Can Maggots Heal Wounds Faster Than a Doctor? — Health Check
Hold on to your lunch. Maggots have been approved for use in
wound care in the US since 2004, but new studies are raising
questions about whether or not they actually help the wounds
heal or just do quick work while seeming kind of gross. Wounds
that don’t heal easily have to be treated to help make them
heal. Doctors usually do this by scraping them with a scalpel or
applying enzymes to remove dead tissue. This process of
debridement can also be done by maggots. The sterile maggots
secrete substances into wounds that liquify the dead tissue and
then they ingest the tissue and break it down as they digest it.
Some researchers believe the maggots might offer antibacterial
and healing benefits in addition to keeping the wound clean. One
French study compared patients during a two-week hospital stay.
Participants were blindfolded and either treated with a scalpel
or with a bag of maggots placed on the wound. They reported that
patients in the two group