Health

"Essence of Maggot" Ointment to Heal Wounds Faster?

by Barbara McPherson | June 5, 2009 at 09:41 am

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Caregivers have long observed that maggots infesting a wound actually promote healing while reducing the chances of infection. Many hospitals now breed maggots expressly for this purpose. While for many, this therapy is stomach churning, it has proved to be effective.
There were many theories as to why the maggots proved to be so effective in speeding healing, now researchers working at the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy have answered the question. They have isolated an enzyme produced by the maggots that helps remove decaying tissue(which the maggots eat) and preventing the establishment of bacteria infections.

Today hospitals around the world breed selected fly larvae in sterile environments. These "medical maggots" are applied directly to wounds such as ulcers and burns, which are otherwise difficult to heal.

There is no question that the somewhat grim technique works. But how maggot therapy heals has long been a matter of debate.

The secret, according to a new study, is in a fluid secreted by the maggots to help them consume decaying tissue.

We have produced an enzyme from the maggot fluid with the capacity to remove decaying tissue from the wound, giving the underlying tissue a better chance to heal," said David Pritchard, a researcher working on the project at the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy in the U.K.

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JeffHuang

at 11:44 on June 5th, 2009

ohh man. Im not so sure about Maggot therapy just yet. I dont think i'd enjoy maggots crawling all over my wounds.

Very intersting though.

Tina Kells

at 14:09 on June 5th, 2009

I think this is ew, but I also think I have heard of this before. It sounds so gross but if it works, I say do it.

amyjudd

at 14:48 on June 5th, 2009

As long as I didn't know I was putting essence of maggot on my skin I might be able to handle this.

Blue Crush

at 15:10 on June 5th, 2009

Sure, get cured physically, and have nightmares of maggots crawling all over you for the rest of you life ...

sara star

at 15:24 on June 5th, 2009

Makes sense to me....

Roy C

at 16:09 on June 5th, 2009

Very interesting how ancient healers' observations, even of the most bizarre kind, turn out to have a legitimate basis.

Mud does help with bee sting and a steak does help your bruised eye heal faster. Honey does work on that multiple resistant strain of infectious bacteria, and aspirin and digitalis came right out of herbalists' repertoire.

sara star

at 08:41 on June 6th, 2009

Remember you must be a happy maggot or it won't work, if you are using live maggots... Ha ha.

The maggot scavengers compete successfully with bacteria, even with antibiotic resistant strains—as long as the environment is to their liking.

"There is still an art to medicine, and there's very much an art to using maggots," Church said. "You must have a happy, hungry maggot or you will get no results. The environment on the wound must be what they would naturally seek out in nature."

Ticklish Situation

Most patients feel nothing during treatment, but some do feel tickling or itching, like a crawling on the skin.

"A few patients have described discomfort or outright pain once the maggots become large, probably due to them crawling over nerves or squeezing into tight crevices," Sherman said. "Pain is controlled with simple pills, or the maggots can be removed early and the pain disappears immediately."

By the second and third day the wound oozes, becoming a bit sloppy and smelly. However, the process never lasts more than 72 hours.

Phil Rayner (not verified)

at 08:20 on July 8th, 2009

My old granny was a village healer in deepest Essex during the 1920's. I remember vividly her applying maggots to Grandads badly infected ear that he had ripped on some birbed wire. A few days later the infection had cleared. When asked about this, she replied that the use of maggots had been known for generations by country healers and was nothing new.