That Wriggling Monster Under my Husband’s Skin

 

Have you ever heard the joke “buhay ka pa inuuod ka na”? Have you ever experienced it, literally?

My husband Frederick did.  Seriously!

When Frederick fetched me from the airport  in Manila in the early morning of January 9, 2010, he’d already been scratching his back.  He had allergies, as usual, so we didn’t take it seriously. Frederick arrived 3days earlier in Manila- he came from Kinshasha, DR Congo where we works.

On the evening of the same day, he asked me to check his back- geeez, those are no longer ordinary rashes, I’m staring at huge bumps,  already thrice the original size, are very very very red, hard to the touch and they ooze.  I made a closer look on those swelling large lumps with protruding white stuff on top- “yak dear, letteg, kadiri!!!” I screamed.  (Let-teg is the Ilocano term for boil) . Frederick has boils!   He complained that the lesions are painful and itchy. He even described the feeling  that “as if something is moving inside each bump”.

I volunteered to squeeze his boils to extract the pus.  He agreed.  There were about 2 large boil-like lesions larger than the size of a 1 dollar coin (SG$1) on his back. Around 2-3 cm in diameter I think and the other one is smaller, with a protruding pus (so I thought). There were also other small pimple-like bumps on his back.

Armed with an alcohol, cotton, and a tweezer, I started “operating” on his boils.  I first squeezed the smaller bump. I squeezed-nothing happened. I squeezed harder- the pus doesn’t want to come out. “Dear, baka saan pay nalu-om ta let-teg mo. let’s do this again tomorrow”, I told him.  But he still insisted for me to continue coz he can no longer stand the pain and itch. So with all my might I squeezed the darn boil, and there goes out the pus.  Ooops, was it moving? Yes it’s moving!!! I was grossly screaming while pulling the thing out with the tweezer- “it’s a worm”. It was wriggling and it stretched out to at least 5 mm.  I almost passed out. Frederick begged me to extract the thing from the other bump and same thing came out, another wriggling monster.  He said they are fly larvae but he’s not sure about it.  I was able to extract 2 fat larvae from his back – the sizes range from 3 -4 mm long and they stretch out to twice their original size.

these 2 large boil-like lesions on my husband Frederick's back are called human myiasis caused by tumbo fly larvae

a closer look at the myiasis

tumbu fly larvae extracted from my husband's boil-like lesions

They call these myiasis – human myiasis.  It’s when a fly larva/maggot burrow into the skin of any mamal including humans and produce a boil-like lesion which contains, not pus, but a developing maggot.  Only until last night did Frederick confirmed that what had gotten him was the tumbu or mango fly.  And this kind of skin infestation is very common in the African region.

The tumbu / mango fly belongs to the blow fly family.  It’s not similar to the regular house fly nor fruit fly nor the large flies you commonly see flying around.  These flies are found in many parts of East and Central Africa. They lay eggs on the ground or on any wet dump areas.  Contaminated soils with feses and urines are the usual targets.  But they also lay eggs on wet clothes hanging outdoors especially those  laid out on the ground to dry . The eggs are hatched when they come in contact with animals or man.  The larvae burrow into and lie under the skin in order for them to develop and mature.   This produces the boil-like bump which contains a pus-like head, which is the developing maggot.  When the maggot are on their final stage of development, they expel themselves from their host and complete their lifecycle somewhere else until they become a full grown fly.

Checked this site out for more details http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/71725.htm

After the extraction, I forced my husband to seek medical attention coz I was worried that some larvae might have burrowed deeper into his flesh or that he will develop infections or something- who knows?  So we went to see his friend Chris who happens to be a surgeon at FEU hospital in Fairview.  He checked and “operated” on him further.  Luckily there were no more larvae.  So he prescribed some antibiotics for my husband to take.

You can search the internet about similar experiences and there are many documented on videos- check the youtube.  There also articles discussing this.  Topics ranges from scientific explanations about these flies to medical advises and instructions on how to extract these fly larvae from the skin.   Here are some tips and advices on how to deal with a skin-burrowing-maggot:

1)     If you feel that something stings you, well that’s the start (based on my husband’s experience) The stinging left a hole which the larvae use for breathing (those are the black dots at the surface of the boil).  Apply petroleum gel or any viscous oil or gel on the hole and the whole affected area in order to clog it, cutting off the larvae’s oxygen supply.  The larvae will then come into surface in search of oxygen.

2)     Squeeze the bump after a few minutes, by that time the larva should have surfaced for air. Make sure to carefully remove the whole larva without rupturing it and leaving some parts behind.

3)     Ask for antibiotic prescription from your doctor

To prevent these flies from infecting you, observe the following:

1)     For those in the African regions, clothes should not be left outside to dry especially lying on the ground.

2)     If this is not avoidable, make sure to iron your clothes including your undergarments before using it or putting them away.

3)     Do not walk around barefeet.

4)     Maintain proper hygiene anytime, every time and everywhere.  Clean your house and your surrounding areas regularly.

5)     And kill the darn fly when you see one!!!

Sharosem (17September2010)