#7 Dylan ‘Spider-man’ Thomas
An Aussie holiday maker ended his first trip to Bali with a bite rather than a bang.
Back in 2014, the 21-year-old had traveled with mates from Western Australia to the tropical
haven of Indonesia.
One Saturday morning, he woke up with a seemingly innocent scratch along his stomach.
As it wasn’t irritable, he wasn’t alarmed and went on with his day, but 24 hours later,
the deep red scratch had not lessened.
After seeking medical advice at Bali International Medical Centre, doctors assured him it was
just an allergic reaction to an insect bite, and was prescribed antihistamine cream and
sent on his way.
48 hours after the unexplained red trail had appeared, it had not only grown in length,
but had begun to blister the surrounding skin.
In two days, it had doubled in size and upon returning to the hospital, Dylan was seen
by a Dermatologist.
The painful “allergic reaction” was reportedly a spider that had burrowed its way under his
skin through his appendix scar, earning him the new nickname, ‘Spider-Man’.
Dylan claimed the spider was removed through his belly button and was no bigger than the
size of a match head.
The creature was sent away for analysis to determine the species, where the story goes
cold.
A spider expert from Perth followed up to discredit Dylan’s claims by saying that
“They don’t have the tools, the armature, to do this sort of stuff.”
He said that it was much more likely to be some sort of burying mite.
Sorry Dylan, but you’ll have to switch from ‘Spider-Man’ to ‘Mite-Not-Be-True-Boy’.
#6 The adventures of Mermaid Man and…
Chris Johnson had a nagging injury that he continuously ignored in the hopes “time
would heal all wounds.”
Some stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, and as a man, he suffered for over a month
with a discolored and inflamed hand, going to ER only when he noticed a new growth.
He likened said growth to a fingernail…sprouting from the middle of his palm.
By the time he and his wife made it to the ER, the pain was so excruciating that Chris
was screaming, prompting nurses to give him morphine just to relieve his agony.
A doctor noted the white pimple growing from Chris’ hand and believed it to be MRSA-
a killer bacterial infection that can cause similar white growths.
Chris was prescribed a strong antibiotic and a sample of the growth was taken for a biopsy.
After a week passed with only inconclusive biopsy results, Chris was sent to Arizona
for world-renowned orthopedic hand surgeon, Dr. Paul Zeidel for a consult.
The trip was a disappointment, as Dr. Zeidel was left stumped as to what it could be.
By this time, Chris’s hand was so red and swollen the doctors' talk of amputation began.But
Dr. Zeidel had news for Chris; both good and bad, his biopsy had returned with a result.
Alongside a rare waterborne bacterial infection, Chris’s hand was playing host to a sea creature.
Through a tiny cut on his finger, His hand “fingernail” was actually growing barnacles
protruding from under his skin.
Closely related to crabs, barnacles produce one of the strongest known natural adhesives
to remain glued to their host.
They grow hard calcium plates as protective shells, which gives them their distinctive
look, and in turn, Chris’s agony.
Still on strong antibiotics, Chris had to go through repeated surgeries to scrape the
growing barnacles attached to his tendon and grueling physical therapy sessions.
Nearly a year on from the moment he remembers cutting his finger on a barnacle, Chris had
to hand it to Dr. Zeidel and his team, he was free from the crustaceans.
#5 That Nagging Feeling
Rosemary Alvarez was presenting with symptoms that included: numbness in her extremities,
headaches, and blurred vision.
Although to some this might sound like the average hangover, Alvarez was concerned enough
to visit the emergency room twice.
Twice having a CAT scan, and twice receiving a clean bill of health.
Third time’s the charm and finally the Phoenix-area woman was given an MRI on her next visit.
The level of detail in the scan gave doctors real cause for concern this time.
Neurosurgeon, Dr. Peter Nakaji told Rosemary they had spotted an anomaly in her brain stem,
which unfortunately for her, is the deepest part of the brain.
When they got to the operating room, many became confused as Dr. Nakaji started to laugh
when he discovered the cause of the mass.
Thankfully the doctor had not lost his mind but was actually laughing in relief.
Rather than a tumor, it was just a friendly parasitic tapeworm, eating her brain.
Once the worm was removed, Alvarez recovered with no additional or lingering health concerns.
Where did it come from?
The likely answer is quite off-putting.
She must have been served food that included the fecal matter of another human infected
with a tapeworm.
Biological experts confirmed that if the worm had been ingested through undercooked pork,
it would have ended up in her intestines and potentially passed through.
The larval cyst must have therefore entered her bloodstream and made its way to her brain.
They say follow your gut not your head; she must have had a pretty strong gut feeling
about her head.
#4 From Belize to Colorado Via Dallas.
In 2007 a man named Aaron Dallas was spending a lot of time both figuratively and literally
scratching his head.
The confused Carbondale native started to notice large developing lumps on his head.
The offending lumps would ooze, bleed and even burst.
Worst of all for him, the pain was so severe that it would leave him on his knees.
The first doctor he saw told him they were infected with insect bites, the specialist
he visited in Denver also made an incorrect diagnosis, telling Aaron it was shingles disease.
