worms in leftover sauce

[Anonymous]

Should I see a medical professional? I am feeling a bit freaked out this evening because I was going to eat some leftover sauce from slow-cooking some pork (overnight Tuesday, cooked 10 1/2 hours on low, consumed some of it Wednesday and Thursday, froze the rest except for the sauce which I had scraped off and saved). When I took the lid off of the small container of sauce, there were two white worms on top. They weren't moving, but I am quite sure they were worms. They were a bit more than a centimeter in length, maybe 1.5 mm in diameter. I quickly dumped the sauce down the garbage disposal (didn't take a photo). Now I am worried that if worms grew in the sauce over the last several days, it would suggest that somehow the slow cooking didn't fully kill some worm larvae that were in the pork, and so I wonder if I am at risk for trichinosis or another worm-related disease.

I've been reading up on trichinosis tonight. It says that in the early days after consuming undercooked meat, symptoms could be abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea. I have had some diarrhea (just once a day, but each day for the last several days... but I have been eating spicy food and sometimes get diarrhea for that reason). Other symptoms could take 2 - 8 weeks to appear, if worms travel to muscle tissue and begin reproducing there.

The information I read said that a treatment to kill parasites is best commenced within the first three days, while the parasites are still in the intestines before moving to muscle tissue. So I am wondering if I should go to an urgent care center, or if I am over-reacting. At this early point, I don't know that blood tests could detect anything yet, and I don't know if a medical professional would prescribe an anti-parasitic drug just based on my finding worms in my sauce.

By the way, I never left the pork or sauce sitting out. I had bought the pork frozen and had thawed it for a couple of hours (actually it was sitting out then, not in the fridge) and I browned the pork while it was still slightly frozen and then slow-cooked it overnight. I didn't check the internal temperature. I had cut the meat into bite-sized chunks. It all looked thoroughly cooked. Another piece of info is that I bought the pork at an Asian market; I don't know if the pork was imported from another country or not.

I just keep coming back to the thought that there were worms in the sauce, so that means there must have been larvae in the meat that didn't get killed in the cooking. And in my mind, that means there is a reasonable chance there are worms growing in me right now, and if so, the sooner I do something about it, the better.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

You are being overly neurotic. You cooked it for 10 hrs, not 10 min.you ate some.cooked.worms. Gross I know. But you aren't going to get sick. Watch your symptoms. Seek attention if you develop any symptoms. This doesn't sound like an urgent care situation. You need to relax. Fish have worms too. They turn white when cooked
Gross, I know.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you need to rush to the doctor, but I would take some kind of anti-parasitic supplement. Papaya enzymes work well, as do pumpkin seeds. Take them for two months — parasite lifecycles are lined up with the moon cycles, so you want to make sure you kill everything (if anything’s in your body).

[Anonymous]

I think PP who said you are being overly neurotic is right. However, I would be too -- and I'd get treatment the treatment, given that your research says it is best to get it within 3 days.

[Anonymous]

The thing that weirds me out is that, believe me, there were not any worms on top of the sauce when I put it in the container. But they were on top tonight. And I would have seen the worms when I was scraping the sauce off of the meat. So I assume that means they were not this big (or were larvae) several days ago, and they were not killed by the cooking process. I know that 10 hours sounds like a LOT. And I had browned the meat (lightly) first. But then how did these worms get to the top of the sauce? Maybe my slow cooker on the low setting wasn't providing enough heat to cook the meat thoroughly?

[Anonymous]

There's a ton of worms in seafood, especially salmon. We just end up eating them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think you need to rush to the doctor, but I would take some kind of anti-parasitic supplement. Papaya enzymes work well, as do pumpkin seeds. Take them for two months — parasite lifecycles are lined up with the moon cycles, so you want to make sure you kill everything (if anything’s in your body).

Is this a joke?

[Anonymous]

You should never put frozen meat in a slow cooker. The meat sits at a tepid temperature too long and bacteria can breed.

https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Is-it-safe-to-cook-frozen-foods-in-a-slow-cooker-or-crock-pot

With that said, I also think you’re being a bit neurotic.

[Anonymous]

Eh, I’d message my doctor and ask for advice.

[Anonymous]

Doctor here. I would absolutely seek treatment immediately. Sounds totally possible that this is trichinosis or cysticercosis type worms and believe me you do not want those setting up in your muscles or brain. I would get medicated bc I have seen so many cases of cysticercosis presenting with seizures.

[Anonymous]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cysticercosis

[Anonymous]

I would get treatment. I’m not a hypochondriac but lived in 3rd world countries growing up where it wasn’t uncommon to get parasites. The tapeworm was the most revolting. And we never ate pork because of the risk.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't freak out but would be treated by my doctor.

And no pork.

[Anonymous]

They sound like maggots to me. Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would get treatment. I’m not a hypochondriac but lived in 3rd world countries growing up where it wasn’t uncommon to get parasites. The tapeworm was the most revolting. And we never ate pork because of the risk.

Ugh. Good luck.

Are worms and parasites only in pork?
Are not in other meat or fish?