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The rash shows up on the teenager's neck because he spent a lot of time lying on the beach, exposed to sand (Pic: New England Journal of Medicine)
A 19-year-old visited a doctor after constantly complaining of an unsightly rash, which was later diagnosed to be parasitic worms. The boy, who worked as a lifeguard at a California beach, was horrified to find that snake-like marks on his neck were hookworms.
According to the medics from West Los Angeles Medical Centers, who wrote about the case in the New England Journal of Medicine, the marks were red and raised but not painful. A biopsy on the boy’s neck revealed mild inflammation as well. However, he was finally diagnosed with cutaneous larva migrans, a parasitic skin infection caused by hookworm larvae—baby worms that have yet to develop into adults. Doctors said he could have gotten the worms from the beach.
You can catch parasitic worms or infections by walking barefoot on sand or soil contaminated with dog or cat feces, where the larvae thrive. Also known as creeping infection, hookworms infect the larvae that burrow under the skin's surface and cause itchy red lines or tracks.
Even though the larvae usually infect the soles of feet, in this case, the rash appeared on the boy’s neck because he spent a lot of time lying on the beach, exposed to the sand.
What is a hookworm?
Hookworm is a parasite that usually infects your intestines. According to experts, there are two main types of hookworms that infect humans: Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. While the eggs break through your skin, they also travel through your body and hatch once they reach your intestines.
As the name implies, hookworms have a hook-like head that attaches to your intestinal walls. These tiny worms can cause a number of health issues, including iron deficiency, anemia, diarrhoea, and severe stomach pain.
Hookworm infection is most common in tropical and subtropical areas, especially if sanitation isn’t as good and people walk barefoot on contaminated soil. In the past, hookworm was a serious problem in the southern United States, but improved sanitation has made it much less common.
Signs and symptoms of hookworm infection
Doctors say most people with a hookworm infection have no symptoms. Those who do have symptoms may experience mild ones at first, which include:
- Skin rashes
- Fever
- Coughing and wheezing
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Weight loss
- Iron-deficiency anemia
How do hookworms infect humans?
According to experts, hookworm larvae pass in the poop of someone already infected with hookworm disease. If a person with hookworm disease poops outdoors, the larvae enter the soil. Using human feces as fertilizer can also contaminate the soil.
Also, if you walk barefoot on infected soil, the larvae enter your body by breaking through the skin on your feet and travel through your body.
- They move through your blood vessels to your heart and lungs
- You cough up the larvae from your lungs and swallow them
- The larvae follow the digestive tract into your small intestine
- Fertilized eggs leave your body in your poop to potentially infect another host
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