What do maggots cure?
What is maggot therapy? Maggot therapy involves the use of maggots of the green-bottle fly, which are introduced into a wound to remove necrotic, sloughy and/or infected tissue. Maggots can also be used to maintain a clean wound after debridement if a particular wound is considered prone to re-sloughing.
Will maggots clean out a wound?
Maggot therapy can be an effective therapy in wound debridement and it performs especially well in sloughy wounds. Maggots remove slough quickly in one or a few applications and prepare the wound for healing.
What is the purpose of maggots?
Maggots have one goal in life: to feed. They gorge ravenously in order to grow as quickly as possible. Speed is of the essence as they leave behind their vulnerable bodies, and transform from a fat, juicy maggot into a hairy adult, capable of escaping predators.
Can maggots cure gangrene?
Maggot therapy can be recommended in cases of intractable gangrene and osteomyelitis, when treatment with antibiotics and surgical debridement have failed.
Will maggots eat you alive?
Maggots, otherwise known as fly larvae, are, of course, famous for eating the flesh of dead animals, and in this they perform a vital, if unglamorous, cleansing function in nature. But also – less often – maggots can infest and feed on the flesh of live animals and humans, a phenomenon known as myiasis.
How long are maggots left on a wound?
Maggots are applied to the wound at a dose of 5–10 larvae per square centimeter of wound surface area and are left within their dressing for 48–72 h. At that point they are satiated, finished working, and can be removed.
Is maggot therapy painful?
The most common side effect to maggot therapy is pain at the application site. Patients may actually feel a “nipping” or “picking” sensation that can be painful. This discomfort may be severe enough to require oral analgesics or, in some cases, the patient may request early termination of the treatment.
Why would you put maggots in a wound?
Maggots can be used to treat dirty or infected wounds as they remove dead tissue and bacteria (germs), leaving behind healthy tissue that can heal. The maggots used in this treatment are specially bred and are sterile so they cannot cause infection.
