"Driving Me Crazy with Itchiness" Chinese Woman Visits Hospital... Shocked to Find 10m of This

Persistent Itching Leads to Hospital Visit
"Infected After Eating Raw Meat During Trip"
Cook Food Thoroughly to Avoid Infection

A story has emerged about a Chinese woman infected with a 10-meter-long parasite. Baidu (BAIDU)

A Chinese woman who complained of itching was found to have parasites inside her body during a hospital visit.

Recently, on China's social networking service (SNS) 'Baidu', a story was shared about a woman named Xiaobei who was infected with a parasite approximately 10 meters long. About half a year ago, she began experiencing anal itching, which worsened to the point that it interfered with her sleep, causing her great distress. Unknown white fragments were also found on her underwear.

One day, while taking a bath, Xiaobei discovered a 2 cm long white object sliding out of her body. Shocked by the wriggling object, she quickly purchased and took an anthelmintic medication. However, the itching and the sensation of something wriggling inside her body did not disappear. Eventually, Xiaobei visited a hospital, where tests revealed a giant parasite inside her intestines.

In China, it is commonly known that treating parasites involves consuming powdered raw pumpkin seeds and betel nuts boiled and taken at intervals. Xiaobei also removed the tapeworm using this method, and the length of the tapeworm extracted from her body was an astonishing 10 meters. It was even reported that the tapeworm remained alive after coming out of her body. She speculated, "I ate raw meat, a local specialty, while traveling in Jiangxi early last year. I think that is how I got infected with the parasite."

Photo unrelated to the article. Pixabay

In fact, eating raw foods such as raw meat, freshwater fish sashimi, or raw liver can lead to parasite infections, so caution is necessary. In particular, infections from eating raw liver of cattle, dogs, or ducks are mostly caused by the dog liver fluke, which can cause fever and body aches. In severe cases, complications such as cataracts, myelitis, cerebral infarction, and liver diseases may occur. Experts recommend cooking food thoroughly to avoid parasite infections.

Cases of parasite infections continue to occur domestically as well. According to diagnostic results announced by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 2nd, the intestinal parasite infection rate among residents living near the five major rivers in Korea?the Han River, Nakdong River, Geum River, Seomjin River, and Yeongsan River?was 4.5%. This is an increase of 0.8 percentage points from 3.7% last year. In particular, men in their 50s showed the highest infection rate at 9.8%, followed by men in their 60s at 8.9%.