooring, or tears in window screens.

Furthermore, if this matter concerns our reader’s health, then we urge him to consult a medical professional immediately. Going to one’s doctor for any matter of health is always a good idea, but if our reader has cause to believe that these are parasites, or that he a worm-related infection of any kind, we would advise instead seeking out a medical professional who specializes in this area, as most ‘regular’ doctors (for lack of a better word) do not receive training in this field. To find a physician who does specialize in parasitic infestations, our reader can simply Google ‘infectious disease physician (name of his city)’ or ‘travel disease doctor (name of his city)’. Furthermore, he could also take a sample of the worm to his local county extension office or to the entomology department at a nearby university to get it identified prior to consulting a medical professional so as to make the process of identifying the creature and diagnosing the problem easier.

In conclusion, despite not being able to provide any information specific to the organism plaguing our reader, we hope that the information has been of help in answering the question of where and to whom our reader can go for help. If the matter is not a question of health, we encourage our reader to take some photographs of the creatures and send them our way, along with a bit more context, and then we could better help identify the problem and give advice specific to the organism. However, if the situation is medical in nature, we will not be able to help as we are not medical professionals, and thus our reader should instead turn to a medical professional. Regardless, we hope that our reader can get help solving this problem soon so that he may put an end to this 15-year struggle.

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