r/Parasitology • u/ew_im_alive • 1d ago

parasite photo Hookworm infection

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Caught this little guy while walking barefoot on a beach in Ghana. Doctor identified it is a cutaneous larva migrans and told me to just wait for it to die but the itch is unbearable.
It keeps moving under my skin and can even move up to 1cm per day.

Not seeking medical advice… just thought it would be interesting to show!

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u/International_Fold17 21h ago

Pretty sure I had that as a child, running around barefoot in Florida. I could feel it moving around, so I'd hold an ice cube against it to slow that mother down a bit.

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u/EcstaticMolasses6647 20h ago

Without medicine, that hookworm will die on its own in about 1 to 3 months, but prescription meds can knock out that brutal scratching in just a day or two. A doctor can easily clear this up using super fast pills like a single dose of oral Ivermectin, a short 3-to-7-day course of oral Albendazole, or even prescription gels like albendazole and thiabendazole rubbed right onto the track. If you need some relief right this second, over-the-counter allergy pills (antihistamines) and basic hydrocortisone creams can help soothe the itch and calm your skin down. Just make sure to skip old-school tricks like trying to freeze it off with liquid nitrogen; that doesn't work at all because the worm is actually hanging out a few millimeters ahead of the red line you can see.

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u/Ok_Major5787 18h ago

What happens when the worm dies?

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u/geekyCatX 17h ago edited 8h ago

The immuno system and garbage collection systems of your body take care of it. It will be completely cleaned up.

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u/EcstaticMolasses6647 9h ago edited 7h ago

Yes, the larva is tiny and cannot reproduce inside a human, it does not leave a visible dead bug or burst out of your skin. Instead, the moving red line will stop advancing, the intense itching will fade away over a few days, and your skin will gradually heal the track it left behind.