An invisible attacker ravages a fourth grade teacher from the inside out. Then, an insatiable maneater drives a retiree to the brink of insanity. To actually see the Monsters Inside Me episode you just listened to, stream full episodes on discovery+. Go to discoveryplus.com/monsters to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.
An invisible attacker ravages a fourth grade teacher from the inside out. Then, an insatiable maneater drives a retiree to the brink of insanity.
To actually see the Monsters Inside Me episode you just listened to, stream full episodes on discovery+. Go to discoveryplus.com/monsters to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.
Find episode transcripts here: https://monsters-inside-me.simplecast.com/episodes/feeding-frenzy
MUSIC IN HOST VO A schoolteacher falls prey to a flesh-eating monster. GENE WILLIAMS OC/VO I've never had a pain like this in my life and I'm freaking out. HOST VO A young dancer's life hangs in the balance when a vicious attacker strikes. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I'm thinking that I would, wouldn't be able to dance ever again. It was just devastating. HOST VO And a retiree is driven to the brink of insanity by a host of hungry critters. EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO If this rash continues it would just absolutely drive me nuts. HOST VO Three very different parasites united by a primal urge to eat. And these people are on the menu. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Worms invisible to the human eye. Insects thirsty for blood. Microscopic amoeba. They might look harmless but these are some of nature's deadliest creatures. They can hijack our bodies, disable our immune systems. They are parasites. But to those infected they are the monsters inside me. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Parasites are organisms that live in or on other living organisms called hosts and exploit them for their own ends. DAN RISKIN VO/OC Like all living things a parasite needs food to survive and for a hungry parasite the human body can be an excellent source of food. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO And when some of the most aggressive parasites find a host, the result is a feeding frenzy. As one man in Ohio is about to find out. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO 2006, Gene Williams is a 40 year old schoolteacher living in Cincinnati, Ohio. GENE WILLIAMS OC/VO I love teaching because it gives me the opportunity to see kids grow and learn. I also coach volleyball at the high school. We just finished one of our most successful seasons. HOST VO At home Gene, his wife Kathy and their son Alex are the picture of a happy outgoing family. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC We love being outside and having our friends over. They bring their children down, too, and we have kids’ activities and it's a lot of fun. HOST VO But their idyllic family life is about to be torn apart. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Gene is back at work after a weeklong family vacation in Florida. GENE WILLIAMS OC My volleyball team had a scrimmage that I had to help coach. HOST VO But on the court Gene begins to feel unwell. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC Normally I'm yelling and encouraging and coaching, and this particular day it was very, very hard for me. I felt warm and I felt as if maybe the gym was too hot. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO As the game wears on it's become clear that the temperature in the gym is not the problem. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC I feel myself just getting hotter and hotter., and I feel myself getting dizzy and I'm thinking to myself this is not good. HOST VO Gene makes it through the game and returns home. When he arrives, his wife Kathy senses something is amiss. MUSIC SEGUE KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC Gene comes through the front door and he just looks awful. He's sweating. He had a slight fever. I think that he has a virus or the flu. But he copes with illness very well. I didn't really worry about it. HOST VO Kathy gives Gene aspirin for his fever and goes to bed leaving him to rest on the couch. MUSIC SEGUE But as he lies there Gene gets a strange sensation in his stomach. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC I have a pain in my abdomen that is starting off very slowly, as if somebody's pushing on it really hard. This isn't like any flu I've had before. HOST VO That night, Gene never makes it to bed. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC He's in so much pain he could not get off the couch. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC I crashed on the sofa. Nothing felt right. All I wanna do is make this pain in my stomach go away. HOST VO And then there's a frightening new symptom. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC Gene's temperature is sky high. It's 104. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC Even though I'm sweating I have the chills, and I want a blanket around me and I'm looking for comfort. HOST VO Kathy puts Gene to bed hoping his fever will break, but as the day wears on he only gets worse. GENE WILLIAMS VO The pain in my stomach is like a knife being pushed into it. MUSIC SEGUE KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC Gene could barely even lift his arms to take a glass of water. He can't even get out of bed to even go to the bathroom. HOST VO After another night in agony Gene reaches his breaking point. