@getdispocare: 11 Live Worms in His Eyes: The Cataract Exam Nobody Expected Doctors found 11 live worms in a farmer's eyes — at the exam BEFORE his cataract surgery, not during it. WHAT HAPPENED A 71-year-old South Korean farmer had two months of gritty, red, blurring eyes. At his pre-surgery microscope exam, doctors saw whitish worms moving in the folds around both eyes and removed 11 of them, alive, with fine forceps (NEJM, 2026). Some females were already carrying larvae. Treatment: numbing drops and forceps — no deworming drugs. Symptoms gone; surgery rescheduled. THE WORM Thelazia callipaeda, the Oriental eye worm — up to 20 mm, delivered by a tiny fruit fly that feeds on tears. Dogs are the usual hosts; people are accidents. Both-eyes cases are rare — about 90% affect one eye only. THE U.S. PICTURE — KEPT SEPARATE No U.S. human case of this species exists. Here it has been found only in animals: a New York dog (2021), Northeast dogs and cats, a Pennsylvania black bear (2023). America's human eye-worm cases are two rarer cousin species — one left an Oregon woman pulling 14 worms from her eye. THE TAKE-HOME A gritty, weepy, red eye that won't settle deserves an exam — especially if you work around animals. Deadlines and the math behind your health coverage: http://virlar.info/Dispo/ Educational only — not medical advice. Sources: Song & Jo, N Engl J Med (2026); CDC; Emerg. Infect. Dis. #EyeHealth #Parasites #NEJM #PublicHealth #KnowBeforeYouGo #Dispo

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Monday 09 November 2026 00:14:40 GMT