I saw this National Geographic video today and was totally grossed out. It shows maggots being placed into an open wound on a woman in an American hospital as part of medical treatment. At several points I actually put my hands over my face and shuddered at the grossness of it!
According to the National Geographic website only a few species of fly larvae, primarily blowflies, are suitable for such duty. Five to ten maggots are placed on each square centimeter (0.2 square inch) of a wound, which is then covered with a protective dressing that allows the maggots to breath. For the next 48 to 72 hours, the maggots dissolve dead tissue by secreting digestive juices and then ingesting the liquefied tissue and bacteria. The maggots grow from about two millimeters (0.08 inch) to nearly ten millimeters (0.4 inch) in the process.
Gross!!!
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Wrote the following comment on May 20, 2007 at 10:50 am
This is pretty gross. However back in the olden days (what a phrase!) they used to have all sorts of treatments like this. I remember our history teacher once saying about the disinfectant properties of turmeric. Apparently soliders used to carry it in the war and rub it onto any wounds that they or they colleagues had as it acts like disinfectant cleaning the wound. I guess this is just another one of those age old remedies that technology has made us forget about!
Although it was a little gross, it wasn’t that bad Simon! They are only maggots :)
Wrote the following comment on May 20, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Is this a new tactic?… by making your bloggees feel violently sick, you think they will come back!!
Er.. still debating on whether to watch it… breakfast first i think!
Wrote the following comment on May 20, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I think my girlfriend had to change one of these maggot dressings recently.
Wrote the following comment on May 20, 2007 at 10:45 pm
The video was certainly was upto my taste. Really strange and quite gross.
And Mark, that thing that you said about turmeric hasn’t still been lost by mankind. It’s an extremely common thing back here in India. Here almost everybody knows that.
Wrote the following comment on May 20, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Oh good LORD! That’s just wrong! Can’t you blog about Paris Hilton like everyone else?
Wrote the following comment on May 21, 2007 at 12:09 am
It’s disgusting, and repulsive.. and yet I kept watching! I kind of want to know if that poor lady could feel the maggots squirming. That sort of thing is what nightmares are made of…(bleh! shudder)
Wrote the following comment on May 21, 2007 at 3:44 am
Eeeeew …
I am not sure if I’d be willing to try them to cure me if I am ill, though.
Wrote the following comment on May 21, 2007 at 9:20 am
You know what is most shocking? I’m no longer shocked by people being that obese! Perhaps they can genetically engineer maggots that eat fat.
Wrote the following comment on May 21, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I was shocked at how fat she was too. How can anyone become that fat? Suicide by a million burgers!