I was reading this article on the BBC about this carzy guy attempting to swim the langth of the Amazon. In the artcile they talk about a toothpick fish. If you ever felt the urge to relieve yourself while swimming, think again! This is some crazy stuff!
This is a portion of the article from the BBC:
[quote]There are many potential pitfalls: poisonous freshwater stingrays, bull sharks, piranhas, anacondas, rapids, whirlpools, and the possibility of tidal waves.
But Mr Strel is philosophical. Speaking to the BBC, he said “I’m concerned of course, but if I think of that stuff I would never jump into the water.”
And when asked about the toothpick fish that can enter the body by swimming up the penis, and can only be removed by surgery, the marathon swimmer’s practicality is as evident as his courage.
“I never urinate straight into the water, I always urinate straight into my wetsuit.”[/quote]
And this about toothpick fish:[quote]It is feared by the natives because it is attracted to urine or blood, and if the bather is nude it will swim into an orifice (the anus or vagina, or even in the case of smaller specimens the penis—and deep into the urethra). It then erects its spine and begins to feed on the blood and body tissue just as it would from the gills of a fish. The candiru is then almost impossible to remove except through surgery. As the fish locates its host by following the water flow from the gills to its source, urinating while bathing increases the chance of a candiru homing in on a human urethra.[/quote]