A reader sent us a photo and a video of a specimen she discovered in her toilet. She explained that she noticed this worm after she went to the bathroom but before she flushed the toilet. She is quite creeped out and wondering if she should go to the doctor. Here is a screenshot from the video:

The creature is quite tiny. It has a dark point on its tail, a larger head, and a tan body. In the video, it curls into a circular shape before straightening out again. We aren’t sure what this is.

Since our reader is suspicious that this might have come from her body, we highly recommend that she see a doctor as soon as possible. The parasites we are familiar with don’t resemble this specimen, but we cannot say for certain what it is so it is best that she go check in with a professional. Parasites that we are familiar with that are excreted and noticed by readers in body deposits are often stringier and less insect-looking.

Of course it is possible that the specimen was already in the toilet before she used the bathroom and she just didn’t see it before. Perhaps it was hiding under the rim and emerged after the water was disturbed. We think the creature sort of resembles drain fly larvae, which live in sink, shower, and toilet drains. However, we cannot stress strongly enough that we aren’t doctors and cannot really give any advice in this situation.

In summary, one of our readers used the toilet and before flushing noticed a curious creature in the toilet. She wrote that she is afraid it might have come form her. We don’t think this looks like a parasite, but we are not familiar with all of the parasites and we think she should see a doctor immediately to assess the situation. We hope our reader finds out it is indeed a harmless specimen!