Every few months, a video surfaces on social media that stops you mid-scroll. Someone’s skin is covered in what looks like dozens of wriggling larvae or embedded parasites — and the comment sections explode with panic. Before you share it, before you spiral into a health scare, here’s what’s really going on.
It’s fake. And doctors want you to know exactly why.
The Viral Shock Factory
The video in question — currently recirculating on social platforms — shows a person’s body seemingly infested with what appears to be skin-burrowing parasites. It’s viscerally disturbing, designed to trigger an immediate emotional reaction. And that’s precisely the point.
According to dermatologists who have debunked similar content on TikTok and Instagram, what viewers are actually seeing are ordinary beans or seeds glued onto skin with an adhesive substance. Multiple creators have been exposed for doing exactly this — gluing beans to their skin purely for attention. TikTok Dermatologist Dr. Joyce Park, responding to one such viral video, was blunt: “These are not real skin diseases or bugs,” TikTok noting that she keeps seeing more of these fake videos circulating and questioning why people keep making them.
Why Your Brain Falls for It
This isn’t a matter of being gullible — it’s neuroscience. Our brains are hardwired to react strongly to perceived threats, especially those involving our bodies. Combine that with trypophobia (the discomfort many people feel when seeing clusters of holes or bumps) and the algorithmic amplification of outrage-inducing content, and you have the perfect recipe for a viral hoax.
A Canadian science communicator demonstrated this exact vulnerability when he created a fake health video in about a day and a half using stock footage and upbeat music — and it went on to receive millions of views. His conclusion: “We’re all wired to the thing that there are conspiracies here and there, and some people are more susceptible to this kind of thinking than others.” CBC
What a Real Parasitic Skin Infection Actually Looks Like
Medical experts are emphatic: a mass parasitic infestation of the scale shown in these videos is not how real infections present. Actual parasitic skin conditions — such as cutaneous larva migrans or bot fly infestations — are rare, localized, and accompanied by clear clinical signs including open wounds, significant inflammation, and acute pain.
Real parasitic infections are also highly diagnosable. Gut and skin parasites can be identified in accredited laboratories through microscopy and molecular testing, and once identified, are treated effectively with antiparasitic medications prescribed by doctors. VICE There is no mystery about them — and there is certainly no scenario where dozens of larvae emerge symmetrically across someone’s torso without that person being in a medical emergency.
The Misinformation Ecosystem That Profits from Your Fear
These videos don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re part of a broader content economy built on health misinformation. A viral Instagram video, for example, falsely claimed that 60% of Americans are infected with parasites, citing CDC data that didn’t actually support the claim at all. PolitiFact Meanwhile, wellness influencers have built massive followings promoting bogus “parasite cleanses” — products with no clinical basis, marketed to an audience primed by exactly the kind of shocking fake content described here.
The playbook is always the same: manufacture fear, offer a solution, profit.
What You Should Actually Do
The next time a horrifying medical video appears in your feed, pause before you react. Ask yourself: Is this person visibly in distress? Are there signs of medical intervention? Does this align with anything a real doctor has described?
If something looks too shocking to be real, it probably is. Follow credentialed dermatologists and medical professionals on social media — many are actively debunking this content in real time. And if you ever have a genuine concern about your skin health, consult a licensed physician, not a comment section.
The internet will always have its next terrifying video. The best thing you can take away from this one is a sharper instinct for what’s real.