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Stopping wound infection with maggots?


MrZombifiedGamer

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Okay, so I heard this was a common thing back in the day. (No idea if there's any truth to it.) But this seems far too convenient. So here's what I'm thinking.

 

Not everyone would know about this because I certainly didn't. But perhaps a skilled first aid worker could think of it. So my suggestion is once your first aid gets high enough you have the ability to learn how to use maggots to treat wounds in order to prevent infection. Eh? Ehhh? Ehhhhh? Or maybe stop infection entirely. What do you think?

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I know that this is a rumor and it does more harm than help. But people do use leaches to stop blood loss after surgery or major wounds. That could possibly work. But the maggots is a rumor...

no, maggot therapy is not a rumor. but it does have very specific wounds in which it is actually even considered.

 

"In maggot debridement therapy, germ-free ("disinfected") larvae of therapeutic fly species ("medical grade maggots") are used to treat and manage wounds in a procedure known as "maggot therapy." The maggots are applied to the wound for 2 or 3 days within special dressings to keep the maggots from migrating. Since medicinal maggots can not dissolve or feed on healthy tissue, their natural instinct is to crawl elsewhere as soon as the wounds are clean, or the larvae are satiated.

The scientific literature identifies three primary actions of medical grade maggots on wounds:

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I know that this is a rumor and it does more harm than help. But people do use leaches to stop blood loss after surgery or major wounds. That could possibly work. But the maggots is a rumor...

no, maggot therapy is not a rumor. but it does have very specific wounds in which it is actually even considered.

 

"In maggot debridement therapy, germ-free ("disinfected") larvae of therapeutic fly species ("medical grade maggots") are used to treat and manage wounds in a procedure known as "maggot therapy." The maggots are applied to the wound for 2 or 3 days within special dressings to keep the maggots from migrating. Since medicinal maggots can not dissolve or feed on healthy tissue, their natural instinct is to crawl elsewhere as soon as the wounds are clean, or the larvae are satiated.

The scientific literature identifies three primary actions of medical grade maggots on wounds:

 

......... well i guess i wont be getting any sleep for the next few days. Anyway doubt they are in west point let alone america. 

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I know that this is a rumor and it does more harm than help. But people do use leaches to stop blood loss after surgery or major wounds. That could possibly work. But the maggots is a rumor...

no, maggot therapy is not a rumor. but it does have very specific wounds in which it is actually even considered.

 

"In maggot debridement therapy, germ-free ("disinfected") larvae of therapeutic fly species ("medical grade maggots") are used to treat and manage wounds in a procedure known as "maggot therapy." The maggots are applied to the wound for 2 or 3 days within special dressings to keep the maggots from migrating. Since medicinal maggots can not dissolve or feed on healthy tissue, their natural instinct is to crawl elsewhere as soon as the wounds are clean, or the larvae are satiated.

The scientific literature identifies three primary actions of medical grade maggots on wounds:

 

......... well i guess i wont be getting any sleep for the next few days. Anyway doubt they are in west point let alone america. 

 

why no sleep? its just nature, been happening for centuries, maybe even millenia. its not like some of the stuff i see on the show "Monsters inside me". now THAT can make you lose sleep. but thats a topic for a different thread

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Although maggots have been used for centuries to clean wounds, I think its beyond the capabilities(not the right word) of the average modern human.

 

personally if I had an ugly wound and no hope of professional medical attention, I'd try cleaning it up with alcohol and boiled water first. maybe even cutting out the rot myself if I was feeling brave (desparate).

 

in fact there are so many things I would try first before letting maggots in to it.

 

boiled water, whiskey, wine, vinegar, orange soda, sulfur powder, salt, a hot sharp knife, a hot sharp stick, black current jam, any of these things before maggots.

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Okay, so I heard this was a common thing back in the day. (No idea if there's any truth to it.) But this seems far too convenient. So here's what I'm thinking.

 

Not everyone would know about this because I certainly didn't. But perhaps a skilled first aid worker could think of it. So my suggestion is once your first aid gets high enough you have the ability to learn how to use maggots to treat wounds in order to prevent infection. Eh? Ehhh? Ehhhhh? Or maybe stop infection entirely. What do you think?

So wasn't blood letting, but ask George Washington how that worked out for him. This does not seem like a good idea. Flies are extremley dirty and I think it would cause more harm then good.

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This is much more common than you would think, I know someone who works as a nurse for the NHS, she specialises in treating bedsores and also maggot therapy. While I admit it does sound icky, when its a choice between maggot therapy or getting a limb amputated, patients usually (note: always in her experience) choose the maggots.

Plus they only eat necrotic tissue and apparently you dont even feel the maggots. The maggots that are crawling over you, eating you...

However in the context of the game though, I think that most players would just laugh at the prospect of medical maggots. Plus I doubt the character in game would be able to tell the difference between regular and medical maggots.

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Okay, so I heard this was a common thing back in the day. (No idea if there's any truth to it.) But this seems far too convenient. So here's what I'm thinking.

 

Not everyone would know about this because I certainly didn't. But perhaps a skilled first aid worker could think of it. So my suggestion is once your first aid gets high enough you have the ability to learn how to use maggots to treat wounds in order to prevent infection. Eh? Ehhh? Ehhhhh? Or maybe stop infection entirely. What do you think?

So wasn't blood letting, but ask George Washington how that worked out for him. This does not seem like a good idea. Flies are extremley dirty and I think it would cause more harm then good.

 

 

You have a good point. Poor Washington. If only they were more modern doctors he could have survived. 

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Just add new item "Maggot" into the game, similar to the worm, give them the correct punishment for trying to eat them (Why would you even try?!) and let people experiment on what they can do with them, including the "applying to deep wound for disinfection".

 

Obviously, those will spawn in huge clumps on every dead body that's been there for longer than a few days. Your character should feel "queasy" approaching those corpses (more reason to clean your base!), and an inexperienced character (Maybe add a new trait that makes people "more terrified of gross stuff") will probably feel sick even attempting to take maggots into their inventory.

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