Doctors' horrifying discovery after twitching in man's eye

A man whose eyelid is infested with a worm parasite has been forced to live in pain and discomfort ever since doctors advised him to avoid surgical removal.

The Chinese man was reportedly diagnosed with the stomach-turning condition upon his return to his hometown of Zhengzhou in Henan Province, after spending a year working abroad.

Identified in local media as Mr Liu, the man claims he sought treatment at many hospitals in the province after discovering the worm in his left eyelid. To his frustration, he hasn't found a doctor willing to remove it.

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Mr Liu first noticed something was wrong in January when his eye began twitching abnormally. After taking a closer look, he found the tiny worm crawling out of his skin and then quickly returning back into his eyelid.

He shared video of his infected eye on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, and asked for any medical advice or recommendations for an expert willing to treat him. The disturbing footage shows the parasite wriggling under his skin and causing his eye to tremble uncontrollably.

Medics were able to identify the parasite as Thelazia, a genus of nematode worm which is a parasite of the eyes and associated tissues of various mammal and bird hosts. They echoed the doctors Mr Liu had already seen by saying that surgery is not recommended as it would risk damaging his eye.

Instead, doctors simply suggested he wait to see if the worm comes out again on its own. But Mr Liu has said he won't give up hope of finding an expert who has experience in treating similar cases.

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