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC Finally I had enough. Laying in bed I knew I had to get some help, some serious help. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Leaving their son Alex with a neighbor, Kathy rushes Gene to the local hospital. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC I've never had a pain like this in my life, and I'm freaking out. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC I just keep telling Gene just to hold on, we're gonna be at the hospital here in just a little bit. I've never seen him in this amount of pain before. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO At the hospital doctors send Gene for an abdominal ultrasound. Immediately the technician sees something. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC I see her looking at the screen and looks to me like she's measuring something. I see a look of concern on her face. Now I get a little worried. HOST VO It's clear that something is wrong, but the technician is not allowed to tell them what it is, they must wait for the doctor. KATHY WILLIAMS OC And that's when I knew something was wrong. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Moments later the doctor enters to review the results. GENE WILLIAMS OC/VO The radiologist comes in and I said doctor do you see something? And he says yes, you've got a baseball size mass on your liver. MUSIC SEGUE I asked the doctor could it be cancer? And he says yes. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO The liver is one of the body's most important organs. It produces chemicals that aid digestion and removes toxins from the blood. If the mass on Gene's liver is a malignant tumor he could die. MUSIC SEGUE KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC I'm just thinking this cannot be cancer, please don't let this be cancer. Please let it be something else. HOST VO Gene is immediately given a CAT scan to confirm the diagnosis, leaving Kathy alone. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC And that's when I lost it. As soon as I left the ultrasound room I, I just started crying. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Hours later the CAT scan results are in and the news seems to be good. Gene doesn't have cancer. Professor of Radiology Dr. Jonathan Moulton talks Gene and Kathy through the diagnosis. DR. JONATHAN MOULTON VO/OC Based on these results we think it is most likely that Gene has two liver abbesses. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO An abscess is a pus fill sac usually caused by an infection of some kind. Untreated an abscess can result in blood poisoning and death. Surgical tubes are inserted into Gene's abdomen to drain the pus. Dr. Moulton hopes this will help the liver heal while he tries to locate the source of the infection. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC It's a relief thinking that it's not cancer and that they might be able to cure this with some tubes. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But 48 hours later Gene's condition has not improved. MUSIC SEGUE DR. JONATHAN MOULTON VO/OC The drains are not putting out as much fluid as we think they should, and Gene is still showing signs of active infection. HOST VO Dr. Moulton orders another CAT scan to find out what's going wrong. DR. JONATHAN MOULTON VO/OC The results are very alarming. The two drains are in perfect position, but each abscess is over twice as large as it was two days ago. HOST VO The scans show that instead of decreasing Gene's abscesses have doubled in size. DR. JONATHAN MOULTON OC/VO In 20 years of practice I have not seen a liver abscess grow this fast. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO The only option is to cut Gene open and remove the infected tissue immediately. Without this surgery Gene will die. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC He tells me that I need to go to emergency surgery and I need to go right now. |
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MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Gene Williams is on the brink of death. Doctors have found two huge abscesses growing in his liver. Without immediate surgery he'll die. GENE WILLIAMS OC The doctor says prep him as if he's gonna get a liver transplant. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC And now I know it's serious. Now I know that this is life threatening. That he, if he doesn't have surgery he's gonna die. MUSIC SEGUE The next thing I know, doctors, nurses anesthesiologist, everybody just started running into his room and started packing him up to take him to the operating room. HOST VO For Gene's wife Kathy it's a living nightmare. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC This is the worst moment of my life. Gene tells me that he knows he's dying. He can feel it and he's actually turning gray. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC All I think about is letting Kathy and Alex know how much I love them. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC I just could not believe that he's that close to death, and that the thought of Gene not being there for Alex is indescribable. Is indescribable. HOST VO Kathy only has moments to say goodbye before the medical team rushes Gene to the O.R. GENE WILLIAMS OC/VO My last memory before I fall asleep is Kathy running along me holding my hand, telling me how much she loves me. