BootsnAll Travel Community

Visiting tropical countries means eating, drinking and bathing in weird places that carry the possibility of contracting worms. I have swan dwon jungle rivers in Sumatra, only later thinking about the dangers.

A guy working up in Aceh told me if you have worms your asshole itches. That's pretty blunt, but if you have that symptom get it checked out.

Does that mean that all the Bootsn'All staff have worms?

Thats a sign of parasites such as pinworms but there are many worms that'll leave you with out the itchy butt. You could always check your shit for rice-like things which could be tapeworm eggs. Or check the crap you cough up for heartworms- they migrate up to your lungs and throat in the night. Thise are the easiest to check for. You may not know what you've got until you end up with a huge cyst in your muscle or you go blind.

Did I mention that parasites freak me out- worms especially?
*shudder*

Describe your symptoms: the parasite doctor is in. Here is a vote for the decidedly non-worm Botfly, for whom you play host to a bouncing, baby maggot. (For those of us who have elected to remain childless, this can be moving experience).

Yes. I have many. Do you want some?

what a charming question. And actually dahhhhhhling, no! I don't have worms. Do you? care to share them?

Has anyone else heard about the kind of worm that gets under your skin, and when you find it, you have to wrap it around a match and leave it, turning it just once a day so you don't break it (letting it get away?)? It could be some kind of urban legend. In the story I heard, someone got it from fresh water in South America.

I don't have any of those, but it just sounds so disgusting I had to share.

There are some pretty disgusting parasites I've heard of, but that isn't one of them. The most disgusting one I know really exists is the one that exists in some tropical rivers and lakes. It goes up the hole in ones urinary system and works its way up the urinary tract.

Then there are the parasites that start in the feet and work up the body to the heart, the ones that cause liver and kidney damage, and the ones that lodge in the intestines, many kinds of those.

Yes, I've got a lot of worms on my list. Does anyone want some? Most of them live in tropical and semi-tropical climes, so if you want to be safe, travel in Alaska and Siberia.

One practical consideration should be mentioned. When the natives or locals tell you that there are fungi or parasites that are earthborn, and one should wear shoes and sandals, its a good idea to comply.


Many parasites and worms cause strange symptoms that only an expert on tropical parasites can even diagnose. If you get strange symptons, or nothing else works, see an expert on tropical medicine if you've been to the tropics!!

quote:

Originally posted by Katelr57:
Has anyone else heard about the kind of worm that gets under your skin, and when you find it, you have to wrap it around a match and leave it, turning it just once a day so you don't break it (letting it get away?)?

Guinea worm
http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/guinea.html

I remember hearing from somewhere that breaking the worm might lead to a bad infection if the remains of the worm die inside you.. but not totally sure of that.

By far the scariest thing that an aquaintance of mine got in Guatemala was the brain worms (I don't remember the scientific term for it). She started getting seizures and went back to DC to take drugs to get rid of them and went back to Guatemala, then she started having them again and had to go into surgery. I don't know how that turned out. Poor girl... she had the same host family as me, that's scary.

okay, here's one

homeboy goes to peru and bolivia in july.
homeboy has big welt on face/nose that gets bigger and bigger until now it is as big as an apple...mostly his nose.
what the hell is that!!

Hey Zopa, while you're home in Asheville, just make sure you drop by Mack-Kell's and indulge in a plate of the best pulled pork on the planet. My mouth waters just thinking about it. mmm.

quote:

Originally posted by Antti J:

quote:

Originally posted by Katelr57:
Has anyone else heard about the kind of worm that gets under your skin, and when you find it, you have to wrap it around a match and leave it, turning it just once a day so you don't break it (letting it get away?)?

Guinea worm
http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/guinea.html

I remember hearing from somewhere that breaking the worm might lead to a bad infection if the remains of the worm die inside you.. but not totally sure of that.

As with most things it is usually a secondary infection that causes the most issues. Bacteria can form in the sores caused by the females as they burst through the skin (a painful and debilitating process). Sometimes the worms become encapsulated in the tissue and if they occur near joints arthritis can develop. I won't even go into the delightful places the worms can decide to emerge from if they lose their way and head north rather than south!

quote:

Originally posted by Zopa:
okay, here's one

homeboy goes to peru and bolivia in july.
homeboy has big welt on face/nose that gets bigger and bigger until now it is as big as an apple...mostly his nose.
what the hell is that!!

leishmaniasis?
or perhaps chagas.
Either way get it checked!

quote:

Originally posted by Katelr57:
Guinea worm
http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/guinea.html

I remember hearing from somewhere that breaking the worm might lead to a bad infection if the remains of the worm die inside you.. but not totally sure of that.

This has to be a farce....
http://www.angelfire.com/ms/guineaworm/

but if it's not, wow!

quote:

Originally posted by Keppie:
This has to be a farce....
http://www.angelfire.com/ms/guineaworm/

but if it's not, wow!

"If you're really serious about making a difference, join the Preservers. This brave group men and women volunteers to host living Guinea Worms in a valiant effort to preserve the species."

=D

A good deed for 2006? I could try and help Guinea Worms to flourish in Finland :P

This is, by far, the coolest topic ever!

ewwww...

I miss seeing the title of this thread on the forum mainpage so much that I'm going to bump this up.
Save the worms!

Well I reckon a lot of travellers might just be reviewing their travelling plans but then there's worse ways to die.

When I went on my first trip overseas and to Asia and got swollen ankles that penicillin was good for and then towards end of my stay some food poisoning or using some really off water to brush my teeth with, I felt like I was near deaths door for a few days but pulled through on bananas, yoghurt and keeping liquids up - lost a bit of weight tho and took me a few weeks to really get back in nick and then not that I was checking for eggs in the poo but in toilet bowl I noticed it a really strange looking science fiction type bug and dreding it was from me I took it to a doctor andsaid is this possible? - he didn't know but thought that because we were on a septic tank rather than a mains sewerage system we would have all sort of bugs in the septic tank some comfort.

Just got back from Fiji and again it seems I've picked up a bug from food/water? - stomach has settled down today but I was alternately getting this aching feeling and then pretty severe bloating but no diahorea or massive burping and I was eating with a reasonably healthy appetite still.
Whatever it was, also seems to have caused some bad blood as an uneplained sweeling around one finger nail and an abcess/boil on the leg which initially just looked like another bug bite are fading reminders of Fiji.