Doctors discovered a small living beetle crawling inside the intestines of a 59-year-old patient during his colonoscopy. The healthcare professionals were shocked to see the insect, and what puzzled them most was that it was still alive. According to "Oddity Central," doctors now suspect that the ladybug may have entered the man's mouth while he was sleeping. They speculate that its survival in his digestive system could be related to the preparation the man underwent for the colonoscopy conducted in 2019.
Doctors explained that to obtain as much information as possible during the procedure, the colon must be as empty and clean as possible, which involves avoiding food and emptying the bowels. The doctors had given the patient a mixture containing polyethylene glycol, an osmotic laxative often used to treat constipation, which they now believe may have sped up the ladybug's journey through the man's digestive tract, safely reaching the colon.
The authors of the study published in the "AGC Case Reports Journal" stated, "Perhaps his preparation for the colonoscopy helped the insect escape the digestive enzymes in the stomach and upper small intestine." Later, doctors identified the beetle species as "Harmonia axyridis," which was introduced to North America as a pest control method in the early 20th century. The case study did not mention whether the insect successfully escaped the colon alive. It was also noted that this is not the first instance of living insects being found in the intestines during a colonoscopy. A doctor in Britain named Keith Siao shared several cases on Twitter, where he discovered cockroaches during colonoscopies, which seems more disturbing than the presence of the colorful beetle.
