What Everyone Ought to Know About Parasites
Recently my 3 year old son developed a raised circular patch of skin on his foot. We thought it may be ringworm or some other form of parasite which prompted this research. Below you’ll find pictures, symptoms, and cures for the 5 most common parasites that can infect humans.
Hookworms
Roundworms
Here is a staggering statistic: the World Heath Organization reported that about 25% of the world’s population is infected with roundworm. These guys can grow to 13 inches inside the intestine and can lay as many as 300,000 eggs in a single day. Once the larvae hatches it only takes about 2 months before they are reproducing like mad. You’ll have many of the same symptoms as the hookworms including ‘flu like’ symptoms and abdominal pain. If you get a swarm of 13 inchers, your intestines will probably become blocked at which point you’ll wish for nothing short of death. Also if you start vomiting be on the lookout! 
They have been known to be present in the toilet after vomiting or a nice hardy #2.
Pinworms
Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night by an itchy bung hole? If so you may be infested with pinworms. They sneak out at night to lay their eggs on the fertile skin surrounding your anus. Mmm fun! The eggs can live up to 3 weeks, so be sure to wash yourself well. If you’ve experienced the itchy bung hole you’ve already been infected for 2-3 months. Chances are you were exposed to contaminated food which means you swallowed pinworm eggs. If you think you’re infected just put a clear piece of tape over your anus while you sleep. In the morning take the tape to the doctor and have them examine it for pinworms. He’ll think you’re a genius!
Schistosoma
These microscopic guys are also know as blood-flukes and are known to the World Health Organization as the second biggest danger to society next to Malaria. They call blood vessels home and can pass their eggs through urine and feces. Hosts are infected by penetrating the skin. Once you’re infected, chances are you’ll never even know it. If you do it would be a fever, chills, or perhaps a cough. Your body has a severe reaction to the eggs, not the worm itself. Repeated infection can damage the liver, intestines, lungs, and bladder. Once the doc as inspected your urine and stool you’ll be given a drug that’ll knock these guys out in 2 days. By the way, what would you guess that little hangy thing is in the left hand picture?
Tapeworms
In the true spirit of parasites, I’ve saved the best for last. Tapeworms are the mack daddy of parasites that can measure upwards of 20 FEET long! Keep an eye on your dung heaps because these guys are so long they tend to break off. As long as the head remains attached in the intestine they will continue to grow. Humans are generally infected by tapeworms through cattle. Tapeworms will bore through the intestinal wall of the cow and lodge themselves in the muscle where you ingest them (I’ll take my steak well done, please). Symptoms are similar to the others including abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and constipation. If you’re looking to lose a couple pounds you might consider letting a couple tapeworms take up residence in your intestines. It is rumored that tapeworms were a core ingredient of some diet pills.
Conclusion
The good news is if you live in the United States your chances of getting a parasite are greatly reduced. Don’t do anything stupid like scratching your butt or eating food from a garbage can. Also make sure you wash your hands often especially after you walk the dog or emptying the garbage. There are medicinal treatments for all parasites, the tough part is knowing when you have one.
Oh no…now I feel like worms and bugs have invaded my body!
ewww. How disgustingly interesting! Cheers - Anna
You just made me feel like worms and bugs your so sicking LLLLLLLLLLOOOOOL
Mmmm….roundworm spaghetti! Seriously, I wouldn’t doubt if diet pills contained tapeworm eggs. That’d do it. Very interesting post!
Llol, I bet they would. I know the Victorians used to eat tapewroms to stay thin, especially when they wanted to squeeze into those corsets. In the end, they just died from starvation though… I think I would sooner be fat, if I’m honest…
I’m rather be fat than having tapeworms enter my body
As a qualified tropical disease biologist I found this article an interesting find. Many of the points you make are correct but there are some errors. The top two pictures are both of hook worms (Ancylostoma duodenale), low grade infections of 1-10 worms would probably not be noticed at all, especially in a well fed westerner. They can cause anaemia in heavy infections. Interestingly they secrete chemicals which suppress the immune response and it is theorised that the lack of worm infections in the west is responsible for the rise in allergies (due to the immune response becoming unbalanced). Adult tapeworms do not bore through the intestinal wall, the larval stages domigrate to muscle or even brain tissue. This mostly happens in pigs but can occur in humans, causing many problems such as epilepsy and death. Larval Tapeworm infections of the brain (neurocystercercosis) is one of the major causes of neurological disorders in the developing world. And in your picture of the schistosome the “thing” dangling out of the male is actually the female worm!
