A California man pulled a 5-foot-long tapeworm out of his body, put it in a plastic bag, and went to the emergency room, according to a January 8 episode of the medical podcast "This Won't Hurt a Bit."The doctor who treated the man, Kenny Banh, appeared on the podcast to tell the story.The man said he ate raw salmon sushi almost every day' which may be how he contracted the worm.Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found tapeworms in some Pacific salmon.The best defense is to eat fish that's been adequately cooked or flash frozen.A man in California who ate sushi almost daily ended up with a 5-and-a-half foot long tapeworm in his body, according to an episode of the medical podcast "This Won't Hurt a Bit."Emergency room doctor Kenny Banh appeared as a guest on the January 8 episode to retell the story, sparing none of the gory details, The Fresno Bee reported."Ayoung Asian man comes in presenting to the emergency room dept [...] and he said, 'Hey, I'm having some bloody diarrhea [...] but I really want to get treated for worms," Banh recalled. "Isee next to him he's got this little grocery bag [...] Iopen it up and I take out a toilet paper roll, or just that little brown center piece [...] Wrapped around it is [...] what looks like a flat tapeworm."And not just any flat tapeworm: It measured five and half feet long, Banh said on the podcast. If you dare, you can see what it actually looked like' "This Won't Hurt a Bit" shared two photos of the worm from Banh.6 - PARASITES https://t.co/wYWZ3E02bX' thiswonthurtabit (@wonthurtabitpod) January 10, 2018The patient went on to explain that he'd experienced stomach cramps, diarrhea, and then bloody diarrhea. When he looked down at his backside he noticed something hanging out that looked like "a piece of intestine," Banh added. The patient pulled on the worm until nothing else came out, put it in the bag, and headed for the ER.Though it's not clear what caused the infection, Banh mentioned that the patient consumed raw salmon in sushi on a near-daily basis, which might have been to blame.In February 2017, the CDC announced that they'd found a species calledDiphyllobothrium nihonkaiense 'the Japanese broad tapeworm ' inside samples of wild pink salmon from Alaska. It's a type of worm that can grow up to 30 feet long,the CDC says. Most infections don't have symptoms, but some people might get stomach discomfort, diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss. (And, FYI: It's usually diagnosed by looking for parasite eggs inside stool, not by pulling a worm out of your behind. If you do suspect you have worms, see your doctor.)The good news is that worms' even giant ones' are treatable with de-worming medication."Shockingly it's no different than the deworming medication you might give your dog," Banh said on the podcast. "Simple treatment, one dose, kills all the worms."You can also prevent worm infections by making sure you cook your meat to safe temperatures. (Different species of tapeworms can hang out in raw beef and pork, too.) For fish, that's at least145F.When it comes to raw fish, however, the best way to kill parasites is freezing. The CDC says that in order to kill parasites, fish has be frozen:At -4F or below for 7 days (total time), orAt -31F or below until solid, and storing at -31F or below for 15 hours, orAt -31For below until solid and storing at -4F or below for 24 hours.Next time you head out for sushi, it can't hurt to ask the restaurant about their fish-freezing practices.Sign uphereto get INSIDER's favorite stories straight to your inbox.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: These coconut worms are eaten live
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