# Healing with maggots! (gross)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 7, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335 "2002-04-07T17:29:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335/1 "2002-04-07T17:29:20Z")

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And I thought leeches were gross…

[Maggot medicine gains popularity](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1907000/1907065.stm)

Also, is that _really_ some kind of bizarre British mega-maggot in the picture, or did they just get lazy and use a file photo of a leech?

Oh, this may be the most disgusting quote on Earth:

> [@](#):
>
> Mr Hughes said: “It’s just like a maggot sandwich.”

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335/2 "2002-04-07T17:49:08Z")

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I don’t know what that hand is holding up in the picture (looks like an earthworm to me), but the article says:

> [@](#):
>
> Maggots are available on the NHS and are the size of a salt granule when applied initially to a wound but grow to about a quarter of an inch when full of dead skin.

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**Author:** ![orion007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@orion007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orion007)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335/3 "2002-04-07T23:09:01Z")

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I think the quote **Arnold Winkelried** has there is pretty disgusting too :eek:

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**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335/4 "2002-04-07T23:58:33Z")

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Yes, hmm. Well.

Er…

Sandwich, you say?

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**Author:** ![\_your\_name\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/919ad9/32.png) [@\_your\_name\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_your_name_here)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335/5 "2002-04-08T00:43:41Z")

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hm…sandwich.

i’ll take mine with some butter.

and a dash of salt, please.

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**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335/6 "2002-04-08T02:20:34Z")

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Yeah, they were used purposely in some field hospitals in the US Civil War and WWI after doctors saw how effective and selective they were.

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**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/healing-with-maggots-gross/102335/7 "2002-04-08T05:39:46Z")

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That picture is definitely not a maggot. Maggots are small, about the size of a grain of rice, and light-colored. And the gross-out factor aside, they really do work.