Shreya Darji has an Ant Problem

You’ve heard the phrase “ants in your pants” before, but have you ever heard of ants in your head?

Shreya Darji, a 12-year-old girl from western India, has had over 1,000 ants removed from her ears.

Doctors are baffled as to the cause of this problem. They have tried drowning the ants with antiseptic, pulling them out with laparoscopic cameras, and everything else they can think of, but the ants keep coming back. To make matters worse, they can’t seem to pinpoint where the bugs are coming from.

We don’t believe the ants are laying eggs inside the ear as we’ve not spotted a queen ant inside. -Dr. Jawahar Talsania, Ear Nose and Throat surgeon

Shreya complained of  irritation in her ears but she suffers no pain in spite of the ants biting the insides of her ears. Beyond the physical discomfort, the ants are causing serious social problems. After a number of instances of sitting in school and having ants crawling out of her ears, Shreya has experienced teasing and has had to miss classes while getting treatment.

I’m worried about her future and how this will affect her studies. […] Other children in her school and community are teasing her and it’s already making her feel bad. -Sanjay Darji, Shreya’s father

Doctors are keeping Shreya under video surveillance in an Ahmedabad medical unit while they try to figure out a way to keep the girl’s head ant free. This is the first case of its kind in medical history, so they clearly have their work cut out for them in finding a cure. In the meantime, Shreya’s father is praying for a quick resolution. They’ve tried everything from modern medicine to witch doctors, and nothing has worked.