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Surgeons remove 65 percent of Gene's pus filled liver and the infected tissue is sent for testing. When the results come back the doctors are shocked. DR. JONATHAN MOULTON VO/OC After testing him before and after surgery the result is something that nobody expected. Something I haven't seen in, in my career. Gene is infected with a parasite called Entamoeba histolytica. MUSIC SEGUE GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC A parasite in me. I never thought that would be possible. HOST VO Entamoeba histolytica is a parasitic amoeba that feeds on living cells in the human gut. DAN RISKIN OC/VO Most of the time the presence of Entamoeba histolytica in the intestines causes dysentery. This is an inflammation of the intestines that causes diarrhea and in the worst-case severe dehydration. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But in rare cases the Entamoeba histolytica will actually attack the intestinal wall eating through the tissue. From there it travels in the blood to the liver. Here the Entamoeba feeds on the liver's cells thus creating an abscess of dead material liquefying the liver. DAN RISKIN OC The word histolytic literally means tissue destroying, and that's exactly what this amoeba does. GENE WILLIAMS OC How dare this things use me as its human lunch. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But how did a schoolteacher from Cincinnati contract such a deadly parasite? The amoeba starts its lifecycle as a free-living cyst in the water. When a human drinks contaminated water the cyst enters the gut. Here the amoeba emerges from the cyst, divides, feeds, and then reincysts. When the cyst passes out of the body into the water the lifecycle is complete. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Entamoeba histolytica is usually found in tropical regions. This means Gene most likely contracted the parasite through contaminated water in a warm climate. GENE WILLIAMS OC/VO Then it comes to me. MUSIC SEGUE When we were in Florida we went to a water park that had just opened. HOST VO Could Gene have picked up the deadly amoeba at a water park? GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC The doctor explains to me that typically it takes about a week for symptoms to show, and that would've been perfect in our timeline from when we were on vacation. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC It's hard to believe that Gene got this parasite when we were on vacation having so much fun. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO In the hospital with 65 percent of his liver gone, Gene's life hangs in the balance. GENE WILLIAMS OC/VO I know you need your liver and 65 percent sounds like a lot of it. So I'm wondering, will I pull through this? HOST VO To make matters worse the parasite is still raging through his system putting his other organs at risk. Dr. Moulton starts Gene on heavy anti-parasitic drugs to kill the parasite before it kills him. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Slowly but surely the drugs take affect and Gene begins to get better. And multiple weeks after starting treatment Gene is finally parasite free. But it takes another few months for his liver to regenerate to its presurgery size and for Gene to fully recover. KATHY WILLIAMS VO/OC He lost 30 pounds in the hospital. It was a very long recovery. HOST VO Now four years after his fateful vacation Gene is back to his old life except for one side effect. GENE WILLIAMS VO/OC When they made the incision they cut all the nerves around my stomach, and now I would love to hug Alex, but I just can't feel it. My reminder of my E. histolytica. |
MUSIC SEGUE DAN RISKIN OC Entamoeba histolytica infections are extremely common. Around the world there are almost 50 million reported cases every year. But only about 70,000 of those turn deadly. HOST VO Most infections occur when the victim ingests food or water contaminated with the amoeba. Travelers to tropical regions where sanitation is poor should avoid consuming food and drink prepared in unhygienic conditions and refrain from swimming in contaminated water. DAN RISKIN OC Entamoeba histolytica has a brilliant survival strategy. It steals food from inside its host to fuel its lifecycle. HOST VO Some parasites use food in a totally different way. They use it to get inside their hosts, as one young dancer is about to discover. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO 2007, Florida. 22-year-old Heather Wallace is pursuing her dream of being a professional dancer. She lives in Orlando with her mother and works as a performer at a local theatre. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I love being on stage. I love performing and dancing. It's such a rush and I love it. HOST VO For Heather making her living as a dancer is a dream come true. Little does she know that her dream job is about to turn into a nightmare. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO It's October and Heather is on stage at Capone's Dinner Theatre. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC It's peak season so we have a lot of tourists in town. There's a lot of energy in the crowd. The show was going really good, running smooth, having a good time. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But backstage Heather notices something that dampens her mood. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC Taking a break after the first show I look down and notice I have dark red splotchy marks on my forearms that are itching. HOST VO But in the short break Heather doesn't have time to study the rash properly. And she's soon back out on stage to finish the show. MUSIC OUT |
