1.What is maggot therapy?
Maggot therapy, also known as biological debridement, is a treatment measure that artificially and purposefully places live sterile maggots into unhealed skin or soft tissue wounds of humans or animals to remove necrotic tissue and pathogenic bacteria for the purpose of wound healing. The maggots used are usually the larvae of the silky fly.
2.Is maggot treatment safe?
Yes, at present, medical maggots are a special kind of fly species, which will not damage healthy tissues and will not stay inside the wound for a long time, nor will they turn into flies inside the wound.
3.Why is maggot treatment effective for chronic wound treatment?
Maggots can feed on necrotic tissue and wound exudate, which can facilitate the removal of pathogenic bacteria from the wound. The salivary glands and digestive secretions of maggots contain a variety of proteolytic enzymes and antibacterial substances; the mechanical stimulation of maggots crawling on the wound surface can also promote the growth of granulation tissue. Maggot therapy is effective for refractory diabetic foot ulcers. Combined with other treatments for decubitus ulcers, etc., the effect is also significant.
4.Do maggots lay eggs in the wound?
No. Only mature maggots can lay eggs after they pupate and then become flies. The maggots must be in a loose and dry environment (such as soil) before they can pupate.
5.Can I feel the maggots crawling on the surface of the wound during maggot treatment?
Many patients do not notice the presence of maggots on the wound surface, but some patients can feel the crawling of maggots. A growing maggot crawling on the skin or the edge of the wound can cause itching or pain. Some patients experience pain 1-2 days after maggot treatment, either because the maggots have grown and are crawling more forcefully over the exposed nerve surface or because there are more maggots crowding into a small space to grab food. If you experience itching or pain on the trauma during treatment, tell your doctor or nurse for help.
6.How long does maggot treatment usually take?
Maggot treatment takes 2-3 days at a time, and the number of treatments required varies from trauma to trauma. At the end of one treatment, your doctor will decide if you need another treatment based on the condition of your trauma. Some traumas will achieve their goal in one treatment, while some traumas will require two or more treatments. Treatment can be stopped when the wound is clean, dry and quiet with no signs of infection. At this point, even if maggots are treated, the maggots will be starved to death due to lack of nutrition on the trauma.
7.What do I need to pay attention to during maggot treatment?
During the treatment of maggots, attention should be paid to
91) The dressing used should not be too dry.
(2) Do not bathe during the treatment period to avoid drowning the maggots after wetting the dressing;
(3) Do not squeeze the wound being treated when sitting, lying down or walking, so as not to crush the maggots and affect the efficacy of treatment;
(4) Do not put the treated trauma facing the fire or heater, so as not to dry the dressing and dry the maggots to death.
8.What will happen to the wound and dressing during maggot treatment?
Oozing from the wound surface will increase during maggot treatment because the maggots secrete digestive fluid to break down the necrotic tissue into a semi-liquid form and then drink it into the digestive tract; the oozing from the wound surface also increases after being stimulated by the maggots. This fluid can be pink and turn brown when the dressing dries, all of which are normal. In some patients, during the first treatment, the odor of the trauma increases instead, which is due to the decomposition of a large amount of necrotic tissue by maggots. Generally speaking, the odor decreases or disappears during the second and subsequent treatments. When the maggots break down the proteins in the necrotic tissue, they produce a by-product, DDD ammonia, which can be smelled by some people with a good sense of smell.