Human Bot Fly

The Human Bot Fly: Yes, It is True

Trypophobe or trypophobia are not commonly heard words. They are used more by doctors treating their patients who seem to have these fears. If you do not know about this type of fear, it is the fear of holes in your body with maggots or some other insects coming out. But why and where does this fear called trypophobia get inside the minds of people? Let us take a closer look.

Have you heard about botfly? It is a stout, hairy bodied fly found in Americas (mostly Argentina and Chile) that lays eggs on the bodies of mosquitoes (female) and when these mosquitoes bite human beings, these eggs get inside the skin of the hapless human beings. These eggs grow and hatch to become larvae. The development of these larvae takes place inside human skin and finally when an individual suffers from red skin that bulges where this larva is parched inside that he comes to know about a parasite inside his body. Botfly larva is easy to kill by asphyxiating it. If you put some crème like Vaseline over the lump, the larva does not get air for survival and dies down. But in this case, you will have to make use of tweezers to take out larva from your body. The same process can be done after spraying nail polish remover over the affected area.

It is really horrifying a thought to have a parasite developing inside your body and this fear of holes makes many feel revulsion at the mere mention of human bot fly in front of them. But it is true and there exist such flies in Americas. However, what is reassuring is that this fly occurs in small numbers, and very rare are the instances when mosquitoes serve as vectors and carry the eggs of this fly inside human bodies. It is not just human bodies where these parasites develop as larvae but they are also found developing inside the tender skin of wild rabbits. These wild rabbits are considered delicacies in some parts of the world and eaten with zeal. It has to be remembered that these rabbits can have such larvae of bot fly inside their bodies and can harm humans upon consumption.

When the development of larvae is complete, they drop off from the skin of the host and pupate in soil. In normal circumstances, there is no permanent damage to host body because of larvae development inside his body. The chances of injury are more when larvae development is complete and it desires to get outside the body of the host. We do not wish to induce fear of holes in you but there are true instances when entomologists have reared eggs of botfly inside their bodies to develop specimens of adults as they are rarely captured.

If you feel of have a fear of such an egg inside your body, just place cotton dipped in camphorated coconut oil on the affected area and tape it. With no air to breathe, the worm will come out in 8 hours if there indeed is one inside your body.

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