MUSIC IN HOST VO The next morning Heather's mother, Diana, offers her opinion on what's causing the rash. DIANA WALLACE VO/OC Heather's allergic to trees, grass, pollen, cats, dogs. So I thought maybe she might be allergic to something that she was close to when she was dancing. HOST VO Heather assumes the rash will clear up on its own and puts it out of her mind. MUSIC SEGUE But one week later she makes an alarming discovery. MUSIC SEGUE HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I come backstage, take off my costume to change and see all these, these dark red purple marks on my back, down my sides. HOST VO Heather has large red welts often called hives covering most of her upper body. When she gets home her mother is deeply concerned. DIANA WALLACE VO/OC Heather comes home with hives on her arms and legs, on her shoulders, on the back of her neck, on her torso. I just can't believe the state of Heather's skin. It's just awful. HOST VO What started as a rash is now a full body outbreak. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I haven't seen anything like this on my body before and it freaked me out pretty good. There's something seriously, seriously wrong. |
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MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO 22-year-old dancer Heather Wallace's body has broken out in a mass of red hives. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC It was just weird and I just wanted it to go away. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Concerned Heather decides it's time to consult her physician. MUSIC SEGUE HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC My doctor looked at the rashes that I had. He examines me, looks at the marks on my arms. HOST VO The doctor then performs a seemingly simple test. HEATHER WALLACE VO He takes his pen and he drags it across my forearm. HOST VO The results are anything but normal. HEATHER WALLACE VO It welts up into this red mark almost as if he wrote across my arm. HOST VO The doctor tells her that she has a condition called dermographism. A form of hives that is activated by pressure on the skin. MUSIC SEGUE The bad news is that dermographism is a chronic condition with no cure. Heather will have to learn to live with her symptoms. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC He told me to try and wear loose fitting clothing all the time, which is not really an option in my profession. So, it was kind of hard for me to take that advice. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO December, 2007. Heather has been coping with her hives for two months when a disturbing new symptom appears. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I wake up to go to work and as I get up I notice that my elbows and wrists are extremely painful and, and very, very stiff. I've never felt anything like this before. Getting dressed, brushing my hair, everything was really, really painful. And I'm thinking am I gonna be able to dance today. HOST VO Heather's mother, Diana, is also worried. DIANA WALLACE VO/OC She's so stiff that she can't really hardly walk, and I can't even imagine how she's gonna dance. It was just breaking my heart. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But with the holiday show sold out and with no one to fill in for her, Heather has to go to work. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I'm hoping that maybe once I get to work and I start moving around and, and dancing that the pain and the stiffness will loosen up and go away. HOST VO But it doesn't go away. MUSIC SEGUE HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I'm in so much pain in, in all of my joints. It's really difficult to keep a smile on my face and I have tears rolling down my cheeks. It's getting harder and harder. I've never felt agony like this. HOST VO As soon as the curtain falls Heather collapses. MUSIC SEGUE Fortunately her mother is there to pick her up. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC My mom comes up to me and I tell her I can't move my arms. I can't move my legs. It's like I'm paralyzed. Why am I in so much pain? DIANA WALLACE VO/OC She just said that we need to go to the hospital, mom. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO In the ER Heather is seen by the on-call doctor. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC The doctor saw the rashes on my arms and legs and, and how I wasn't able to move and he seemed to get very concerned and put on gloves. HOST VO The doctor suspects that Heather has a deadly condition called Meningitis. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC Meningitis really scared me because I knew that people die from that. I just started crying I was so scared. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal chord. In its bacterial form it is highly contagious and can cause rashes, stiffness, paralysis and even death. The doctor draws Heather's blood to test for the disease leaving Heather and her mother to wait for the results. HEATHER WALLACE OC/VO Laying there thinking that maybe I'm not gonna be able to move again I would, wouldn't be able to dance thinking that possibly I, I could die it was terrifying. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO And now Inside The Monster. Entamoeba Histolytica can be transmitted to humans through: A, water, B, soil, C, food, D, all of the above. |
