I periodically become convinced that I am harboring a tapeworm. I hear stories of pills that can be taken to kill everything in one's bowels, often resulting in a movement full of tiny dead things and a palpable feeling of emptiness.

I had pin worms when I was very young. Many years later a girlfriend got them and it was concluded by her and the doctor that I was one of the lucky minority of people who are carriers of the worms without being afflicted by them. I'm not sure how that works. I didn't believe it then, thinking the culprit more likely her filthy dogs, and I'm less inclined to believe it now, as my wife has never come down with an infestation.

Never the less, I worry that there could be something living within me. I need to find a place that offers free samples of those intestine-purging pills.

Father  7 May 2004

I went to a rave, some number of years ago. Attendance was about 30,000 people, it was a beautiful white sand beach in the middle of summer, many hours away from my home. I don't know how to swim, really, as I tend to sink rather than float, but I like spending time in the shallows. I splashed around for a while, cooled off. Fun.

The rave itself was pretty kickass, aside from the security guards, the 10$ a pop bottles of water, the 'port-a-potty problem', and a few other slight problems.

Anyhow.

A few days later, I'm back in the city, at a friend's house, when I get all these terrible red welts over my arms, shoulders, and back. Itchy as fuck, too. And nothing I tried would make them any less itchy, or any less red.

After a few days I went to see my doctor, revealing to her all of my bumpy glory.

"Bugs!"

"What?"

"You've got bugs!"

"What do you mean, I've got... bugs?"

"It's called swimmer's itch. It happens when a little larval flatworm crawls into your body, hoping that you're a bird, and it can grow up and lay all kinds of eggs in you."

(With dawning horror) "...you mean I'm covered... in hundreds and hundreds of tiny little bugs.... and they've all burrowed under my skin, where they're going to slowly starve and die?"

"Yup!"

...

They're still there, too. If you look at my upper arms, shoulders, or back, there's these hundreds of tiny little white dots that mark my skin. My doctor said that I could do something to try to have them removed, if I wanted, but I kind of like them how they are.

I figure they'll serve as a warning to others of their kind. A graveyard of sorts, not unlike the warnings left by Vlad Tepes.

Abandon hope all ye who enter here.

Jairus  7 May 2004

Ok my story doesn't involve parasites but they did share with me the ocean and my bathingsuit.

I am about to talk about Sea Lice.

Sounds gross doesn't it. Well it is not so much gross as it is unbearably itchy and uncomfortable. I went with a bunch of the girls to South Beach Miami, FL Easter weekend. Goals for the trip was 1) Relax and 2) Tan. Vacation begins the first day laying in the sun all day jump in the water on occasion.

At around 4pm there is a mutual consensus to partake in happy hour - we all go back to the funky smelling hotel room and get cleaned up. I shower and notice I have some red bumps where my bikini top was. I figured it was heat rash or something like. But for the entire vacation the rash didn't go away. I wasn't too concerned I figured it would go away whatever it was by the time I got home. So vacation is over, much partying and an OK tan. I fly back to NYC get back into the normal swing of things a week goes by the little red bumps are still there. It was about 5:00 PM on Friday night when the fierce itch began I can't even describe the feeling but I felt the only comfort would be to pour acid on my skin it was that itchy o so very itchy aaaaaahhhhhh..

So since then I have gone through 2 tubes of hydrocortisone and 2 tubes of this wonderful Aveedo Oatmeal ointment, which is a combination of hydrocortisone, calamine and something else. So while I was all itchy I looked online for rashes - Sea Lice eventually comes up then I remember seeing a sign for it on the beach. So let me explain Sea Lice is actually jellyfish larvae - the things are so tiny you can't really see them in the water but pretty much what happened was I was swimming then a few of those little mfers got stuck between me and my suit they all started freaking out and stinging me. After about a week I figured I should probably go to a doctor to make sure I was diagnosing myself correctly. I brought the print out from the website - the doc didn't know what the bumps were from sea lice - jellyfish tings. He prescribed some Allegra and some .5% steroid ointment. So now I have steroid boobs hopefully it will help with the gravity problem I have been beginning to notice. So the itch is gone there are still a few marks but I am feeling much better.

So next time you are Southern Florida find some anti sea lice lotion cause I'm telling you getting stung by sea lice (jellyfish larvae) it is not fun.

k. fenwick  7 May 2004

When I was a very young child I developed a crescent-shaped abrasion on my neck. It looked as if a worm had buried itself under my skin. When my mother saw it, she said, "Oh Lord, you have ringworm." I could hardly wait to see the X-rays of the critter!

I was greatly saddened when the pediatrician explained to me that ringworm was a fungal infection.

Fred X. Quimby  8 May 2004

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27

»

{ add your experience }