Doctors Horrified By What They Found Crawling Around In Teen's Appendix

In a recent medical case making the headlines, a young woman in the UK had hundreds of pinworms infesting her appendix.

She was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of nausea and pain on her right side. ER staff immediately suspected appendicitis given the typical symptoms.

That said, doctors were surprised when blood tests, a urine sample and an ultrasound did not show any sign of an infection. The medical experts decided on surgery because they still couldn’t rule out potentially fatal appendicitis.

The surgeons went with a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure, but they could find no problems in the ovaries, uterus and small bowel, but they noted the appendix was white instead of the usual pink or red.

Once they turned the laparoscopic probe directly onto the appendix, hundreds of worms came rushing out.

The surgical team removed the appendix and removed all stray worms with a suction device. It turned out they were tiny parasitic worms called pinworms.
Doctors note that pinworms are generally not harmful, but they are highly contagious.

They typically get into the body when people consume the microscopic pinworm eggs from contaminated hands that have come into contact with underwear, toilets, kitchen counters and food. The eggs enter the digestive system and start the reproductive cycle in the small intestine.

The pinworm larvae eventually move to the large intestine, where they live in the bowel. They can spread to other organs on rare occasions.

The girl’s pain went away within a few days after the surgery and an anti-worm treatment, and she made a full recovery.

Warning: Graphic Content

Source: MailOnline
Photo: CEEssentials