The Worm Within: Disgusting and You Can't Stop Reading

[mouser]

Accompanied by cute illustrations, and wonderfully written, a man describes his true life experience with a tape worm in his belly.  It's disgusting and utterly compelling.  What kind of person has the guts (pun intended) to write about something like this?  Not for the faint of heart but i couldn't stop reading.

The doctor, no longer chuckling, asked me to please sit down so he could tell me how to get rid of it. I came crashing down to sit on the chair, blathering, "How do I kill it? What's it take, doc? Where's the bullet? Give me a pill, do tricks! Make it go away!"

http://www.fray.com/drugs/worm/

from Neatorama via reddit

[Deozaan]

Sounds wonderful!

[J-Mac]

Ugh!  Blahhhh!  Yuck!!

Jim

[Deozaan]

Ugh!  Blahhhh!  Yuck!!

-J-Mac (April 28, 2009, 11:37 PM)

Spoiler

I would have just flushed the toilet and let the water flow drag it all out of my bowels.

I don't think his "to the moon and back" statement is an accurate measurement of the length of the bowels. I've always heard the bowels were approximately 30 feet in length.

[PhilB66]

What I would like to know, mouser man, is what makes you go searching for this stuff on the net? Shouldn't you work on your phd instead?

[Ehtyar]

OH MY GOD!! I DON'T WANNA TAPEWORM!!!

Ehtyar.

[nudone]

What I would like to know, mouser man, is what makes you go searching for this stuff on the net? Shouldn't you work on your phd instead?

-PhilB66 (April 28, 2009, 11:42 PM)

Heheh.

(daren't read the article - i'm sure i'd start worrying about having a tape worm of my own.)

[rjbull]

Try reading New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz for more in the same gruesomely humorous vein...  It's not very PC: e.g. his comment "If feces were fluorescent, the whole of the tropics would glow at night."  Lots of stuff about the disease kuru.

[lanux128]

Heheh.

(daren't read the article - i'm sure i'd start worrying about having a tape worm of my own.)

-nudone (April 29, 2009, 02:21 AM)

i had that niggling thoughts myself while reading ..

[Darwin]

Fascinating! Thanks for the link, mouser  The description of the "cure" and its effects were cringe inducing 

rjbull - I'm going to have to track down a copy of New Guinea Tapeworms and Jewish Grandmothers: Tales of Parasites and People - I read the freebie first page at Amazon and like what I see!

[f0dder]

I feel ill from just seeing the first picture. Heck, I always cringe if I think about tapeworms. I really don't want to read this article, but I'm sure that in the end, I can't resist >_<

[y0himba]

I think between 1900 and 1920 they actually marketed Tapeworm diet pills.  Of course there is always:
http://www.tapewormdiet.net/

[Eóin]

Well written, very humorous... very distressing

[superboyac]

AHHHHHH!!!!  I don't get grossed out easily, but that was gross!  Blech!

[tomos]

Funny,
it didnt bother me that much ...
- but then I do get really disgusted by some things that most others take in a very blase manner

[Shook]

My reaction was neutral/positive (as in, funny-positive) most of the time. However!

Spoiler

The thought of a tapeworm dangling out of my ass repulsed me.

[Darwin]

My reaction was neutral/positive (as in, funny-positive) most of the time. However!

-Shook (April 30, 2009, 12:06 PM)

For me it was more the thought of having to pull it out of my rear end that got me - coupled with the descriptions of 1. the several minutes of the worm's death throes (and being able to feel the same) and 2.  being able to feel the worm's carcass work its way through one's intestines as one struggles to pull it out. Very nice. 

[RoadKill]

Thanks (I think) !