Published on
Updated
Reading 2 min.
in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
A man in Florida presented to the emergency room with pain and a bleeding nose for several months. The ENT doctor then discovered an unusual and dangerous situation: 150 larvae were nibbling at his nasal cavities.
A medical case worthy of a gory film. In Florida, a man who had been complaining of daily pain and bleeding from his nose for several months presented himself to HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville. Doctors then discovered an unprecedented situation that required urgent action.
Larvae were approaching the base of his skull
According to a report from First Coast News of Jacksonville, the patient, who remained anonymous, went to the hospital at the beginning of the month after suffering since October in his face and nose, especially.
The situation had become untenable:
“My whole face was swollen, my lips were swelling, I couldn’t speak, my whole face was like it was on fire” he testifies in a video.
But what Dr. David Carlson, the on-call otolaryngologist at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, discovered was beyond speculation: Inside his nasal cavities were dozens of living larvae.some as big as the tip of a pinky finger.” he declares. Worse, the larvae feed on its nasal and sinus cavities, and threaten to pierce the base of the skull.
Just one more worm in the nose, 150 larvae removed!
If the doctor’s first idea was to suck out the larvae, they turned out to be too large for this solution. Surgical intervention therefore proved necessary and it was not done with fingers in the nose since the larvae had to be removed one by one to avoid any complications.
At the moment, the species in question is not yet known, but the 150 insects have been sent to an epidemiologist for identification, while the patient gradually recovers from the incident.
Please note, the images shown in the video below may offend the sensibilities of some viewers.
A very likely lack of hygiene
Difficult to understand the cause of this invasion even if the doctors tried to pull the worms out of his nose. The patient mentions a probable lack of hygiene while handling dead fish. A lack of hygiene which, however, does not explain everything according to Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo.
“The larvae that can appear in the human body are often intestinal parasites, (roundworm, tapeworm…) but it is extremely rare for them to penetrate through the skin or mucous membranes. There needs to be a point of contact, like a wound, as well as a rehearsal for the invasion. But in Western countries, this is unheard of! We can also note that this patient also waited several months to consult, which contributes to thinking that his hygiene was certainly deplorable.
Although such a case is not likely to concern you, it is nevertheless useful to remember that in the event of pain, bleeding or symptoms that do not go away, consulting a doctor remains essential.