Life destroyed with one simple mistake

🩺 Ask Doctor Hansen:

In this video, we delve into the tragic story of 19-year-old Sam Ballard who, on a dare, consumed a slug carrying the deadly "Angiostronjilus cantonensis" or the rat lungworm. Discover the life cycle of this lethal parasite and how it led Sam to a 420-day coma, battling eosinophilic meningitis. We also explore the diagnostic challenges doctors face and the imperative of early treatment. The disease's increasing prevalence in places like Australia and Hawaii makes awareness crucial. Sam's unfortunate tale underscores the importance of understanding such infections and their devastating effects. Remember to always wash fruits and veggies thoroughly!

#doctor #doctortips #health #healthtips #fruits #educationalvideo

[consaka]

Killing off parasites quickly is always risky. Many years ago we rescued a kitten from a neighbor that shouldn't have been allowed to look at animals much less own any. I'm continually surprised the hawks didn't get the kittens. Maybe they could spot the fleas from 100 feet up. We washed that poor kitten in flea soap 3 or 4 times. The bottom of the sink was black like someone poured black sand in it. I had never seen so much fleas on a critter before. Later when we took it to the vet the vet said he had fleabite anemia. The vet gave him his shots and an anti parasite drug. That drug killed so many internal parasites it nearly killed him. Think lifeless body that barely moved and didn't walk at all for days with a high fever. Felt like a hand warmer when you picked him up. At one point we put him in tepid water to attempt to cool him off when his fever got too high, somewhere around 106 if I remember right. He lived and grew up to be a beautiful Main Coon type mix, beautiful grey alley cat color with soulful eyes that would just look at you till you successfully read his mind. Sadly he got liver failure at about ten years of age.

[SuperChicken]

I agree that between peer pressure and age-related stupidity, it's a miracle that any kid lives past puberty.

[cynthiafuhrman]

When my son was 4, one day he announced out of the blue, "Mama...You can eat a slug, but you shouldn't." He's right.

[johnfontana]

We have this here in Hawaii, I’ve known a handful of people that have succumbed to this, one had symptoms for a few weeks and recovered, one went into a coma and expired, most take decades to slow recovery. It is said that after testing the local population here, around 30% have antibodies to rat lung, meaning we’ve been exposed, but luckily didn’t succumb to it. I would not wish this on my worst enemy!

[BinaBecker]

Moral of story: Don't take dares from your friends, especially not if it involves eating gross things raw.

[jeremyphillips]

So sad. It's tragic how many young people die due to peer pressure, dares, challenges, etc. I didn't now that about undercooked shrimp. Good to know.

[kpepperl]

When you are an Australian... You should know better than randomly swallow stuff. They aren't kidding when everything is trying to kill you
This is so unfortunate...

[theimprobableone]

My biggest fear used to be dying, but now I’m so scared my son will grow up and do something like this for laughs and die.

[docfrayon]

I don't even eat cooked snails... But I'm going to wash my vegetables thoroughly from now on !

[FireCracker]

How sad. What a needless situation and tragic death. There is no dare or challenge that makes it worth taking a gamble with your health and life. I'm so grateful that type of behavior never appealed to me.

[VulcanOnWheels]

I have to ask: Who in their right mind would pick up a slug and eat it???

[johnhopkins]

Tip: if it seems disgusting, don't eat it.

[android]

I've spotted slugs on lettuce and broccoli I think, never knew the risks were this severe.

[auntyshakira]

These Dares, challenges are more common than ever with Social Media. So tragic and sad. What seems harmless turns out to be a nightmare.

[boyce]

Yep, it's an Australian thing. I know a guy who ate bits of his own vomit on the dare of friends. He was obviously drunk, but so called friends can put pressure on you to be funny. But this case was so tragic, I don't think his friends who dared him fully forgave themselves.

[artbyyuna]

Best veggie wash is 1/4 cup food grade 3% hydrogen peroxide and 2 liters of water. Soak for 20 minutes - will remove most things including pesticides, insecticides and fungicides.

[grace_koh]

I didn't have friends and wasn't invited to parties. I was always alone. But looking back, that might have been a blessing.

[jaker]

Sad case. I remember reading about it many years ago. Didn't know he had passed and didn't know the science behind it. Thanks for explaining.

[worldgonemad]

I’ll never eat unwashed vegetables or fruit again

[BrigitteNP]

I read this story previously and it’s so tragic 😢