Aussie mum opens up on horror of returning from Vietnam holiday with hookworm
A Queensland mother has opened up about the horror of contracting a hookworm at the beach while on holiday.
The 42-year-old, who chose to remain anonymous, recently travelled to Vietnam's Anh Bang Beach, a holiday she takes frequently with her family.
The mother said she walked barefoot on the beach and unknowingly stood on microscopic hookworm larvae, believed to be from animal faeces, The ABC reported.
A week later, the woman woke up to intense itching and swelling on her feet.
"It was the worst feeling I have ever had, they were swollen, the most intense itching I have ever experienced in my life, swelling, my veins were poking out," she said.
"I had patches of pin prick-looking blisters all through my toes and that was obviously the point of entry — it was just horrific."
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The woman said she could feel the worms moving under her skin.
Her doctor couriered medicine from interstate to treat the hookworms and the woman said getting rid of them was the most painful part.
"It's called the dying off and it's when the hookworm is dying and it's trying to escape your body so every symptom I've ever had came back but times 10," she said.
The following morning she noticed "track marks" on her feet where the worms had burrowed under the skin.
She is expected to make a full recovery.
Hookworms are an intestinal parasite that are usually found in areas with high population and poor sanitation.
Many people contract them through bare feet through contaminated soil or sand and symptoms can include abdominal pain and a rash.
