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I think I ingested a parasite (tapeworm or something else) from undercooked shrimp I bought last night at a local supermarket. It was labeled cooked, looked cooked, and the texture was cooked. I ate it twice today in a salad, once at lunch and again at dinner. I washed it before putting it on the salad. It was after dinner that I noticed a worm-looking thing next to my plate. I picked it up and it moved, confirming my fear. I had my internal medicine doctor paged and he said I could go to the ER and get it cultured, but he said if I don't have symptoms I won't get treated... I think until the worm is diagnosed. I am in a state of panic right now. Should I be worried? The doctor doesn't seem to think so. He said as long as I am healthy I should be OK. I am 32 and otherwise in good health. My father (a doctor) also does not seem to think I have anything to be worried about. He told me to freeze the worm and the leftover shrimp shells and if I begin to have symptoms, bring it to the ER. Am I right for being concerned or should I just relax. I really am scared about this. My boyfriend also seems to think this is no big deal. I know he thinks I'm crazy. Am I?
In Reply to: uncooked shrimp posted by Amy [369.1351] on May 19, 2006 at 20:42:27:
I think I am going to become a vegan because of this.
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by Amy [369.1351] on May 19, 2006 at 20:59:53:
I had a similar experience with fish. When I told them at the grocery store, they said they zap a light on the fish to pick off the worms and they are harmless albeit yucky to see. He said most bottom feeding fish have them (so I found out which ones aren't bottom feeders). If you did happen to ingest one, you would probably just digest it.
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by Sally [1945.1192] on May 19, 2006 at 21:08:41:
Really? So I am totally being ridiculous? It totally grossed me out. I just don't want to get like deathly ill or something.
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by Amy [369.1351] on May 19, 2006 at 21:15:39:
I would never call you ridiculous and I don't know a lot about parasites but have you ever watched Fear Factor? I'm sure they eaten worse things and seem to survive. It would have been in the news if they hadn't, right? ;)
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by Sally [1945.1192] on May 19, 2006 at 22:45:30:
That's exactly what my mother said!
In Reply to: uncooked shrimp posted by Amy [369.1351] on May 19, 2006 at 20:42:27:
Amy,
It seems to me that this all depends upon what the worm IS.
I am not sure you can depend upon the local lab to do an accurate job with this. The ideal lab for this is in Niger and the second most accurate lab is the Naval lab in Bathesda, MD.
Let us know what they come up with.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by Amy [369.1351] on May 20, 2006 at 07:11:42:
LOL, I should meet your mother!
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by Walt Stoll [93.1889] on May 20, 2006 at 07:39:54:
Well, since I live in Georgia, and have no plans to travel to Africa or Maryland anytime soon, I guess I'll never find out what it truly is. Sucks for me, right? I'll just have to wait it out I guess.
In Reply to: uncooked shrimp posted by Amy [369.1351] on May 19, 2006 at 20:42:27:
Back in my 20's, I'd leave my dog in a fenced garden area while I was at work. One day she didn't eat the food I left her. It apparently became 'wormy' and my housemate's dog ate it. The housemate got all upset- told me his dog now had 'worms' because of my leaving the food out and gave me his dog's stool sample- said I should have it tested and buy the dog whatever worm treatment the vet had. SO, I took the sample to the vet, who, upon hearing my description, said those were probably maggots (fly larva) in the food the dog ate and that that's not how dogs get worms. Who knew?
Apparently, parasites usually enter the body when they are so small, you wouldn't be able visually notice them and grow after they get into the body. Little white things that we see in our kitchen that we think of as worms are sometimes fly larvae and sometimes the larvae of those moths that lay eggs in flour . Those same moths sometimes lay their eggs on the ceiling and you'll see little 'worms' come down from the ceiling on a string and land on your table or floor.
If you go to google, above the line where you usually enter your search term are some clickables. One of the words up there is 'images' click on it and you'll get a new box, into which you can enter the word for something you'd like to see a picture of. You could enter 'life cycle' of tapeworms, flies, and meal worms (meal moths?) and see if any of the stages look like what you saw.
If you saved the thing, you could look at it under a microscope for a better image. If you don't have a microscope, the hands-on room for kids at museums probably has one you could use.
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by ANN [1003.516] on May 20, 2006 at 09:15:42:
There's a book called, 'Of These May Ye Freely Eat' it's about eating like in Bible times and avoiding most of today's diseases and problems (and, of course, it's a whole foods diet). You might find that kind of eating less stressful (shrimp aren't kosher, nor are other shellfish, so you wouldn't eat them on a Bible times diet).
In Reply to: uncooked shrimp posted by Amy [369.1351] on May 19, 2006 at 20:42:27:
Don't worry ...Ann had a good post on this too. You don't get parasites from ingesting adult ones. If you actually ATE a tapeworm it would die.
It was probably a worm on your salad greens. I've run into a few since we eat organic greens.
I eat raw shrimp at the sushi bar regularly, and have been doing it for years and have never had a parasite problem...
(Now everyone will come out of the woodwork to tell me how high the percentage is of people who have parasites of some kind...)
~~~8>
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by labrat [1119.74] on May 22, 2006 at 08:24:40:
Thanks, Labrat.
I have no doubt that you are right. Unfortunately, if an adult survived to get to the plate, there must also be lots of eggs there too.
This is just a reminder that parasites are EVERYWHERE. Even government studies have shown that the average grocer, in charge of fresh produce, has 5 pathogenic parasites within their gut.
Our best protection is a vigorously healthy immune system at all times (serious wellness)!
Walt
In Reply to: Re: uncooked shrimp posted by Sally [1945.1192] on May 20, 2006 at 08:53:12:
Hi Sally,
Did you see the show where everyone was bobbing for
chicken feet burried in a deep tray of maggots and larvae.
One brave guy came up with 18 of the 20 encrusted
chicken feet in 2 minutes..
I love to see those "Gag me with a spoon" Valley Girls
dig in for the fame and glory.
They should really bring back that old movie called
"They Shoot Horse, Don't They?" That is what
TV reality shows have become.
I would love to see the host chow down... after all,
he is the one making the big bucks everyday.
Ron
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