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The pain doesn't start until the worm begins the chestburster phase of its lifecycle. In Guinea worm-affected regions of the world, this means every blister or sore might be a nightmare worm ready to tear its way into your life.

"[Locals] were always bothered about blisters. You can usually tell if it's a Guinea worm blister apart from others, but some you can't, and they would get stressed out from not knowing. They would be in pain for a month, and no one wanted that. All I could do was tell them to visit the doctor. They'd listen too, because while they did use traditional medicine for some ailments, Guinea worm was not one of them. Through the years they probably tried every herb in the book, so having a doctor say if it is or isn't Guinea worm was a huge relief."

Global 2000/The Carter Center

Nightmare fuel or ill-fitting sandal? Only time and screaming will tell.

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After watching 11 of these hell-ribbons tear their way out of a human meat prison, Craig was worried that he might've swallowed one in an errant drop of water. But it can take as long as a year for the worm to go from 'larva' to 'leaving' in your body, so Craig stayed on edge for a long time, "For a year, it was in the back of my mind and I was looking for those blisters. I had stubbed my toes against a wall one day, and when I woke up in the morning the pain was there, and I temporarily forgot about the wall and my mind went to Guinea worm for a second. That one second of panic boosted my adrenaline before I realized, hey wait, you biffed your toes you idiot." Guinea worm is almost never fatal, but it sounds about as close to a haunting as nature gets.