How to Treat Wounds With Maggots

Maggots are commonly thought of as low, disgusting life forms. Yet surprisingly enough, these creepy, crawly critters which hatch from the eggs of the blow fly have a medicinal use which can help to clean and disinfect wounds while speeding up healing. The practice is known as either maggot therapy or maggot debridement therapy. Clinical trials at the Long Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California showed that maggot therapy remains a useful tool in treating certain types of wounds (such as those which are not healing or wounds in which skin is dying).

Things You'll Need

• Doctor's prescription
• Medical Maggots
• Special dressings

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Instructions

• 1

  Obtain a prescription. Monarch Labs are the exclusive supplier of medical maggots, which require a prescription in the United States. These maggots are specially selected and disinfected in preparation to apply them to a wound with a special dressing.

• 2

  Check with insurance to see if the procedure is covered. If it is not, you may need to negotiate the medical fee,

• 3

  Apply the maggots. Gather them onto a sterile and moistened gauze pad. Place on the wound and cover with a loose gauze dressing to prevent them from escaping.

• 4

  Remove the dressing after 48 hours. Loosen the dressing and peel it back from the patient's skin while using a wet gauze pad to wipe up the remaining maggots. Discard the maggots as infectious materials, securely double bagging them to prevent escape.

• 5

  Reapply a fresh maggot dressing. Sometimes it may only take 2 to 3 days for the maggots to clean the wound adequately, enabling the wound to be closed or a skin graft applied. In other cases, several courses of maggot debridement may be necessary.