A Treatment Fit to Make the Skin Crawl
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British doctors will be able to prescribe maggots to patients with infected wounds, a hospital official said.
Tony Fowler, a manager at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, Wales, said the National Health Service realized that maggots were a cheaper and more beneficial means of treating wounds than using conventional medicine. Patients would be able to treat themselves at home and avoid the possibility of picking up a hospital infection.
Maggots have been used for centuries to rid wounds of decaying flesh, but after the discovery of antibiotics their use declined.
“People didn’t like the thought of creepy-crawlies on their skin,” Fowler said. “But now there is a renewed interest because of the problems caused by the overuse of antibiotics.”
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