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MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Entamoeba Histolytica cysts can be transmitted to humans through D, all of the above. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Heather Wallace is in the E.R. She has a strange rash on her skin and her body is nearly paralyzed. Doctors think Heather may be suffering from the deadly brain disease meningitis. HEATHER WALLACE OC/VO All I'm thinking about is what if I'm paralyzed. What if I can never dance again? I just, I don't know what I would do if I couldn't dance. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO A few hours later the doctor returns with Heather's blood tests. HEATHER WALLACE OC/VO He tells me that… MUSIC SEGUE …I did not have meningitis which was a huge relief. HOST VO But the doctor still has no idea what is causing her symptoms. All he can do is prescribe steroids to treat Heather's pain and inflammation and send her home. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC It was really scary to, to walk out of there knowing that the doctors there couldn't tell me what was wrong. HOST VO But Heather refuses to give up. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Desperate to find out what is causing her symptoms she contacts a specialist at the Orlando infectious disease center, Dr. Jose Alberto Giron. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC At this point after everybody telling me they can't figure out what is wrong, I'm hoping that maybe this doctor can help me. HOST VO Dr. Giron starts by looking at the results of Heather's blood work. He's struck by a strange anomaly. Heather has a high white blood cell count. DR. GIRON VO/OC I noticed that the count was elevated and was over a thousand. The normal count is less than 500. HOST VO While this could be caused by Heather's allergies, Dr. Giron thinks something more sinister is going on. He orders more blood work. MUSIC SEGUE And one week later when the test results come back, his suspicions are confirmed. DR. GIRON VO/OC She has a parasite called Trichinella and that her condition was trichinosis. MUSIC SEGUE HEATHER WALLACE OC I'm dumfounded. I can't, I can't believe it. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Trichinella spiralis is a parasitic worm that causes the deadly disease trichinosis. In the human body the Trichinella spiralis larvae use their piercing mouthparts to cut into the muscle and tissue of their host. As the worm burrows through the flesh the body's immune system attacks the worm, inflaming the surrounding tissue. This immune response is what's been causing Heather's skin problems, muscle pain and paralysis. MUSIC OUT HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I never would've … MUSIC IN …thought in a million years that a parasite could've been the cause of all of my symptoms. HOST VO Dr. Giron puts Heather on powerful anti-parasitic medication that he hopes will kill the worms that are ravaging her body. If the drugs don't work Heather may never dance again. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC I was just so scared and weirded out that I had these worms in my muscle tissue and my joints. I had no idea that a, a parasite could cause that much trouble. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But how did Heather get infected? The parasite begins its lifecycle as a cyst in the tissue of a mammal like a rodent. When the infected rodent is eaten by a carnivore such as a pig the parasite enters the pig's gut, once in the pig's gut the cyst releases tiny larvae. The larvae mature and mate, their offspring then migrate into the pig's muscle tissue. When the pig dies and the infected muscle tissues are eaten by another rodent the lifecycle continues. If a human eats the infected animal the Trichinella worm will continue its cycle inside the human host. Heather contracted trichinosis by eating infected meat, most likely pork. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC The only time it could've happened was at a company picnic… MUSIC SEGUE …where we had pulled pork sandwiches. Maybe possibly I could've gotten it there. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO After ten days of treatment and almost six months after she first became infected, Heather is finally feeling better. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC My skin gradually started to get better. My joint pain and muscle pain started to improve. It wasn't 100 percent by the time I finished the medication but it continued to improve after that. DIANA WALLACE OC/VO To see Heather's skin starting to clear up, I was just so excited. It really felt like now we had some hope. HOST VO A few months later Heather is back on stage completely recovered. HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC It's just so amazing to know that I can continue dancing after thinking that I was gonna lose it all. MUSIC SEGUE |
DAN RISKIN OC/VO Trichinella infections are very rare in the U.S. On average there are only around 12 cases a year. HOST VO The best way to prevent infection is to avoid eating wild game or home raised pork that has not been cooked to an internal temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. DAN RISKIN VO/OC Trichinella spiralis wreaks havoc on the body when we eat it. |
