Reader Discovers Symptoms are Not Parasites but Mold Sickness
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Posted in Parasite Worms

Reader Discovers Symptoms are Not Parasites but Mold Sickness

An All About Worms reader has discovered that the symptoms they were experiencing, including little threads of hair-like things, and the thread-like things stinging them, are not parasites at all but instead turned out to be mold illness caused by previously undetected mold in their house. Ken urges people to consider this possibility and get your house tested for mold.

woman skin scarred damaged parasites in humans
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Posted in Parasite Worms Worms in Humans

Get Lab Tested for Parasites Without a Doctor through Our Partnership with Life Extension Labs

We get a lot of email from readers who are dealing with internal parasites. It’s heartbreaking to know that scores of our readers have gone to medical professionals to get help with the parasites that are infesting their bodies, only to be turned away as ‘delusional’, accused of being on drugs, or worse. Now our readers can get lab tested for parasites from the comfort of their own home, and without a doctor visit being required.

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Posted in Leeches Parasite Worms Segmented Worms Annelida

Woman Potentially Finds Young Leeches in Bed Sheets

Glossy, black worms were found by this reader in her bed sheets. Having recently moved to Florida, our reader wonders if this is something her dog or her landlord’s cats is bringing in to her home, and hopes that we can tell her what these creatures might be.

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Posted in Gross Worms Parasite Worms Worms in Humans

Florida Woman Reports Parasitic Worm Infestation; What To Do

A woman in Florida states that she is infested with parasites (as seen in the images below), and that she is desperate to get them identified. The first image displays a black worm, with an arrow-shaped head and a thinner, red tail, and the second image displays a long, semi-transparent worm.

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Posted in Parasite Worms Worms Generally Worms in Humans

Three Doctors Unable to Identify This Pointed-Tailed Worm

A pointed-tailed worm was found on the upper thigh of this man. After multiple, unsuccessful doctor visits, our reader is “trying to figure out what parasite” he has, and wonders if we can aid him in identifying this creature.

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Posted in Parasite Worms Worms Generally Worms in Humans

What To Do if Your Doctor Cannot Treat Your Parasite

A mother’s son in South Carolina is reportedly infested with parasitic worms, and was turned away by medical professionals. She wonders not if we can identify the worm for her, but simply if any of our readers have felt like this before in the queries they send in.

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Posted in Parasite Worms Pinworm Worms Found in the House

Worms Inside Toilet Parasites or Something Else?

A man recently sent in this photo of two worms he found after going to the toilet. After being very bloated for a couple of weeks and showing other symptoms, our reader went to his doctor who told him they could be pinworms. However, our reader does not think they look like pinworms, as he has had those in the past and they looked different.

worm perhaps mucus
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Posted in Morgellons Disease Parasite Worms Worms Found in the House

Fearful Mom Wants to Identify Worm or Parasite

One of our readers, a mother of four with many pets, sent us a series of photographs of specimens found…

earthworm in dirt
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Posted in Parasite Worms

Parasitic Worms of Worms: What Types of Parasites Infect Worms?

We received a very interesting question recently about, essentially, parasitic worms that infect other worms. Most of us have heard of parasitic worms that infect other hosts, including humans, but are there parasitic worms that take worms themselves as their host? More broadly, the reader was wondering if there is any “example of a parasitic animal whose host is a worm,” so in addition to looking for parasitic worms that infect worms, we are also looking for any sort of parasite that takes a worm as a host.

Posted in Morgellons Disease Parasite Worms

Parasites that Cause Skin and Scalp Itching: Morgellons Disease?

We received a very distressing email from a reader recently who is suffering from some sort of parasitic infection, or what is believed to be a parasitic infection. The parasite is complicated. It is decribed as white with a “hard ribbed outer shell,” and it can curl up or lie flat. It is under the skin of the reader, but it can break through, and it causes a lot of itching and discomfort. “Tangles of very small worms” are also somehow related to the parasite’s life cycle, but it is not clear how. (Are the thin, small worms somehow part of the parasite or are they a separate parasite? Or perhaps they are they actually the parasite itself at some stage in its life cycle?) While we are by no means qualified to render a diagnosis (and so we aren’t), our reader’s description brings to mind that of Morgellons disease, a very strange ailment that the medical community regards as a “delusional infestation,” even though the afflicted swear the disease is physical and not mental.

Posted in Parasite Worms

Parasites from Cuba

A reader wrote to us a little while ago about some health problems her mother has been experiencing after a trip to Cuba. She periodically has a burning sensation and is experiencing “a lot of pressure with her bladder.” (The reader doesn’t make clear exactly how these symptoms are manifesting themselves; it is not clear when she suffers from a burning sensation, for instance.) The reader’s mother has been put on six antibiotics, which temporarily alleviate the symptoms, but then the problems return. The reader speculates her mother is suffering from a parasite from Cuba, and that it keeps adapting to the antibiotics her mother is taking. She fears that since her mother has returned home to Canada, doctors won’t be familiar with what is afflicting her. The reader is wondering if we have any advice.

Posted in Parasite Worms

Ringworm: Five Facts

Ringworm (also spelled “ring worm”) is of intense interest to people, probably because the problems associated with ringworm are very widespread. At one point or another, you are likely to experience an issue related to ringworm, or at least you’ll know someone who is afflicted by this misleadingly-named human ailment. Since ringworm is the object of so much concern, we decided to compile this list of facts about ringworm. We have selected the following five facts about ringworm based on how interesting or surprising we think they are, not necessarily because they are the main features or most notable aspects of ringworm. Check out another article for a more general overview of ringworm.

screwworms
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Posted in Parasite Worms Screw Worms

Screwworm Flies and How to Get Rid of Them

Screwworm flies (a.k.a. “screw-worm flies” and “New World screwworm flies”) belong to the genus Cochliomyia. Within this genus, there are four different species, but only one of the species is a screwworm fly, which is known as Cochliomyia hominivorax. A reader recently wrote to us regarding the screwworm fly, asking how a human can rid him or herself of this parasitic worm. First, we will give a brief overview of the screwworm, explaining what it is, and then we will address the reader’s question specifically.

Posted in Screw Worms

Where Are Screwworms From?

Screwworms have been eradicated from Central America, Mexico, and the United States. However, the U.S. Department of Health still fears that the screwworm will make its way back into the U.S. through an infected animal.

Posted in Gross Worms Hook Worms Parasite Worms Pinworm Ringworm Round Worms Tapeworm Worms in Humans

Worms in Humans

At any given time, the human body may be infected with dozens of different types of parasites, such as worms. Some parasites are microscopic while other worms in humans are quite visible to the naked eye. Certain types of parasites are found more often in animals; for example, the bloodworm typically infects horses. Other types of parasites may affect humans more often. In all, there are more than 3,200 types of parasites in existence today and they are divided into the following categories: Cestoda, Nematoda, Protozoa, and Trematoda.