A doctor issued an “urgent warning” after a stomach-churning video of a massive tapeworm being pulled out of a woman’s mouth went viral.
US-based anesthesiologist Dr. Myro Fugura recorded a video for his over one million Instagram followers, cautioning viewers against the risks of eating improperly cooked meat and stressing the importance of taking deworming pills at least twice a year.
Fugura also expressed concern about the trend of people purposely getting themselves infected in order to “lose weight.”
“You are going to get weight loss nausea, vomiting, nutritional deficiencies, and the crazy part, people have actually intentionally eaten these eggs,” he said. “This is not something I would recommend at all.”
Horrifying video of a tapeworm being extracted from a woman’s mouth prompts experts to issue an “urgent warning”
The disturbing video sees a sedated woman lying sideways on an operating table as surgeons carefully extract a long tapeworm from her stomach via her mouth. She appears to have undergone an endoscopy, as her mouth is being kept open by surgical tools.
Netizens were disturbed by each pull as the parasite’s astonishing length was revealed bit by bit and placed into a surgical dish.
“A tapeworm can grow up to 30 feet long and live for over 20 years,” the Doctor explained. “Usually, you get [tapeworms] from eating undercooked meat.”
Despite Dr. Fugura listing several symptoms, such as nausea, malnutrition, dizziness, and vomiting, most tapeworm infections can last a long time without being treated due to the lack of noticeable symptoms in many cases, allowing the parasite to go undetected for extended periods.
Dr. Patricio Ros, an infectious diseases physician, explained to Bored Panda that humans get infected mainly by three types of tapeworm species, with two of them being harder to detect due to their length.
“There are three main types of tapeworm: T. saginata, the largest at 32 feet, and T. solium and T. asiatica, both measuring at around 9 feet,” the physician explained.
“T. saginata is the easiest to detect, as it causes the most symptoms. The other two are usually discovered when tapeworm segments are noticed in the bathroom.”
According to experts, people should consider taking deworming pills at least once every six months
The doctors took the chance to emphasize the importance of taking deworming pills regularly, especially for people living or working in areas with lower hygiene standards.
“It’s recommended that people take deworming pills at least twice a year, especially because most tapeworm infections come with no detectable symptoms,” Dr. Ros said, explaining that people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk.
Dr. Fugura, on the other hand, urged viewers to protect themselves by thoroughly cooking pork and washing their hands with soap and water after handling raw meat.
Netizens expressed horror and disgust at the video, as well as the trend mentioned by Dr. Fugura, of people voluntarily ingesting worm eggs to lose weight.
One user called the parasite the “forbidden Ozempic,” while others joked about “needing a tapeworm to lose weight.”
“It’s better to over cook than under cook,” one user shared. “My mom made sure I even scrubbed inside and outside of pots and pans and never undercooked meat, especially pork.”
“A nightmare.” The footage shocked netizens, who took to social media to share their disgust