HOST VO But some of the more successful parasites on the planet are the ones that feed on us, as a retiree in Phoenix is about to find out first hand. MUSIC SEGUE Chicago native Edwin Curtis is living out his golden years in sunny Phoenix Arizona. EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO Absolutely love it out here. The weather is marvelous. It's the kind of an area where you can do things probably 365 days a year. HOST VO He and his wife Joan make the most of the beautiful climate. JOAN CURTIS OC/VO We have a lot of friends, we get together a lot and do outdoor activities. We just love it. It's a great place to live. HOST VO And for Ed the clear conditions are perfect for his lifelong pastime. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC I've always had the passion of radio control model airplanes which is truly a fun hobby. HOST VO Life is good for Ed and Joan, but their peaceful routine is about to turn into a living hell. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO 2005, Ed is at home with Joan enjoying some quiet time before bed. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC I am in our family room watching TV. All of a sudden I, I felt a little itch on the back of my neck. So I call Joan over and ask her to take a look at it. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC The spot looks not even as big as a mosquito bite. It's just like a pinpoint size, maybe, but it's red. It was hard to tell what it was. He said it was driving him crazy. HOST VO But something… MUSIC SEGUE ...about this little red spot makes Ed wary of scratching it. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC I have a terrible habit of scratching anything that, that bothers me on my skin. But this one feels a little different. HOST VO Ed tries to ignore the itch and goes to bed. MUSIC SEGUE But the next morning when he and Joan wake up it's still there. EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO The itches isn't doing any better. I'm still scratching at it, and now all of a sudden I'm starting to feel additional itches beyond just the back of my neck. I'm feeling very uncomfortable. HOST VO But Joan thinks she has a solution. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC We’ll try lotion on it and cream. We've always heard it's supposed to help, and see what happens. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Ed tries a variety of lotions to try to soothe his skin, but two days later as he's getting out of the shower he's notices something strange. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC As I get out of the shower and go over to shave I realize as I look in the mirror that there are welts all over my body. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Neither Ed nor Joan have any idea what is causing the strange welts. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC The spots on Ed's body are probably the size of a quarter and red as ketchup. So we've never seen anything like this. What could it be? We, we were perplexed. HOST VO What's worse the large red welts are also very itchy. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC The welts on my body I notice itch more and more. The lotions I'm using haven't been any help at all. I'm thinking there's something going on here. Something that's not normal. If this rash continues it would just absolutely drive me nuts. |
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MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Edwin Curtis's torso is covered in itchy red spots. Perplexed as to what might be causing the spots, Ed and his wife Joan head to the doctor. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC We're seeing the red spots seem to multiply on his body and we're not sure what's going on. HOST VO The doctor examines Ed's rash and asks him if he's taking any medication. MUSIC SEGUE EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC I recently have had knee replacement surgery and I'm on some pretty strong meds to, to relieve pain and he says I believe that it's probably a allergic reaction. HOST VO The doctor advises Ed to stop taking the pain medication. JOAN CURTIS OC We were excited… MUSIC SEGUE …when we heard that because we knew the medications would wear off soon and he'd be over with this. HOST VO But the doctor makes it clear that Ed must stop scratching his skin if he wants it to heal. To reduce the itching the doctor prescribes topical antihistamines. MUSIC SEGUE But the following night to Ed's dismay the itching hasn't gotten better. In fact, it's much worse. EDWIN CURTIS OC I'm normally an extremely sound sleeper, but I'm starting to wake up and I find myself scratching various parts of my body. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC The itching is starting to really get to him because it's pretty much constant. Ed's getting up six times during the night now with this itching. He can't sleep. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO But Ed and Joan are determined to stick to the doctor's advice. And after a week Ed examines his skin looking for any sign of improvement. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC As I look at myself in the mirror I realize that a week ago I probably had a dozen spots. By this time it's probably up to 20, 25 spots all over the trunk of my body. HOST VO And those are just the spots he can see. Joan confirms that there are even more spots on his back. JOAN CURTIS OC/VO I can see some of the spots that he can't see, and he looks like a war victim. Like he was in a catastrophe somewhere. