“Can someone please help to identify this parasite”, asks this reader about the tiny, translucent object pictured below. “I dug it out of a burrow on my top denture. I tested negative for parasites a year ago but I know the doctor missed it. I now have the actual parasite you see in this picture. After rinsing peroxide these S-shaped scars appeared on my cheek. Please help.” Straight off, we have to tell our reader that we will not be able to help in the way that he wants us to. We cannot identify parasites because they always pose a medical concern, and in any situation where an organism is affecting someone’s health, we cannot identify that given organism. Doing so would be tantamount to diagnosing the problem, and only a medical professional is qualified and legally able to do so, which we are not.

What we can do is point our reader in the direction of some resources he can use to get the proper help. We specifically recommend consulting a medical parasitologist. We agree with our reader that his first doctor could have missed the problem, and the reason for this would likely have been that his doctor was not trained in parasitology. Interestingly enough, most primary care doctors and even ER doctors are not equipped to deal with parasites. Medical parasitologists, on the other hand, are specifically trained to diagnose and treat such ailments, which is why we would suggest our reader consult one of those instead.

To find a medical parasitologist, our reader 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 their area 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 (name of the closest big city)” or “tropical medicine specialist (name of the closest big city)”.

We also suggest that our reader hold on to the organism he found and bring it to his consultation, or that he sends that photo to his physician (depending on if the consultation takes place in person or online). Similarly, we also suggest he specify to his physician what type of rinsing peroxide he has been using, and how often he has been using it.

In conclusion, we are unfortunately not qualified or legally able to identify potential parasites, so are not able to help our reader to the extent that we would like to. We hope nonetheless that we could help to some degree, and that our reader finds a medical parasitologist that can provide the relief he seeks. We wish him the very best.

• 
•