A very entertaining read about parasites and people with parasitic delusions which is actually damned amusing however dull it may sound. A little snippet as an appetiser :
I saw a patient recently for parasites.
I get a sinking feeling when I see that diagnosis on the schedule, as it rarely means a real parasite. The great Pacific NW is mostly parasite free, so either it is a traveler or someone with delusions of parasitism.
…
I have seen the occasional earthworm thought to be an intestinal parasite. Sometimes people start to pay attention to their stool, often for the first time, and note tube like structures that move in the water. Most likely mucous or undigested fiber wafting in the gentle currents of the toilet water. Doesn’t that sound romantic? The contents of the average stool, like hot dogs and laws, are better left unexamined. In those patients, an examination of the stool for worms and worm eggs is usually unrevealing and makes me glad I am not a microbiology technician.
Well worth a look.
H/T Infectious Greed
I’ve read about the Morgellons oddity in ‘Fortean Times’. I wonder if this has got worse with the advent of the Internet, and the ability of these loons to communicate with other loons?
Julia – I am sure the internet is the catalyst which allows all sorts of conspiracy theories and memes to grow out of all proportion as the loons do not even have to meet up with their fellow loons any more to debate, discuss and disseminate these things. Add in search (and I am sure you are aware of some of the strange search strings that land on your own blog) and you have a perfect loon playground.
Makes for good blogging material though doesn’t it 🙂
“The contents of the average stool are better left unexamined.”
Are you trying to put Leg Iron out of business??
Microdave – not at all 🙂 I would suspect that Leg Iron specialises in exotic stools rather than your run of the mill average ones.