Intestinal parasites

Nathan Ross said:I almost never eat salad when I'm out either, but right in front of me, a few people bought the exact same sandwich—including a woman with her kid—and I just thought, well, surely they wouldn't leave it unwashed.

Then, halfway through eating, I notice these black spots. At first, I figured it was just bits of prosciutto or some seeds, so I actually stopped and opened the sandwich up—the entire arugula bed was covered in dirt, and it was smeared all over the inside of the bread. It made my stomach turn.

And if there is one thing I am meticulous about, it's food safety—specifically leafy greens. Whether it's lettuce or spinach, I wash every single leaf one by one, no matter how long it takes. Now I feel like an idiot because I wasn't thinking in that moment.

I'm heading to the doctor tomorrow to get a referral. This is awful!!!

Ugh, it's like I'm listening to myself talk here... 🙂that whole thing about washing every single leaf... 🙂but honestly, that's the only time I feel safe. Though, you know what... when I hear about people just wiping a tomato on their shirt and calling it a day, I feel better by comparison. 😁 No point obsessing over it now... we already ate it... we'll just be more careful next time...😉

frozenotter14 said:Ugh, it's like I'm listening to myself talk here... 🙂that whole thing about washing every single leaf... 🙂but honestly, that's the only time I feel safe. Though, you know what... when I hear about people just wiping a tomato on their shirt and calling it a day, I feel better by comparison. 😁 No point obsessing over it now... we already ate it... we'll just be more careful next time...😉

I get it. I'm just hoping we both get lucky and nothing comes of this. Fingers crossed! 🙂

My only regret is that I didn't react better—if I'd just kept the sandwich, I could have filed a formal complaint with Consumer Reports because this is absolutely disgraceful.

As far as I know, you can't catch cat roundworms directly since they're a different species; you really just pick up the eggs from their fur. That’s why you always have to watch out for cats and dogs if you're growing lettuce in your garden, as they're such common carriers for parasites. I honestly have no idea how that guy ended up with a worm in his nose... he must have had a massive infestation.

edit: Oh man, especially be careful with those lettuce sandwiches. Most of the time, the greens aren't even washed properly, if they're washed at all. I never eat takeout, absolutely never... I just don't trust them. They're only interested in their bottom line, and they couldn't care less about hygiene or public health much less than profit.

Are indoor cats actually dangerous? Even the ones that never set foot outside—like, they've literally never even stepped onto a porch. Can they still somehow carry parasites despite being total homebodies?

Reading this just gave me the creeps.🙄

Nathan Ross said:I get it. I'm just hoping we both get lucky and nothing comes of this. Fingers crossed! 🙂

My only regret is that I didn't react better—if I'd just kept the sandwich, I could have filed a formal complaint with Consumer Reports because this is absolutely disgraceful.

Yeah, me too, really hoping it's nothing 🙂 I'll let you know what the doctor says 😁 hahahaah
And yeah, you're right... they need to be reported, otherwise they'll just keep doing this!

Sarah Garcia84 said:As far as I know, you can't catch cat roundworms directly since they're a different species; you really just pick up the eggs from their fur. That’s why you always have to watch out for cats and dogs if you're growing lettuce in your garden, as they're such common carriers for parasites. I honestly have no idea how that guy ended up with a worm in his nose... he must have had a massive infestation.

edit: Oh man, especially be careful with those lettuce sandwiches. Most of the time, the greens aren't even washed properly, if they're washed at all. I never eat takeout, absolutely never... I just don't trust them. They're only interested in their bottom line, and they couldn't care less about hygiene or public health much less than profit.

Ughh... I really hope it wasn't cats getting into the salad... damn it...

Edward Murphy4 said:Are indoor cats actually dangerous? Even the ones that never set foot outside—like, they've literally never even stepped onto a porch. Can they still somehow carry parasites despite being total homebodies?

Reading this just gave me the creeps.🙄

Man... I don't know... maybe we're all just overthinking this... 🙂 hahaha no we aren't 🙂 but I don't know... maybe your cat picked up worms from its mother, for example... but I doubt it... especially if they stay inside and just use the litter box... you would've noticed by now if they had worms...

So, first things first, let's separate tapeworms from the rest of the intestinal parasite crowd... you can only pick those up by eating raw or undercooked meat—yeah, even fish included.

When it comes to almost any other roundworm, except for pinworms, the eggs actually need some time sitting in the dirt to develop. We’re talking soil contaminated with human waste. Honestly, I highly doubt commercial vegetable gardens in the States are being fertilized like that these days...

