Issue Date: July 8, 2007
A can of worms
Believe it or not, they may be a treatment option for wounds.
This "blast from the past" might have a place in our medical future.
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Wound care clinics use a wide array of therapies to treat patients' wounds that have failed to respond to simpler therapies. Experts use powerful antibiotics with cleansing solutions to rid a wound of organisms that impede its healing. But in spite of newer, more powerful treatment regimens, chronic wounds continue to be a problem for many.
In an effort to combat the problem, some specialists have turned back the clock, seeking help from, of all things, maggots. That's right. Fly larvae.
One thing prompting this development has been the rise in the number of bacteria resistant to previously useful antibiotics. Larvae can eliminate these bacteria by consuming them, so resistance isn't an issue. They generally are applied for up to three days, so an added benefit may be that irritated wounds can be left alone longer than with traditional care.
Of course, using worms to clean up wounds does have its downside. For starters, there's the "yuck factor" of the way a wound looks when it is treated with worms. To address this, companies have created pre-made poultices that enclose the wound area to improve the appearance. Another drawback is that some patients have reported pain from being treated with larvae.
But the creatures tend to improve a wound's odor and promote better healing, and side effects seem to be few. This "blast from the past" just might have a place in our medical future.
Tedd Mitchell, M.D., president and medical director of Dallas' Cooper Clinic, writes HealthSmart every week.
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