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC This is ridiculous. It just doesn't make any sense. I'm wondering if I'm just seeing things, but they're real. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO And for Ed trying not to scratch the spots is torture. EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO Trying to control my desire to itch every spot on my body is starting to drive me a little bonkers. I realize that if I continue scratching I'm probably just hurting myself. I almost feel like I should have my hands tied behind my back. My discomfort is really getting worse. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Ed is in agony. After almost two weeks of resisting the urge to scratch he can no longer hold himself back. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC I kept telling Ed it's probably not the best to, to scratch and itch those spots, but it was difficult for him not to. It was driving him crazy. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC This itch is something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. MUSIC SEGUE I realized that if this rash continues I will be a miserable old man very soon. |
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MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO 68-year-old Edwin Curtis is being pushed to the brink of insanity by an unrelenting itch. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC The itching is driving me crazy. All I can think of is I got to get better. This is absolutely ridiculous. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Tired and frustrated Ed and his wife Joan decide it's time to consult a specialist. Dr. Howard Luber is a specialist in internal medicine and dermatology in Phoenix. DR. HOWARD LUBER OC/VO Edwin presents to me with a wide spread rash. He has itchy, red, scaly bumps everywhere but his face. HOST VO But it's impossible to tell what's causing the rash just by looking at it. So Dr. Luber takes a skin sample from one of Ed's inflamed red welts. DR. HOWARD LUBER VO/OC I decide to do a skin biopsy to try to get some clues as to why his condition is not going away. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO The piece of skin goes to a laboratory to be tested. MUSIC SEGUE One week later Dr. Luber has the answer. JOAN CURTIS OC/VO The doctor called us and I happened to answer the phone. I called Ed and he got on the phone. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear what the doctor has to say. DR. HOWARD LUBER OC The test results come back and it's clear now that we have an answer as to what's causing Edwin's rash. Edwin has a parasitic disease called scabies. JOAN CURTIS VO Neither one of us had a clue what it was. EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC I immediately think of something that's eating away at a dead body. It, it sounds very frightening. MUSIC SEGUE DAN RISKIN VO/OC Scabies is caused by an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite, Sarcoptes scabiei. This microscopic parasite literally eats your skin. HOST VO The female mite is attracted to the warmth and odor of human skin. Using its mouth and special cutting surfaces on its front legs the mite burrows into the host. Once inside the parasite continues to burrow through the skin leaving secretions and waste in its wake. It's these secretions and waste products that trigger the body's immune response causing inflammation and rash. EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO If my skin wasn't… MUSIC OUT …already itching, the thought of a parasite crawling under my skin would cause me to start itching. MUSIC IN HOST VO But how did Ed become infected in the first place? DAN RISKIN OC/VO The scabies life cycle begins when a female mite burrows into human skin. Once inside the skin the female lays eggs. The eggs hatch and then become adult mites. The adult mites return to the skin's surface to look for mates, and when the female successfully mates, the lifecycle is complete. HOST VO Adult mites will often seek out a new host. They do this by hitching a ride on sheets, linens, or through skin-to-skin contact. DAN RISKIN OC This means that any place where people are in close quarters can be a potential source of infection. |
MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO Dr. Luber asks Ed if he's had any recent hospital stays. EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO Tracing back to the knee surgery I had been in the hospital for five days and after I went to a rehab center. Either one of those places could have been where the scabies came from. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC It is a miracle upon miracles that I don't have this parasite under my skin. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO With a diagnosis in hand, Dr. Luber prescribes an anti-parasitic cream to kill the mites and an inflammatory to relieve the itching. DAN RISKIN OC/VO A scabies infection is a serious condition. The worst-case scenario all that scratching can cause infection and even blood poisoning. HOST VO After a few weeks of treatment the mites are dead. But it takes eight months for the trauma to Ed's skin to heal and his itching to stop completely. JOAN CURTIS VO/OC When Ed starts sleeping all through the night, I know we're there. HOST VO Almost a year after the first symptoms Ed finally has his life back. EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO To go through that itching, the welts, the discomfort and to have it gone is wonderful. Can't describe how wonderful you feel, how good you feel. |
