Maggot Debridement Therapy

You may one day depend on this bug to save you from an even greater one. Maggot debridement therapy involves placing disinfected maggots (fly larvae) onto open wounds. The maggots efficiently eat up any necrotic tissue present, while leaving alone live healthy tissue. They also disinfect the wound by killing any harmful bacteria present. The therapy was commonly used in the 1930s and 1940s, but began to lose popularity following the advent of penicillin. However, with the emergence of antibiotic resistant "superbugs" such as MRSA, maggots are once again on the front lines, leaving no dead tissue behind.

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