Sick! What's next leechs and a good bleeding???

**Airencracken** · 02-21-2004, 06:54 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - British doctors will be able to prescribe maggots to NHS patients with infected wounds from Friday onwards, a hospital official said.

He said the National Health Service had realized maggots were a cheaper and more beneficial way of treating wounds than using conventional medicine.

Patients would be able to treat themselves at home and avoid the possibility of picking up a hospital infection.
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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...lth_maggots_dc

I'll take the amoxicillin thanks...

**wxtwiztidxc** · 02-21-2004, 07:17 PM

Originally posted by Airencracken
He said the National Health Service had realized maggots were a cheaper and more beneficial way of treating wounds than using conventional medicine.

I think i would rather stick to that 'conventional medicine' and let the insuarance company take care of the bill.

**Bires** · 02-21-2004, 07:44 PM

Originally posted by Airencracken
Sick! What's next leechs and a good bleeding???

Actually, leeches are very useful for drawing blood flow to an injured area of the body. They are still used in surgery today. When leeches suck blood, they release an enzyme to reduce clotting. Because this is a biologically-targetted chemical, it tends to be less destructive to near-by tissue than injected drugs.

**JackHammer** · 02-21-2004, 09:37 PM

I'm all for maggots and leeches.

**Windsor** · 02-22-2004, 12:04 AM

Anyone experienced this personally? Sounds like it'd be pretty nice to just have all that nasty looking stuff eaten away by a maggot. Wonder if its painful?

**Kevster** · 02-22-2004, 01:40 AM

Maggots can be used effectively to remove dead tissue from a wound before something much nastier - namely gangrene - can set in.

EDIT: Here's a link to a National Geographic article on the subject: Maggot Medicine

**brain** · 02-22-2004, 01:52 AM

I think I would pass out if I had to put some maggots on one of my open wounds and watch them chow down. If I were sedated, I probably wouldn't have too much of an issue with it.

**look_ma** · 02-22-2004, 05:51 AM

I saw this same thing on TLC like a year ago. This guy's foot was rotting (the underside of the foot). Once a day a nurse came by and took out the old maggots and put in new ones. They did a close up of the maggots on his foot swimming in puss, I must say that was so freaking disgusting. I am all for using maggots and waht not, but it is still nasty.

**Kim** · 02-22-2004, 08:16 AM

I should think maggots would hurt less than having a debridement done.

**nickel** · 02-22-2004, 09:07 AM

Originally posted by Kim
I should think maggots would hurt less than having a debridement done.

yeh, disgusting as it sounds i'd do it if warranted.

**Windsor** · 02-22-2004, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by Kim
I should think maggots would hurt less than having a debridement done.

Whats a debridement?

**brain** · 02-22-2004, 04:26 PM

Originally posted by Windsor

Whats a debridement?

I'm gonna go with deflowering. Or... devirginizing.

**Kim** · 02-22-2004, 05:01 PM

It's where they cut or scrape away the necrotic tissue.

**Windsor** · 02-22-2004, 06:41 PM

oh wonderful! i can do that to myself!! bring on the maggots

**ShawnLee** · 02-22-2004, 07:37 PM

Dude. I can't even think about maggots. I once used a port-a-potty on a beach in Hawaii that hadn't been cleaned in what seemed like forever. Suffice it to say that as soon as I puked into the huge pile, maggots covered it within seconds and I felt sick for the rest of the day.