Describing the evolution of the pain, it was first like being knuckled in the head, and
it then turned into a needle, and then finally a nail.
After several failed attempts by other physicians, Aaron returned to
his local GP.
It was here he got the correct diagnosis, but probably not one anyone expected.
Dr. Kimball Spence could now see the cause of the problem, botfly larvae were living
in between his skull and skin!
One nurse reportedly nearly fainting at the discovery.
Doctors removed 5 baby botfly larvae from his head.
Each was about 3mm thick after feasting on their host for about 5 weeks.
Most likely put there recently by a mosquito whilst he and his wife spent in Belize, a
part of the world where botfly infections are not uncommon.
#3 South Korean Sushi
Unsurprisingly, the woman in this next skin-crawling anecdote did her best to remain anonymous.
The 63-year-old woman was eating a partially cooked squid, when after biting down on her
dinner, she immediately felt sharp pricking inside her mouth, causing her to spit out
the squid.
What she had failed to account for when preparing the meal, was the squid’s still-intact internal
organs.
Despite not swallowing any of the offending meat she was still left with quite a mouthful.
As the pain intensified, the woman was rushed to the hospital.
Doctors were so astonished by what they saw, it was published in the Journal of Parasitology
in 2018.
12 small, white, foreign bodies were found inside her mouth which were identified as
‘spermatophores’ – or essentially squid semen.
These spindle-shaped creatures were complex but not fully formed, having no eyes or tentacles.
Doctors confirmed that despite this, the little offspring had attached themselves to the Korean
woman’s tongue, gums, and cheeks.
Squids move quickly when it comes to dating and had successfully “impregnated” her
before dinner was over.
Fortunately, once surgeons had removed the unwanted dependents, the woman healed without
any further incident – aside from being left a little flush in the cheeks.
Reports of a similar incident involving a 21-year-old Japanese woman were documented
in 2014.
Anyone fancy Calamari for lunch?
#2 It’s a Twin Thing
Sanju Bhagat was in most ways, an average 36-year-old Indian male.
Residing in the city of Nagpur, he didn’t stick out apart from one discerning feature;
Sanju always had a rather big belly.
Nothing he did could change it; despite exercise, and diets, his gut prevailed.
Life is fast-paced in India, and life hit Sanju hard one day in June of 1999 when his
stomach had become so swollen, he struggled to breathe.
The farmer had to be taken to the hospital and, concerned about the possibility of a
large tumor, doctors decided to immediately open him up.
Its removal, hopefully, would finally ease the pressure it was causing on the patient’s
diaphragm.
Sanju was transferred to a hospital in Mumbai to see a specialist, but all the experience
in the world could not have prepared the team for what they would find.
As Dr. Mehta made an incision, cutting deep into the patient’s stomach, gallons and
gallons of fluid flowed out.
Mehta reached inside Sanju and remembers, “to my surprise and horror, I could shake
hands with somebody inside.”.
There was a lot of bone in there.
Another doctor in the operating theatre said.
"First, one limb came out, then another limb came out.
Then some part of genitalia, then some part of hair, some a jaw, fingernails.”.
The ball-shaped humanoid that was removed from Sanju had well-developed feet and hands.
What the team had discovered is one of only about 90 documented cases of fetus in fetu
in medical history.
Fetus in fetu happens early in the stages of twin pregnancy, with the dominant fetus
enveloping the other.
Usually, both twins die due to the strain of sharing a placenta, but in this rarest
of instances, Sanju had been hosting his twin brother for 36 years; the enveloped parasitic
twin had connected directly to Sanju’s blood supply.
Upon its removal, Sanju's pain and breathing issues immediately subsided.
He now continues to live a normal life, although reportedly his neighbors still tease him about
being pregnant… because life isn’t hard enough for a single parent.
#1 Fishy Spa
For a brief period, having a pedicure by fish appeared to be quite the norm, but like most
trends, it did not last.
Although many forget about that brief period, it’s safe to say that it left a lasting
impression on one Chinese man; 56-year-old Zhang Nan learned the hard way that just because
one cleaner fish might nibble away at the dry skin on your feet, it doesn’t mean that
another won’t be eyeing up a larger prize.
Whether unique or bizarre, this particular beauty establishment used live eels, rather
than the red Garra fish.
Initially, everything was going to plan, and Nan was feeling younger already, but, youth
is fleeting, and the relaxing dip turned into an outlandish nightmare.
He recounts “I could feel the eels nibbling my body, but then suddenly I felt a severe
pain and realized a small eel had gone into the end of my penis!”.
Looking down and seeing just the tip, the 56-year-old grabbed at it.
As you may imagine, it was very slippery and despite his best efforts, the entire length
of the eel disappeared up his urethra.
He was rushed to the hospital and underwent a 3-hour surgery to remove his invasive guest.
Unfortunately for the eel, it didn’t come quickly enough and it was already dead when
surgeons pulled it from Nan’s bladder.
Ironically Dr. Wang was assigned to the case, and when later asked about its size, Wang
said it was a respectable 6 inches long.
Thankfully for everyone involved, it didn’t bite off more than it could chew.
Would you rather eat fresh botfly larvae or sit in a bathtub full of maggots?