MUSIC SEGUE DAN RISKIN OC Scabies is a fairly common infection. Every year in the US there are over a million cases. HOST VO The best way… |
HOST VO …to prevent infection is to avoid skin to skin contact with infected persons. And to launder any contaminated linens or clothing in hot water before using them. DAN RISKIN OC There's hardly an organism on this planet that doesn't have a parasite living in it or on it. And the most sinister parasites are all around us, lurking, waiting to infect their next host so that they can start a feeding frenzy. MUSIC SEGUE HOST VO For more disgusting parasites and tips on how to avoid them, visit our website animalplanet.com/monstersinsideme. |
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HOST VO Dr. Daniel Eichinger is a professor in the Department of Medical Parasitology at New York University. He's a specialist on Entamoeba Histolytica and studies how this simple amoeba can turn into a deadly invader. The first clue is the amoeba's physiology. |
DR. DANIEL EICHINGER VO/OC Well the amoeba is literally designed to be an, an eating machine. It will essentially ingest and eat anything they come in contact with. The amoeba is designed to eat other cells. |
HOST VO Dr. Eichinger's experiments show this process at work. |
DR. DANIEL EICHINGER VO/OC In this sample we're looking at amoeba's that have been incubated with red blood cells. Each amoeba can ingest ten to 20 to 30 red blood cells. |
HOST VO Amoeba attack the body one cell at a time using a unique feeding method. The amoeba envelopes its food trapping cells inside its own body in a bubble like chamber called a vacuole. It fills the vacuole with enzymes that break down the cells into nutrients, that are then absorbed into the amoeba. As soon as the cells are broken down and absorbed the vacuole disappears. |
DR. DANIEL EICHINGER VO/OC So over 30 minutes to an hour the red cells will be completely digested within the amoebas. So that directly demonstrates how active these amoebas in taking material in and digesting it. |
HOST VO When the amoebas turn on cells in the body the results can be fatal. |
DR. DANIEL EICHINGER VO/OC The amoeba is able to contact different cell types and, and kill them and it doesn't care what type of cell it actually takes in. |
HOST VO Heather has her costume specially washed hoping to rinse out any allergens, but her hives don't clear up. |
HEATHER WALLACE OC It's starting to get really scary. |
DIANA WALLACE OC/VO We tried different things but it just got worse and I just knew that there was something going on but we just couldn't put our finger on it. |
HOST VO Hives occur when irritation in the skin cause the body to release the chemical histamine. As a result fluid builds in the affected area creating swollen, itchy red bumps. With dermographism the response is triggered by pressure on the skin causing the hives to form in the exact pattern that the pressure is applied. |
HEATHER WALLACE VO I thought that made total sense because a lot of the dark marks that I was getting seemed to be where my costumes were tight across my skin. |
HEATHER WALLACE OC/VO It's around Christmas time and we go out to dinner and while we're sitting there I notice that I have some pain in my wrist. It was really strange; I, I wondered if maybe I'd slept on it wrong or if I'd sprained it somehow in a performance. |
DIANA WALLACE VO/OC Heather was complaining of her wrist hurting and I just really didn't know what to do to help her. |
HEATHER WALLACE VO/OC Things are starting to get pretty bad. My rashes seem to be getting worse and then now having this pain in my wrist. I'm starting to get really, really scared. |
HOST VO With a sold out Christmas show the next night Heather decides to go home early and rest hoping the pain will go away. But the next morning, Christmas Eve, the pain is worse. |
HOST VO And he recommends a home remedy. |
EDWIN CURTIS VO/OC So suggests that I try what they call an oatmeal bath, where it's some kind of an oatmeal product in hot water and it's supposed to soothe the skin and help the welts to go away quicker. |
HOST VO As soon as they return home Ed and Joan give the oatmeal bath a try. |
EDWIN CURTIS OC/VO The tub looks terrible. I hate to say it but it looks like somebody threw up in the bathtub. I don't know that I'm gonna enjoy this but I'll do anything that helps at this point. |
JOAN CURTIS OC I'm sure glad it's not me having to do it. |
EDWIN CURTIS VO As I lay there in the tub the, the hot water it does feel good. It does relax me. |
HOST VO At first he feels better, but his relief doesn't last. |
JOAN CURTIS VO/OC When he gets out of the tub and dries off it's not very long before he starts itching again. |
EDWIN CURTIS OC It hasn't done any good at all. |
DR. HOWARD LUBER OC There's oozing, there's crusting. |
HOST VO And the scratching is making Ed's symptoms worse. While dermatitis causes severe itching, scratching the affected areas only aggravates the problem. Every time the skin is scratched it causes minute tears that create a gateway for bacteria. In response the body floods the area with white blood cells to fight off infection, causing the skin to itch even more. |