He was buried in the sand of a Miami beach and found himself with parasites under his skin

Traveling, a Miami beach and friends seems to be a perfect combination for the summer holidays. But for Michael Duma, 17, it was a nightmare when he ended up at home with parasites under the skin .

It all started when his friends almost buried him completely in the sand south of the Florida Peninsula. When he returned home, he realized that he had rashes that he downplayed because he thought it was bites. d & # 39; insects. However, they continued to worsen until they also appeared on his bad, so he had no choice but to go to the home. doctor. The diagnosis surprised him: ankylostomiasis .

The risk of contracting the disease in the United States is very low, thanks to the progress of sanitary measures and the control of waste. However, one can be infected by walking barefoot on a surface with hookworm .

Hookworms are parasites that are usually found in dogs and cats. In humans, they develop as larvae that penetrate the skin. Sometimes, these can move to the lungs through the bloodstream and enter the airways, then move on to the stomach and intestine. The worms are about one centimeter long and cause severe pain, inflammation and discomfort in its wake.

In the case of Michael, hookworms also caused staphylococcal infection . To cure both conditions, he needed several treatments.

The mother of the teenager, Kelli Muhollen Dumas, explained what had happened to her son on Facebook to warn other users. "Michael went to Miami on June 20. He was buried in the sand to amuse himself and it became our nightmare ." Four of the boys had a parasitic infection, Pompano Beach Hookworm. the worst case, by far, he is suffering and it is horrible, "he said.

"Never bury yourself in the sand and do not allow your children to do it," warned the woman of the social network. In an interview with the channel Local Memphis stated that his son's injuries were "incredibly horrible". "One of them measures 7.6 centimeters by 7.6 centimeters." This is a crater in his foot "lamented Muhollen Dumas

In treatment, he was prescribed antibiotics and a pest control, but as he was referred to a dermatologist who applied the cryotherapy technique of using nitrogen to freeze cutaneous lesions.