Hi there N ,
A bit of a long shot but I wondered if you could help me?
I have something living in my eyes, I went to Thailand last year for a month and returned at the end of Jan 2007.
Since March this year I have been problems with my eyes ’stringies’ is the only way to describe what I have been pulling out of them, long, clear (to begin), sticky, stringies. I first attended my doctors at this time first it was ‘hay fever’, As in previous years I have been prone to a little hay fever I didn’t rule this out. Now I’m regretting it.
I gave up with my doctor, and took it upon myself to see the optician. I cant remember what he said at that time, but to cut a long story short, I was referred to the eye Hospital . I have since had 2 visits, but neither of the times they picked up anything. I have been tested for sexually transmitted disease’s and I’m presuming whatever it is they test people like me for at this stage. Nothing has shown positive.
Since then I have took it upon myself again (The national health service is great here!) and Ive collected the black/brown things(Which are what the long stringy things seem to be attached to) the doctors were adamant they were a bits of my makeup, I again proved them wrong to this fact, I’ve took to collecting some of these creature things on cotton buds, I also got one from my doctors which is activated by fluid, Im taking all these to by 3rd Appointment. The fluid one has grown, and looks like slugs. Nice.
As soon as wake I am made aware of them, I ignore them, however come 3pm daily, without fail, the irritation is so to the point the little sticky things are peeping out the corners in the eye. My left one is allot worse than my right, but both are infected.
Have you ever heard of anything like this before??????? Advises appreciated. Thanks Em age27
http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/wormeye.html
did you get an answer to this.. .if you caugh this infection/worm thing in Thailand… western doctors will probably not recognize it at all…
did you tell them you went to thailand…? did you see a doctor who has practiced in that area at all? (thailand, philipines… etc) ..
mel.
What happened with your eyes?
It sounds like you have filaria, which is seen in animals, not often in humans.
One type is the cause of western Africa’s “river blindness”, so I’d strongly urge you to keep at your doctors.
Since you seem to be in the UK, why not consult the London School of Tropical Medicine?
Best wishes,
well how do we get our children to eat thyme and stuff like Grapefruit & Pumpkin Seeds?
Excuse me while I go puke…
While I am leaning over the toilet I’ll be on the lookout for any roundworms…
*pukes again*
-sob
“By the way, what would you guess that little hangy thing is in the left hand picture?”
That’s the parasite’s penis
my favorite roundworm photo:
http://ralphwiggum.org/worms.png
that is really nasty
OMG! How can people hear this stuff and even look at these pictures
By the way, just so you know ringworm is not a parasite. It is not even a worm. All it is is a viral infection like athlete’s foot…
Dr. Nasir A. Afsar
i agree…kind of by after recent studies i have descovered a more detailed view on ring worm, some feel that ring worm is a form of fungi that is created somewhat like athlete’s foot but no, it is not a fungi…infact after two years of studying the female moskitoes i have learned that Ring worm is actually a liquid residue that is in the feces (crap, poop, shit) of the females…and strangly it is only the female.
Enjoy.
Sorry round worm tamer; I agree with the doctor. The cause of roundworm has long been established to be a fungus that grows in a ring shape.
In old times, people thought that it looked like a worm, hence the name.
Kind regards,
Sorry, a spelling mistake: I was referring to ringworm, a fungal infection, not the helmith roundworm.
Sorry, I meant to say fungal infection…
mmmm…yummy
my puppy has roundworms and i have to go to the vet and get him wormed….
What I’ve never heard of tape worms being a part of some diet pills? That seems impossible first of all but would be scary if even possible.
It’s possible, alright. They drop tape worm egg sack down the throat of women wanting to lose weight.
Suckers. They contaminated generations of people to come, handing the parasite over and on down to everyone around them.
no this is incorrect what actually happens after giving the person the pill is that they come back in a matter of weeks, months and instead of passing the worm from generation to generation, they actualy use a process that removes all…and i MEAN all waste or acids form your digestive track allowing you to pass the worms out of your body, but it is cool the scientists keep those worms alive to see what type of fat the person had in their body…
Actually, there is talk about APPROVING them in the US for diet pills.
No kidding.
Quick search on google will show there are several different accounts of this fact. I don’t think any of them have been proven though.
yeah…(staring at my food)
i worked in an animal hospital and tapeworms were the most common parasite that we saw in dogs and cats. that’s some nasty stuff. you can get hookworms by walking around barefoot outside, so make sure to wear slippers in the summer! and don’t eat poop.
Fortunately I haven’t made it a habit to eat poop
I do enjoy walking around outside barefoot though. Maybe I should reconsider that.
did anyone else’s stomach turn when they saw this?
”It is rumored that tapeworms were a core ingredient of some diet pills”
INTERESTING but just thinking of those worms can make someone lose weight. I’ll recommend the psychological pill.
Wonder if this worked for whoever was crazy enough to try it. Sick, sick, sick.
Take a look at an old advertisement at this old magazine ad for losing weight
good idea i’ll also throw out my pets.
wow thank you so much i was looking for a site to tell me all the info you just have. i thought i had a worm but i guess not.
I have been seeing a gastrologer for 2 years now because of excessive and rapid loss of weight and other things. My mother thought it was a tape worm but after reading this article it couldn’t be. Thanks for the information.
Wow that was a great idea for an article to hit Digg with. You definitely deserve the diggs that article rocks.
no that is not true….lmao you have to use luck warm vinigar…somehting in the liquid atracts the little buggers. youwill just like puke them all up….soooo CCOOOOLLLLL
Is this a serious question?? How could you imagine that it could work - someone is having fun with you. Go to a dr and get the right medicine….
Rgds,
occashinly my butt itches but does that mean i have a pinworm?
This is mightily disgusting! Ewww! Good reminder to be super clean! Hope your son is ok. The little ones are such easy targets for bugs, germs and these guys. ewww again. thanks for the reminder.
yea what patricia said!!
ok that was one of the most disturbing articals i could every read my whole body had sivers at the thought of haveng something live in my body anyone else get that feelings i need to puke now bye
~ewwwwww
I don’t know if it’s just me but I have a serious worm paranoia. Ever since I took some biology classes and learned about these disgusting creatures, I’ve had this fear that I have parasites and just don’t know it. I don’t eat raw or undercooked meat, but when I was young I licked my cat’s fur and shared a glass of milk with her…hope I didn’t contract anything!
there’s an article—mind control by parasites at livescience–check it out..
seems you forgot a few parasites that come with our beloved pets–kittens and puppies.
o.m.g that is gross…but i think i have tape worm. i hope not
i love ian and tom and steve!
lol forced 2 say that.
We just added a member to our family a PUPPY!
We saved her life, a beautiful lab, about MAYBE 4 months old, she was running on the freeway with no tags & almost got hit we tried for two days posting pictures and even at the police station but they said the could not do anything and the shelter were closed until Monday ( small coastal town). She was laying on a blanket & what looked like a very small piece of noodle came out of her rear!!!! 
I SCREAM put everything in the laundry with LOTS of bleach & hot water, is this maybe just puppy worms?? After this picture I’m over reacting Not touching her with out gloves & have her on lock down in the bathroom until I can find out some thing????
well…lol ok btw there is no such thing as “puppy worm” sorry to say but if she/he had no tags they the pup was probably alone for a while and probably ate something that they were not supposed to. so next time you see this you need to get somebody to hold her done and you need to very very VERY slowley pull it out…and do NOT WHAT EVER YOU DO, CUT OR BREAK THE WORM BECAUSE THEN YOUR PUP WILL HAVE WORMS FOR THE REST OF IT’S LIFE, which wont be very long if she has suck a larg amount were they are comming out of her butt…but other than that just go to the vet and tell the vet EVERYTHING that has happend since the day you found her
My stomach has been bloated for like a month. Im worried now
lol dont worry, unless you feel something moving in there AND unless there is a 3ft by 2ft worm in your stomach, then it is just gas
im a scientist and i am afraid to say you have a tape worm inside you
o nd i luv sex
Ooops! Your comment unveils the fact that you are NOT a scientist. Any scientist would know better than to make a diagnosis based on such limited evidence. Shame on you trying to deceive people!
Coppertone - We had a smiliar situation w/ a dog that found us. She had little white things coming out of her rear, kind of like rice. I forget what kind of worm it was, but i found meds OTC at a pet store and they were gone w/in 24 hours. Just describe it to them and the puppy will be fine, it’s common among dogs that get fleas. I guess it’s from the dog biting a flea that is infected.
eww,those warms are so disgusting,
I heard some people use those roundwarms to lose weight, cos they can never stop eating,those warms can help them to lose weight whitout deiting, i wanted to use this method before,but after seeing those pics, Im so done with thinking of using it….Gosh they are disgusting!!!!!!
