August 03, 2004

Maggots are making a medical comeback and Dr. Maggot is leading the charge. Maggots and leeches have been approved by the FDA as medical "devices."

...Pamela Mitchell of Akron, Ohio, begged to try maggots when surgeons wanted to amputate her left foot, where infection in an inch deep, 2-inch-wide diabetic ulcer had penetrated the bone. It took 10 cycles of larvae, but she healed completely.

posted by es el Queso 19 years ago
  • In related news, I am about to vomit and pass out. Film at eleven.
  • I think I would be disturbed by the movement, but as the woman in the article says, it's better than loosing your foot. And cost-effective.
  • Gotta be careful with those leeches... if they get loose in the office they'll suck up all the doctor's files.
  • The French word for "maggot" is "asticot".
  • I don't remember Richard Scary books about flesh eating worms... Also on the maggot trivia side: maggots were once thought to come to life through spontaneous generation.
  • They've been doing this for years. My brother is an emergency nurse and he told me about it at least four or five years ago.
  • As seen on the CBC when I was in my early teens (now in my mid-20s).
  • Oh, and my uncle had them when he cut his fingers. He actually cut them a few times, and crushed two or three. But hey, who said being a lumberjack was safe.
  • On day 2, when the maggots were fat, "I could feel them moving, because they were ready to come out," she recalls. Ewwwww. Preferable to amputation, but still: ewwww.
  • O.K. Yes, I've heard of doing this. No, don't come near me with those things. However, if anyone's interested.... This is the time of year horse lovers loath. I have repellents--sprays, wipes, roll-ons. I buy fly masks and tags to hang on the horses. I use Bounce fabric softener sheets tied to halters and add vinegar to the water and garlic to the feed. I spread pesticide granules and diatomaceous earth. I've even released little wasps that prey on fly larvae. But what works the best to eradicate flies are stinky milk jug flytraps. You have to buy a special yellow-and-black funnel thingy that allows the flies in, but not out. It works on a regular empty milk jug. Then you get this truly gross and disgusting stinky fly attractant and mix it with water. Of course, even with rubber gloves, you'll get some on your hands, and trust me; it doesn't wash off well. Then give it a day or two in the sun, and watch the jug attract and fill with flies. As it fills, it ripens even more. Keep adding water ever so often. When you get about TWO POUNDS of flies, and then you want to cap it, bag it, and throw it away, before the maggots start hatching. It's best to double bag it, because the expanding gases from the decomposing flies could cause the cap to pop off. If you forget the jug or leave it too long, it will weigh FOUR POUNDS with all the maggots that hatch on their deceased forebears. If anyone wants to try a homegrown "medical device" I'll be glad to send you a jug.
  • I found it here. Wish I would've known about that a couple of years ago when we lived in the country and had a horse!
  • Huh. One less use I'll have for semen from now on.
  • Actually ABC news is a little slow on the scoop. They've been around again for a while. The previously posted link has MANY resources. CAUTION: some of the sites contain GRAPHIC images of open flesh wounds.
  • Working as a nurse, I came across the use of sterile maggots for wound debridement as far back as 1995. The only problem I had with it was, the physical therapist who decided to use the maggots did not have a doctors order or patient consent. he did not inform the nursing staff about his plans. One day, I arrived for my shift, and the nurse giving me report says * You have to come look at this, I think Mr. Patient's wound is infected and I think it is maggots in the wound* (this nurse was horrified). Sure enough, it was maggots. I called the doctor, he gave me orders to cleanse the wound and started him on antibiotics. I called the family, they were also disgusted and thought it was the nurses fault for not caring for the wounds. I had to talk fast and then try to figure out how a pefectly clean wound turned into a maggot infested wound overnight. My investigation found that it was the physical therapists acting on his own. He was oriental and stated * I didn't realize I needed to consult with the doctors or nurses before introducing sterile maggots to a wound, back home we are free to use sterile maggots without a problem.* His bad. For all our medical expertise in the USA, we are behind times for certains treatment modalities.
  • hurrp...belahhhowww *rumble* ferp!
  • Please tell me someone else has spent the past few hours singing "Well, well, well, you're feeling fine! Well, well, well, he'll make you.....Dr. Maggot!"
  • *wonders if the Japanese have maggot ice cream*