A TEENAGER visited a dermatology clinic complaining of an unsightly rash which was later found to be parasitic worms.
The 19-year-old boy worked as a beach lifeguard in southern California and had not travelled abroad recently.
The rash showed up on his neck because he spent a lot of time lying on the beach, exposed to the sand[/caption]
Upon examination, doctors spotted two unusual snake-like rashes on his neck – one on the back and one on the side.
Both marks were red and raised but not painful, medics from West Los Angeles Medical Center, in the US, wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A small skin sample called a biopsy, revealed a mild inflammation, and a fungal test returned negative.
Given the boy’s beachside job and the way the rash looked, doctors diagnosed him with cutaneous larva migrans, a parasitic skin infection caused by hookworm larvae – baby worms that haven’t yet developed into adults.
People most often catch the infection by walking barefoot on sand or soil in areas where dogs and cats have pooped.
The condition is commonly known as a creeping infection because once infected the larvae burrow under the skin’s surface and cause itchy red lines or tracks.
While typically seen in international travellers, it can also occur in warmer US regions like California, where the man resided.
The larvae typically infect the soles of a person’s feet, but in this case, the rash appeared on his neck because he spent a lot of time lying on the beach, exposed to the sand.
The rash is usually itchy, caused by the larvae squirming through the skin and triggering inflammation.
After completing a two-day course of ivermectin, a parasitic roundworm treatment, the rash cleared up quickly.
The weirdest things found inside the human body – from a fly buzzing around a man’s gut to a coconut and deodorant can
IT is not unusual for doctors to find random objects inside people’s bodies.
Whether they are inhaled by accident, inserted for erotic pleasure or as a means to try and solve a health problem like constipation, doctors see it all.
Medics recently found a fully intact fly buzzing around a man’s intestines.
Meanwhile, a lady in Taiwan recently made the news because a live spider and its discarded outer shell were found inside her ear.
Spiders crawling inside the body are rare; those with arachnophobia will be pleased to hear.
While the person giving a home to a spider had little choice, others accidentally inhale objects, while some even purposely stick things up themselves.
A 2021 study found the vast majority – a whopping 88 per cent – of people attending A&E with this complaint are men.
Some of these have included apples, an aubergine, a brush, pens, carrots,, a deodorant can and pesticide containers.
Inhaling objects is one of the most common causes of death in children under three.
Some of the most commonly inhaled objects include coins, toys or magnets, peanuts, and even hot dogs.
In one bizarre case published in Dove Press, doctors in Africa found a leech stuck in a little girl’s throat, which was later safely removed.
A postman from Preston, England, inhaled a Playmobil road cone as a child, but it was only discovered when the 47-year-old had his lungs scanned when he presented with a persistent cough.
In another odd case, a man inhaled a pea, which was in place long enough for it to begin to sprout in his respiratory tract.
