Just ate falafel with pinworms, what do I do?

My best advice is to go to a doctor and ask him what to do.

Pinworms are barely visible: these are probably something else. Very gross but you’ll most likely be fine. However. call a doctor to be sure.

@janbb Good lord, what are these then!? They were moving slowly and elegantly, white…

I don’t know. You should reprot it to the restaurant as well as calling a doctor.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Call your doctor or poison control. It’s probably fine, but just to make sure.

And yes, like @janbb suggested, call the restaurant or store where you got this from, to let them know. If you have a camera handy, take a picture right now, just in case the evidence dies before tomorrow.

Shuddering at the horror of this

OMG That is disgusting!!! This is why you always have to be careful when you get food from places!! Definitely take pictures, go to Dr., also I would say research online to try and determine exactly what it is and what to do!

Pinworms are found around the anus? I doubt that is what was in your food? They may have been maggots?

How in the world did you eat most of it without tasting/feeling/seeing that?

Take a picture and post it here.

Not that I really want to see it, but maybe we can help you identify it.

Could you taste them? More to the point, how did the pinworms survive the frying?

My guess is that as soon as the pinworms made it into the harsh acids of your stomach, they died.

This is really grossing me out, but I can’t stop following this thread.

@elbanditoroso I seriously doubt these are pinworms. As mentioned, pinworms live in the colon and rectum. You get pinworms by swallowing their eggs, which are microscopic. These worms were most likely not pinworms.

Whatever they are, I’m also wondering how they survived the frying process.

@Mama_Cakes I was thinking that maybe they were left sitting out, soon after they were fried, near a garbage can (rubbish bin, I love saying that in my best Cornwall accent) and they are maggots, rather than pinworms.

I swear, next time I go out to eat, I plan on inspecting my food very thoroughly before taking a bite.

I think it would be quite difficult to eat maggots without noticing.

He ate something without noticing.

I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll digest them just fine and suffer no ill effects. People all around the world eat insects every day, and they are just peachy. So will you be.

My brother in law once ate something, and discovered bugs inside. He drank a Coke, and said he’d fry those little bastards.
I’d probably drink tequila. Steadily. Till dawn.

Bon appétit.

Omfg!! What?? I’m going to throw up! Sorry! Not helpful.
I’m sure whatever they were won’t hurt you.
I would contact the place you bought it and ask them wtf??

If the worms ate falafel, you should be safe. It’s an organic product? What, did you imagine that that organic or vegetarian products were free of pests?

Ew.

Hahaha you guys are awesome thanks. I do have the box of uneaten falafel on my table, closed, I am freaking out – I do need courage to open it and take pictures. But I will do it. They looked like pinwarms, transparant-ish white-ish and they were definitely moving very very slowly!

Over-the-counter and prescription drugs, combined with strict hygiene, are the only solution now, IF it’s pinworm. Check out the symptoms
Usually pinworm infections are mild and does not cause any serious health issues, but treatment should be considered because it helps stop the spread of the infection to others and helps prevent reinfection.

Box – was it dry felafal mix? Possibly grain beetles. Not harmful – just gross.

^ I agree. Extra protein.

You get parasitic worms from other living things, not the pantry.

Highly unlikely if not impossible that they were pinworms. You’ll be fine.

If it’s dry mix, I’m with @janbb, it’s probably grain beetle or grain moth larvae. Gross but I don’t think it would harm you.

That’s the consensus, then: some form of weevil or maggot. Not harmful. Even the gross-out is all in your head—they’re probably a delicacy in some part of the world. I read once that Mid-Easterner would never consider eating rotten milk, er, cheese.

So give us an update. Did you ever figure out what they were?

@snowberry Nope. @ibstubro made me feel good, I didn’t check them. Although the box is still on my kitchen table. Closed, that is. I don’t want to touch it:(

Why are you saving it?

@chyna I am lazy to throw it out. Is that odd?

Yes. There is soomething sitting on your table with bugs in it and you can’t get up and throw it out?

@chyna if I do it will still be in my living room in trash.

I find everything about this odd. Everything.

@illusionslies If you leave it there a while longer, you should soon know the adult version.

If it happens to be Indian Meal Moths, you may wish you’d gone to the effort to bag and pitch the infested box@

@ibstubro
Gone now .

1–800-PINWORM.

@SecondHandStoke you forgot that he needs to ask for either Ralf or Erl.