And don't worry about those cat or dog worms; humans can't catch them. At most, you might get some skin inflammation where a larva tries to burrow in and dies, since they enter through moist skin...

A worm in your nose isn't even that unheard of, really. Since part of the pinworm life cycle involves traveling through the lungs, you can end up coughing them up, and then they just... end up in your nose.

Benjamin Murphy2 said:So, first things first, let's separate tapeworms from the rest of the intestinal parasite crowd... you can only pick those up by eating raw or undercooked meat—yeah, even fish included.

When it comes to almost any other roundworm, except for pinworms, the eggs actually need some time sitting in the dirt to develop. We’re talking soil contaminated with human waste. Honestly, I highly doubt commercial vegetable gardens in the States are being fertilized like that these days...

And don't worry about those cat or dog worms; humans can't catch them. At most, you might get some skin inflammation where a larva tries to burrow in and dies, since they enter through moist skin...

A worm in your nose isn't even that unheard of, really. Since part of the pinworm life cycle involves traveling through the lungs, you can end up coughing them up, and then they just... end up in your nose.

But then why does everyone say you have to wash lettuce so thoroughly because you could get tapeworms on it? And you can get infected with dog worms too, but they won't actually grow into full worms in a person; instead, their larvae just travel through your body... it's dangerous if those larvae end up in an organ... or so I read... I don't know... You can also catch tapeworms from dogs, too... and I remember something about this from biology class back in school...

I had no idea about the fish thing... man, even smoked salmon...😢

Justin Turner53 said:I think I’m dealing with this issue 🙈...
Can someone please walk me through this? I’ve been scouring Google and honestly, I can't find a straight answer anywhere....

How do you actually catch them?
What kind of symptoms am I looking at?
What do they even do inside your gut, and how much damage are we talking about?
Is it possible for someone to be skinny—even if they eat way more than the average person—just because of these things?

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Everything regarding parasites is covered right here: PARASITES - SYMPTOMS

Does anyone happen to know if there are other types of treatments for intestinal parasites? I’ve been trying to clear them out with Vercingetorix for a year now, but every single time, about a month later, they just come right back. 😢 It’s honestly revolting—I can literally see them in my stool, and I think I’ve even thrown up a few of them. It’s genuinely terrifying. 😢

John Wright said:Does anyone happen to know if there are other types of treatments for intestinal parasites? I’ve been trying to clear them out with Vercingetorix for a year now, but every single time, about a month later, they just come right back. 😢 It’s honestly revolting—I can literally see them in my stool, and I think I’ve even thrown up a few of them. It’s genuinely terrifying. 😢

We need to make this chair parasitological.

The thread seems a bit quiet, but I could really use some advice if anyone here has dealt with this before.

So, I found out I have liver flukes. :/ I spotted one in my stool and confirmed it. I’ve been searching online, but most of the stuff I find is just veterinary medicine for livestock—nothing specifically for people. Apparently, Praziquantel is the go-to, but I can't find it anywhere in local pharmacies and I'm not sure how to even get my hands on it. I’m seeing my doctor tomorrow, but honestly, the thought of having that disgusting thing inside me for another night makes me feel terrible.

I tried using Vercingetorix, and I think it did something because there were more in my stool, but they're still there. I'm also feeling this weird pressure in my liver area. If anyone has gone through something similar, please let me know! 😢

Karen Thomas73 said:The thread seems a bit quiet, but I could really use some advice if anyone here has dealt with this before.

So, I found out I have liver flukes. :/ I spotted one in my stool and confirmed it. I’ve been searching online, but most of the stuff I find is just veterinary medicine for livestock—nothing specifically for people. Apparently, Praziquantel is the go-to, but I can't find it anywhere in local pharmacies and I'm not sure how to even get my hands on it. I’m seeing my doctor tomorrow, but honestly, the thought of having that disgusting thing inside me for another night makes me feel terrible.

I tried using Vercingetorix, and I think it did something because there were more in my stool, but they're still there. I'm also feeling this weird pressure in my liver area. If anyone has gone through something similar, please let me know! 😢

treatment involves emetine (which usually requires hospital monitoring because it can be toxic), plus broad-spectrum antibiotics if there's a secondary infection.

you absolutely HAVE to call your doctor IMMEDIATELY

If you're hanging around NYC, just head straight to the infectious disease ward.