Doctors pull 60 live worms out of woman's eyes after she complained of itch

07 December 2023 , 22:26

487     0

The doctors removing the worms from a woman’s eyes (Image: Jam Press Vid)

Doctors have yanked more than sixty live worms from a patient's eyes in a ghastly operation.

The unnamed woman had been experiencing itchy eyes and one day, after rubbing them to relieve the tingling sensation, she was shocked to see that a parasite worm fell out. She was left terrified and was rushed to a local hospital in Kunming, China.

Medics were shocked when they discovered, upon examination, that the space between her eyeballs and eyelids were crawling with worms. Doctors removed more than forty live worms from her right eye, and more than ten from her left. In total, more than 60 parasites were taken from her eyes, according to local media reports.

Video grab of the doctors removing the worms from a woman’s eyes (Jam Press Vid)

Dr Guan carried out the procedure, and said that the huge number of parasites made the patient a rare case. Doctors believed she was infected by roundworms, of the Filarioidea type. The infection is typically transmitted through fly bites.

Yet the woman thinks it's more likely she contracted it from dogs or cats, carrying the infectious larvae on their bodies. She thinks she may have touched the animals and rubbed her eyes immediately afterward.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

The unnamed woman had been suffering from itchy peepers (Jam Press Vid)

Medics have asked the woman to return for frequent check-ups, because there may be residual larvae left behind. Doctors also stated that she should always wash her hands immediately after touching pets.

A few roundworm species are known to settle on the conjunctiva of the eye. Typically, they are more frequently found in Africa, as opposed to in China.

However, they are usually associated with inflammation but can cause blindness in certain cases.

William McGee