Omg this is such a cool site!!!! I loved reading it!!! Its really interesting but weird!!!!! Xoxoxo
Hi, i fel things uder the skinn all over about every 3 days, i get headacks also. I take applecidar vinicger 2 times 3 table spoons a day, iv takin blackwalnut tinicher cloves crushed in my mouth and wormwood and still feel them all over. what can i do i dont think doctors will listen to me or beleave me, so hope you can help.
you need to not freak out so much ok. just listen to what i have to say. first it might just be paranoia, but it might not be. this may cause pain but it will work to get the docs to beleive you. now the next time you feel them you need to either get a friend/ family member that you trust to supervise you and then get a really shar and sanitized knife and cut ever so slightly AROUND NOT ON the spot
good luck hope i can help you. 
were you feel one then you need to let it come to the cut when that is done EVER SO SLOWELY YOU NEED SOMETHING TO WAP THE HEAD OF THE WORM ON THEN EVERY FEW SECONDS you need to wrap it a little bit more…you dont want to go to fast or you might break the worm then you are, sorry to say, screwed. after you get it outfind something to hold it in the dab up the blood , go to the E.R. then show the doc they will take it from there.
Dont! Its is dangerous to perform operations on yourself
Go to a doctor asap!
Really Worm Tamer! What are you thinking of?? Recommending that people start cutting themselves up and extracting worms? Who are you that you could even imagine this to be good advice?!
If this person has worms under his skin, he needs to go to a doctor, who can determine if it is even a good idea to try pulling out a worm, and if so, it can be done under proper sterile conditions. I suspect that the doctor has other, less painful and invasive methods of helping the person!
I can tell John that I’ve had a similar experience and found that prescription medicine I’d received for whipworms also worked for these guys. For about three weeks, 2-3 mm skeletons crawled out of my skin, easiest to see and collect from my bed in the morning. I took about 8-10 of these to my tropical medicine doctor, who told me that he’d never seen them before. However, that medicine did work for me.
I’d like to add that I’d also used the herbs that you name, as well as others for two years. My experience is that it does seem to calm them down but just doesn’t seem to eradicate them completely. In the end, I did the prescription medicine with the herbs as a follow-up adjuct therapy for several months. In this way, I’ve been able to get rid of stuff which has plagued me for a decade or more.
Best wishes,
This site is totally cool, I been constipated for quite sometime now, but I’m gonna go get that checked out. I love reading this its so informative. Keep up da good work.
hgahahaha its me again about the up the ass thing with that girl i was just joking it was my friend and he was baging her properly in the va-j-j and she really did crap them out and my friend did explote it my friends name is troy matsen and he lives in vernon b.c. canada he goes to clarence fulton secondary
about the schitosoma thing, it’;s worth mentioning that actually it is NOT the penis- as some people joked-hanging out, it is infact the FEMALE schistosoma that the male schisto. carries around in his gynaecophoric canal. the female schisto is actually longer and thinner than the male.
enjoy
effin sick! i think ill go wash my aass now!
they eat you
AMAZING!!!!!!!!! my brother and i love worms! we r making a powerpoint on them!
I feel so yucky now…. ewwww. Feels like worms are crawling all over me after lookig at this website. You mention the doc can give meds for 3 days and parasite is dead? I thought the herbal parasite cleanse kills more parasites the the meds given by the doc. I read the meds kills only 3 different type of parasite but herbal kills over 100 … Is this true?
Yea itsz true most herbal medicine are better than the crap they give u at the doctorsz but they wont teach u that cuz doctors are greedy dey just want u 2 keep bying their products. but sum herbsz are found in tropical areasz
ts for dogs and cats.
oh wow…bio..is VERY interestin
ewwww thats nasty!!!! WTF worms suck..
i hate them.. haha but i like other things in biology!!
YUM sounds good.
good thing crap isnt part of my diet! 
Or is it?
Kidding
This is quite informative, but I still wonder about eating Ramen Noodles considering tapeworms, though in many ways I doubt Ramen Noodles could be contaminated.. Could they?
Great job on the photos and the research. I think it is amazing to see what people aren’t aware off. I must state that you only pointed out the worm-type macroscopic parasitres. The definition of a parasite is an organism that gains benefit from some other organism. In that case, mites in your eyebrows, bedbugs feeding on you at night, Lyme’s disease, and many others are parasites as well. I study Plant pathology, so we have to distinguish between pathogen and parasite… Thanks!
My daughter has just found pinworms again in her stool shes 10. Second time in 16 months, I asked the nurse at the doctors office and she said dogs can bring them in on their feet. What’s up with that? The only thing I’ve read is that they live in humans not the outdoors and can only get them from human to human contact. Think this person has a dog phobia?
Amazing read folks, i’m particularly interested in how you find out if you have them or not, is there an idiotproof method for this?
I’m sure we have all felt a itchyness from time to time in the trapdoor, and i’m sure we’ve all had those days where we jsut don’t feel like eating.
So lets put our heads together and figure out how we can test if we are holding a spagetti party inside our bodies.
Idiotproof - this only works until they go out and build a better idiot
No, the nurse is actually right. One of the most common ways that children get pinworms is from their household pets licking them, or from the ground or floor where the child during play touches the floor, and later, their mouth.
This is the reason why it is important to de-worm your dogs and cats regularly, especially if they are in contact with other dogs and cats.
Kind regards,
nice
can you ever feel any of those worms crawling around inside ya?
my girlfriend just go a puppy,a staffy cross.. and its 1st poop is infested with worms.. poor little thing,its only about 7 weeks old.i’m hunting down which worm it is.. they kind of look like a circle when they die.
btw if any1 doesnt want to go to the doctor about there pinworm problem. just dont touch your ass, wash your hands at any avalible opitunity, and eat desicated cocoanut (i asume its the fiber that helps.)
…………..worked for me anyway
EWWWWWWW! Worms r groooosssss!!! Who would want a worm inside them?
NOT ME!
I HAVE Read Most comments, and the majority of people are saying random things.
for example, the Schistosoma parasite is a parasite that lives mainly in Egypt. U get the parasite by getting ur body eXposed to WATER , in this case the NILE!
I mEAN how many non-Egyptians will get that parasite, By taking a SWIM for a change
. COME ON ! by the WAY THAT CREEPY LITTLE pRotrUding thing is the FEMale’s HEAD ! 
Yeah belive me. This particular one Mates with the male and goes on to live in a small Vein near the bladder and lay EGGS ! You’LL find blood in ur URINE by then 
Dont worry the Cure is 100% effective
The HOOKWORMS are SO RARE !!!! U’d have to be BAREFOOTED to begin with, and WALKING IN A TROPICAL RAIN FOREST. When was the last time u did That !!!
The TAPEWORM that’s an INTERESTING one. U get that by eating NOT WELL COOKED Beaf OR POrK
Eat UR MEAT WELL done and Avoid the Chances please !! 
That AlSO goes out for FISH and CRUSTACEANS. SAlaMON and CrabS NOT COOKED ON HIGH Temperatures WILL Get U A NICE Parasite THAT CAN LIVE in UR LUNGS!!!! And then U’ll eXpeRieNCE fOR the first time BLOOD in UR COUGH !!!
I’D like to aDD thaT MOST PARasiTES are TRANsmiTed through UNwashed Vegetables, uncooked LIVER :smile:( some people eAT that), MOSquIto bites
, FONdling aroUND anIMALS( DogS, Cats,RAts, PIGS, CATTle, MOnkeYS, BirDS). SO TrY kEEPING ur Self AwAY frOM These BEASTS 
!! JUST KIDDING
FOR UR INFO, ALMOST ALL THE PARaSitEs ON THIS PLanet Are TRanSMITTED THROUGH EATING someThING Thats CONTAMINAted With The Eggs or Larvae. SO TAKE cARE With UR FOOD SourCEs
IF U EXPERienCE AnY OF THESE SymptOMS U miGht wanna give a QUIck VISiT TO UR DOCTOR!!!
NAUSEA
( feel like VOMIT IS On its Way 
)
) OR ArouND UR ANUS 
VOMitiNG
HeaVY DIARRHEA( might SEE BlOOD)
SEVER GUT PAIN!!
HEAVY SKIN ITCHING, AftER A SWIM or ON THE sOles OF UR FeeT ( after waking barefooted
ANORexIA (except CRAzY MODeL WaNNAbees)
WEAknESS
ANEmiA ( u’ll Get A BlooD test OFcourse)
All these SympToms haVE