After enduring nausea and pain on the right side of her body, just above her hip, this 15-year-old girl decided to see a doctor for help.
Given her symptoms, the doctor assumed the teenage girl had appendicitis, where the appendix becomes inflamed with pus, causing side pain. The doctor ran several tests to confirm his speculation.
Strangely enough, the blood tests, urine sample, and ultrasound results all came back negative. There was no sign of infection in the girl’s appendix.
Because the results were inconclusive, the doctors decided to operate and perform a laparoscopy, a minor surgery that allows doctors to access the inside of the stomach cavity with minimal disturbance to the exterior skin, to figure out the cause of the girl’s symptoms.
There was no sign of disease on the girl’s ovaries, uterus, and small bowel – but the appendix was “lily white.” Normally, the appendix looks pink or red in color.
The doctors decided to remove the appendix because of its abnormality, but as they prepared it for removal, “a multitude of worms” suddenly came out. The doctors moved quickly, removing the appendix and using a suction pipe to take all the worms with them.
It was only then that the doctors could diagnose the girl with an intestinal infection of pinworms.
Pinworms are one of the most common types of worm infections and are not necessarily harmful, but are contagious. People contract an infection from contaminated surfaces like hands, toilets, kitchen counters, and food.
Pinworms and their eggs travel through a person’s digestive system, stopping to reside in the bowel.
The girl has since been treated with medication, and is no longer infected or suffering from any symptoms.
Watch the video of her operation here:
