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A trip to a Florida beach with friends turned into a "nightmare" for a Tennessee teenager after he was infected with hookworm.
Michael Dumas, 17, from Memphis, was on a mission to South Florida in June, when he and a few friends buried themselves in the sand on Pompano Beach, north of Fort Lauderdale. Towards the end of the holidays, he began to feel very tired and his ears began to hurt, said his mother Kelli Dumas at Fox 13.
A series of bumps then appeared on his right thigh and he was diagnosed later of hookworm.
"He was buried in the sand to have fun and it became our nightmare," writes Kelli Dumas in a Facebook post detailing his son's ordeal.
Four other people on the trip were also infected with parasites, but Kelli said that his son's condition was the worst. The photos of Michael's feet show marks of path where the parasites have buried themselves under his skin.
Kelli told Fox 13 that his son could "feel the worms move in his body," while the dermatologist was trying to freeze the parasites with liquid nitrogen. Michael is now confined to the house, and must soak his feet in the bleach every day.
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The incident also hit the family financially, accumulating $ 1,356 in medical expenses.
"He's suffering and it's horrible," wrote Kelli on Facebook. "Never be buried in the sand or allow your children to be either!" She shows that the health department in charge of Pompano Beach told her "everyone knows how to wear shoes on the beach because you can catch pests. "
Kelli wrote on Facebook:" I assured them that everyone DOES NOT KNOW THAT !! "
Florida Health Department did not immediately respond to a request from comment.
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According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hookworms are parasites that live inside the small intestine.The estimates suggest that up to 740 million people in the world are infected with hookworm at any given time.
Once widespread in the United States, especially in the south-east, the improvement of e life has reduced infections.
Hookworm eggs are transported in the feces of infected persons. If a person defecates on the outside or their faeces are used as fertilizer, the eggs can hatch in the soil or sand and the adult larvae can bury themselves in the skin of humans. Most hookworms occur when a person walks barefoot in contaminated soil.
In most cases, people who have hookworms in the intestines have no symptoms, but some people may experience stomach upset if they are infected for the first time. In severe cases, the infection can lead to anemia due to blood loss.
But if the larvae enter the skin, a rash may appear and the person may experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss and lack of appetite. This can affect the physical and brain development of children.
As was the case with Michael, the infection can be treated with special drugs.
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