Monsters Inside MeWW

Dan Riskin

Animal Planet

Biologist Dan Riskin has served as host and expert for Monsters Inside Me since its premiere in 2009. Riskin, who has a PhD from Cornell University, is the author of Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You: A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World and host of Daily Planet on Discovery Channel Canada. Riskin lives in Toronto with his wife and three children.

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After a woman suffers having cysts surgically removed from her right breast, things get even worse when surgical sponges are accidentally left inside of her.WWW

02:33

Something Left Inside

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A dream vacation to South America becomes a nightmare when a man's face begins to be eaten away by a parasite.WWW

01:53

Man's Face is Eaten Alive

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Tara keeps feeling stabbing pains in her scalp, so she investigates the Internet for answers. What she finds is almost unbelievable - botflies. She decides to cut open her scalp.WWW

03:17

Holiday Hell: Removing Botflies For Christmas

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Boil-like legions lead to a diagnosis of lung cancer, just in time for Christmas. But during surgery, doctors are surprised to find a different sort of infection.WWW

03:54

Holiday Hell: Why Is My Abdomen Full of Boils?

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Found in contaminated food and water, Entamoeba histolytica is a parasite that feeds on living cells in the human gut.WWW

01:46

Entamoeba histolytica

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After eating some raw sushi, a woman begins a fight for her life as a mass containing parasitic worms creates a blockage in her colon. The woman has Anisakiasis, a disease caused by Anisakis worms.WWW

02:29

Really Bad Sushi

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A disease begins eating a boy's face from the inside, forcing doctors to begin removing the infected flesh to save his life.WWW

02:25

Boy Eaten Inside Out

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A happily married couple's trip to New York becomes a nightmare when they learn that they have been infected with the Bubonic Plague, not only putting their lives in danger but anyone who comes into contact with them.WWW

01:22

Bubonic Plague Eats Man Alive

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Leishmaniasis kills skin cells in mass numbers, causing prominent skin sores. In extreme cases, it attacks the face itself, leaving the victim disfigured.WWW

02:03

Leishmaniasis and Skin Sores

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The Leishmania parsite feeds directly on the vital organs from the inside-out. It's spread through infected sand flies.WWW

01:31

The Leishmania Parasite

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Acanthamoeba is a voracious parasite that enters the body through the skin or the nose, then devours brain cells.WWW

01:19

The Acanthamoeba Parasite

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While swimming with a friend a man has a seizure and collapses. Shortly after, he finds out that a pork tapeworm has been slowly eating away at his brain!WWW

02:20

Tapeworm In My Brain

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Even dead, the larvae of parasitic roundworms can cause river blindness, or Onchocerciasis. These parasites are transmitted through the saliva of blackflies.WWW

02:11

River Blindness

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Burrowing through the skin and internal organs, gnathostoma worms can eventually cause paralysis and death.WWW

01:52

Gnathostoma Worms

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The pork tapeworm is a particularly vicious parasite because it can end up in the most important organ in the human body: the brain.WWW

01:55

Pork Tapeworm in Brain

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A fitness fanatic cannot understand why he is too fatigued to work out until he learns an infection in his colon has created a tear, causing e-coli to spread through his body.WWW

01:55

E-coli Invades Body

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