This time, the roach allegedly laid its eggs before dying. So, why does this keep happening? First of all, cockroaches like to go around during the night, which coincidentally is when people sleep. So by virtue of just lying there motionless, we become likely victims. Cockroaches also like small, warm, humid places. And ears qualify as all of the above.
See, cockroaches are attracted by certain types of chemicals called volatile fatty acids, which are released by fermented foods like bread and beer, Schal says. And just like cheese, our earwax radiates these cockroach-wooing chemicals as well. Sometimes, the cockroach survives and according to Schal, the common household pest called the German cockroach can live for about a week without food and water.
But often times, the scratching squishes the roach dead. The outside of cockroaches is actually surprisingly clean, Schal says, unless the roach has been crawling all over your toilet bowl right before coming to your bed. The critters spend lots of time cleaning themselves. Roaches also have spiny legs, so if you push the bug too deep down by using tweezers or a Q-tip, you risk tearing apart your eardrum.
That is not only painful, it can also lead to infections and hearing loss. So, the first thing to do if you have a roach infestation and think one bug has found its way inside your body is to go see a doctor, says entomologist Joe Ballenger. That could cause some problems though, says Schal.
Some chemicals that kill cockroaches make them poop and barf before they expire their last breath. Cockroaches are obviously not the only bugs that find their ways into our ears — but they are the most common offenders. The nasal cavity and sinuses are larger than you might think, extending between the eyes and into the cheekbones, and since these are air-filled spaces, an insect can survive in there for a while. How long? Some leeches are known to enter any orifice they can find, including the eyes, vagina, urethra, or rectum.
In , scientists described a particularly unnerving leech species in Peru with huge teeth and dubbed it Tyranobdella rex , or T. Apart from intestinal parasites, few species brave the human rectum. Flies are not picky, though, and will invade and consume human flesh by laying eggs that hatch into maggots.
She had a roach infestation at home, and doctors suspected she somehow swallowed it whole. Endoscopies, they note, have also turned up ants, ladybugs, yellow jackets, and wasps ouch. If you feel the panic mounting, don't worry. If an insect does crawl into your nose or ear, the worst thing that can happen is an infection rarely, it can spread from the sinuses to the brain.
Though people think of roaches as dirty and covered in bacteria, they actually groom themselves constantly, Schal says. Your biggest risk is crushing the roach while trying to remove it, releasing the copious bacteria in its gut—that can lead to an infection. For more on the positive side of roaches, learn why cockroaches made it onto our list of all-star animal dads. And in most places, the odds of waking up with an insect inside you are slim.
Reports are most common in the tropics, where there are more insects, and in cases of severe insect infestations in the home. Your best chance of keeping insects out of you is to eliminate infestations in your house, for instance by making sure food is put away and secured, and keeping food out of the bedroom.
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I told him I was not in pain, although I felt like I was going to vomit. I explained to him that a roach crawled into my ear while I was asleep and it was stuck. He asked a nurse to check out my ear with an otoscope in case I was lying??? He told me to stay calm and sent us back to the lobby so that I could get a wristband. I hobbled along with my head cocked to the side in the hopes that gravity might take hold of the offending insect and dislodge it.
I was also whimper-crying, which must have been horrifying for the two little girls in the lobby to witness. I was too overwhelmed, and the cuff kept squeezing my arm, all while the roach was still attempting to set up camp in my head. She agreed to remove the cuff. Next, I was asked to lie down with my left ear facing upward so that the doctor could come look inside it. He told a nurse to get him some Lidocaine, a topical numbing agent, that would temporarily cause a loss of feeling in my ear and simultaneously kill the roach.
Use your imagination. It took about two minutes for the roach to die RIP, asshole. Then, using big, curved tweezers, the doctor removed a few chunks of roach. I kept my eyes shut, but each time the doctor extracted a piece, the nurses and my husband would tell me to look. Like, no thanks. Why would I want to see that? Once three pieces of roach were removed, the doctor showed them to us on a little napkin. They were small.
When intact and in all of its roach glory, I would guess that it was about the size of my pinky nail down to my first knuckle. In my ear. The medical team left my husband and me alone in the room for few minutes so that I could take a breather before doing one last check to make sure no body parts were left behind. Then, they discharged me with a prescription for oral antibiotics and a type that I would need to put directly into my ear. Now, it was about A.
We decided to take a trip to Walmart to buy earplugs. I had to see my family physician to renew my daily meds anyway. So when I went in about a week later for my appointment, I told her about my ordeal. She was horrified for me. I explained to her that I still had some lingering discomfort and hearing loss, prompting her to ask if she could peek in my ear herself to see if there was any visible damage or wax buildup. She did see some type of blockage, so she asked a physician assistant to flush my ear in the hopes that removing any wax buildup would help my hearing and alleviate the residual pain.
Once my ear had been flushed about four times, the PA used the otoscope to check inside. The PA said she saw what she believed to be a spiky insect leg. I was grossed out and upset, but I just wanted them to get it out so the whole experience could finally be over.
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