Thomas Goetz

Now, technically speaking, a parasite is an organism that lives inside or on another creature and feeds off of it.

A tick is a parasite, so are lice, as is the tongue-eating louse.

That's this little crustacean.

It's a relative of a shrimp that swims into a fish's gills, winds its way into the mouth, and then eats the fish's tongue.

Yeah.

And get this.

It then takes the place of that tongue.

It lives there in the mouth, helping the fish eat just as a tongue would, but taking a nibble of food every now and again.

That, my friends, is a parasite.

There are thousands, maybe millions of parasites on Earth.

It just makes your skin crawl.

In fact, there's actually a condition called delusional infestation, also called delusional parasitosis, where people are convinced that they have parasites.

You might feel a bit of this right now.

feeling like something is crawling on your skin, under your socks, maybe under your shirt.

It's a little itchy.

And no, a parasitic cleanse is not the answer.

There is no evidence that those cleanses work.

If you really think you have parasites, go see a doctor.

Do not DIY this.

Anyway, parasites have been worming their way into the human body for as long as there have been humans, even before.