One-inch worm removed from 17-year-old boy's eye after one month

The worm was living in the 'danger triangle of the face'

(Euronews)

It started as a fairly normal visit to the hospital.

A 17-year-old boy in Peru's capital, Lima, was complaining of swelling to his eye when doctors at the National Children's Hospital discovered something, well, that will make your skin crawl.

After performing an MRI scan, doctor's discovered that a one-inch worm had been living under the boy's eyelid for one month. The uncomfortable discovery was compounded by the dangerous location of the insect: it was living in the "danger triangle of the face", the area from the corners of the mouth to the bridge of the nose. Any infection here can spread to the brain.

Doctor Caroline Marchena said: "The location of the worm from the lower lid, which was getting bigger, made the risks increase because the youth's tissue was swelling in an area close to the sinuses that's close to the delicate part which is the triangle of death (danger triangle of the face)."

Doctors used basil to remove the worm from the boy's eye: the smell of the eye attracted the insect out of its hiding place, allowing doctors to use tweezers to remove the insect.

Local media reports in Peru state that the worm did not cause the boy any long term damage.