I’M SCARED OF ASCARIS

Okay, I’m not really SCARED of Ascaris.  I just like how “scared” fits with Ascaris (ASS CARE US).  The Ascaris is commonly called a hookworm.  The adult worms live in the intestine where they mate (worm sex in your guts…woo hoo!!).  Male hookworms are smaller than females and they have copulatory hooks to pry open the female’s reproductive tract for mating.  The female lays the eggs and you poop them out.  Some unsuspecting critter encounters your poop or the soil where you buried it; fails to wash their hands before lunch; and accidentally eats the eggs.  The eggs pass through the poor guy’s digestive tract and hatch out; infecting them.  As many as 1,221 million people world-wide are infected with hookworms according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (and why would they lie?).  Most of the folks infected, show no symptoms.  Although heavy infections can cause blockages of the gut and impair growth of kiddos.  So, how do you know if you have hookworms?  Easy!  The females migrate to your anus at night to lay the eggs.  (This causes itchiness by the way) So, you put a piece of tape over your anus before bed.  In the morning, you rip it off and see if there are tiny white eggs on it.  Have fun with that!  My advice is, if your tushy is itchy in the morning and you elect to scratch it, wash your hands before breakfast!