Teen’s rash turned out to be parasitic worms burrowing under his flesh – an everyday activity was to blame
Holidaymakers were today warned about the dangers of parasites after a teenager’s ‘rash’ was discovered to be worms crawling underneath his skin.
Doctors revealed the 19-year-old developed the curved marks on his neck while working as a beach lifeguard in southern California.
The teen said he had not been abroad recently and complained the rash was raised and red but not painful, according to US medics who shared his story in a journal.
A small skin sample, known medically as a biopsy, revealed he had mild inflammation. However, a fungal test returned negative.
They then diagnosed him with cutaneous larva migrans—a parasitic skin infection caused by hookworm larvae, baby worms that haven’t yet developed into adults.
People often catch the infection by walking barefoot on sand or soil contaminated with dog or cat faeces, where the larvae thrive.
Medics at West Los Angeles Medical Center, said the teen—who wasn’t identified—had two rashes on the back and side of his neck.
Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, they added: ‘The rash most often occurs on the feet and ankles, but this patient’s neck involvement was thought to be related to his habit of lying in the sand.’
In a medical tale guaranteed to make Brits squirm, doctors revealed the 19-year-old developed the crab-like skin condition on his neck while working as a beach lifeguard in southern California
He was given prescribed a two-day course of ivermectin, an anti-parasite treatment.
At a follow-up appointment, doctors found ‘the rash cleared up quickly’.
Hookworms live in the intestines of infected dogs and cats. When those animals go to their bathroom, sometimes, their feces contains hookworm eggs.
When a human steps on, sits on or touches that soil, the larva can burrow into the skin.
They are not mature enough to penetrate into other regions of the body, and stay in the skin, moving as much as a centimeter per day.
It’s especially common in the feet, buttocks, thighs and hands, but the worms can enter through any part of the skin. It cannot spread between humans.
When the larvae moves under the skin, the body’s immune system reacts, causing the inflamed, bumpy red lines that are characteristic of the condition.
This infection is especially common in tropical regions of the world—including the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa and parts of the Southeastern United States.
People often catch the infection by walking barefoot on sand or soil contaminated with dog or cat faeces, where the larvae thrive
It can resolve itself without treatment, as the larvae die off under the skin on their own.
But when the worms make the patient itchy it can lead to sores on the skin that become infected, leading to doctors opting to treat it with medication.
In rare cases where doctors don’t treat it and the patient itches themselves into a wound, there have been reports of more serious infection, according to researchers from Sampson Regional Medical Center.
These infections can lead to kidney damage, other rashes, joint pain, fever and a weakened immune system, more susceptible to other diseases.
There is no vaccination against the worm, but people can help prevent the spread of the disease by deworming their pets and wearing shoes when walking on sand or soil.
