If you are a fan of sushi and tend to indulge in eating it, think twice! As much unbelievable as it seems, by eating this dish you may end up with a worm stuck in your eyeball! Namely, gnathostomiasis is a parasitic infection caused by larvae (worms), and it usually occurs in Southeast Asia.
It can happen as a result of the consumption of:
- undercooked or raw freshwater fish
- Frogs
- reptiles
- eels
- birds
Signs and Symptoms
Development of migratory swelling underneath the skin`s surface is the most common sign of this infection. However, you may also experience any of the following symptoms:
- Abdominal or right upper quadrant pain
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Anorexia
- Malaise
In most cases, the symptoms appear within 24 hours of consumption.
As soon as it enters the body, the parasite migrates throughout it and leads to severe pain. In some rare cases, it can penetrate other bodily tissues like the nerves, the liver, the eye (causing blindness and vision loss), the spinal cord, or the brain (causing coma, nerve pain, paralysis, and death).
Watch out the video below by Dr. Greger, in which he explains more about this infection, and shares some disturbing real-life cases of gnathostomiasis:
