The staff of HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville (United States) had to perform an unusual intervention in early February 2024. Huffington Post , a man presented with facial inflammation and severe pain. He actually had dozens of insect larvae stuck in his nose.
Although the first symptoms appeared last October, the American waited for several months before deciding to go to the hospital. “Within a few hours my face began to swell, my lips swelled up, I could hardly speak and breathe”The patient told the media First Coast NewsCited by HuffPost.
At the base of the skull
An ENT specialist on duty quickly noticed that the man had small worms in his nose. Larvae penetrated the nasal wall and migrated to the eye. “They were in front of the base of his skull, just below the brain.”, Dr. David Carlson explains. The latter believes that if the American had been late in coming for consultation, the worm would have attacked his brain and killed him.
The doctor was forced to remove the larvae one by one by hand. In total, he removed about 150 from his patient’s nasal passages. Lack of sanitation may be at the root of the infestation, with the man admitting to regularly handling dead fish. “Before, I used to wash my hands in the river, now I use a cleanser and now I don’t touch my nose or my hands”, he declared. Larvae were sent to the laboratory to determine their origin and species.
