Doctors find parasitic TICK feasting on eyeball of man who went to hospital complaining of itchy eye
Doctors find a parasitic TIK feasting on the eyeball of a patient in his 70s who went to hospital complaining of itchy eyes
Horrifying footage shows a parasitic tick feasting on the eyeball of an elderly patient in Argentina.
The patient, who has not been named and is said to be in his 70s, went to hospital complaining that his eye was ‘itchy’ and bloodshot.
Doctors found the tiny, blood-sucking, eight-legged creature writhing on its sclera, the tough outer layer of the eyeball, which is visibly red and irritated.
No further details have been revealed, but ticks are normally removed by numbing the eye and using tweezers.
The video was revealed online by TikTok account new capital tiktokwhich it says is based in Neuquen, a city in Argentina’s Patagonia region.
It was originally posted last month but has since gone viral, garnering over 2.6 million views.
Those who watched the clip expressed shock and disgust, with one saying it “made me itch,” while a second said they had “unlocked a new fear.”
Each year, about 30,000 Americans are bitten by ticks — relatives of spiders.
They are most active from April to September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which warns that they live in areas of grass, shrubbery or trees.
Camping, hunting, or simply spending time in the grass can expose you to pests, which can attach to hosts for days.
The person, who has not been named and is said to be in his 70s, went to doctors in Argentina complaining of a burning sensation in his eye. Medics said there was a tick
Doctors say it’s “very unusual” for the bugs to bite into the eye itself, with most stopping at the eyelid.
But in rare cases, it can be “face threatening.”
Ticks are also known to harbor infections such as Lyme disease.
Another case of a tick getting into someone’s eyeball was reported in 2019 in Kentucky.
Chris Prater, an electrician, had sprayed himself with insect repellent before climbing a ladder to untangle a power line from a tree.
Towards the end of the day he started to feel an ‘irritation’ in his eye.
He asked his office safety manager to take a look, who soon noticed a “spot” on his eye that wouldn’t move.
Mr. Prater then decided to see a doctor, who looked at his eye before diagnosing a tick. It was removed with tweezers and Mr Prater suffered no long-term damage.
‘[The doctor] said, “It’s a tick”. Then I got a little scared,” he said WYMT TV at the time.
“I leaned over and looked at him and I asked him if he was kidding and he said, ‘No, you have a deer tick or some sort of tick.’ It was very little.’
Describing how the tick was removed, he said, “Once he grabbed it and pulled it off, the tick made a little popping sound as it came out of my eye.”
He was sent home with antibiotics and steroid drops for his eye.
Four must-know rules for safely removing a tick
Below are four rules to follow to safely remove a tick from your body.
Doctors say that if it has bitten an unusual place, such as an eyeball, it is best to see a doctor to have it professionally removed.
- Use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick remover;
To avoid compressing the tick’s body or letting the head in, the tick must be pulled out.
This can be done with a tick remover or tweezers.
According to medical experts, they can be found in some pharmacies, veterinarians and pet stores.
- Grab the tick as close to the skin as possible;
Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible.
Press on the skin on either side of the tick.
This is to ensure that the skin does not pull up when you pull the tick off.
- Pull up slowly, being careful not to squeeze or crush the tick
With the tweezers, pull up with steady, even pressure.
Tweezers should be pulled and not twisted or yanked, as this can cause the tick’s mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin.
It can also cause the disease-causing fluid to regurgitate.
If this happens, remove the mouthparts with tweezers or a sterilized needle, Lyme Disease UK said.
- Clean the bite with antiseptic or soap and water
Once removed, the tick should be discarded.
The NHS warns never to crush a tick with your fingers.
To safely dispose of a live tick, soak it in alcohol, place it in a sealed bag or container, wrap it tightly in tape, or flush it down the toilet.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with an antiseptic wipe, rubbing alcohol, or soap and water.