Monday, January 30, 2006

THE UPSIDE OF MAGGOTS — by Steve Nadis

Calling someone a maggot is about the worst thing you can call him. (Or perhaps, in deference to our female readers, I should say “the worst thing you can call him or HER.”) But that’s really unfair. Not only to the person you’re calling a maggot but to maggots themselves. There are thousands of species of maggot (fly larvae), and they are among them most maligned creatures on the face of the Earth.

But wait a minute. Maggots are good, as was recently explained to me by a friend who works for Boston Emergency Medical Services (EMS), because they “clean out necrotic tissue,” as he put it. He’s right: It’s called “maggot therapy” or Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT), if you want to get technical–”the medical use of live maggots to clean non-healing wounds,” according to the website of the Maggot Therapy Project at the University of California, Irvine. “Medicinal maggots have three actions: 1) they debride (clean) wounds by dissolving the dead (necrotic), infected tissue; 2) they disinfect the wound, by killing bacteria; and 3) they stimulate wound healing. Historically, maggots have been known for centuries to help heal wounds. Many military surgeons noted that soldiers whose wounds became infested with maggots did better — and had a much lower mortality rate — than did soldiers with similar wounds not infested…”

So you see, my friend’s right. Maggots are good. And the next time you’re thinking of calling someone a maggot, take a second to reflect. Then choose your words wisely. Are you trying to insult this person, or praise him? Or her? (Again, we don’t want to slight any women readers who might also be called maggots from time to time.)

Posted by Snake in 15:44:51
Comments

10 Responses

  1. DrMax says:
    January 30, 2006 at 4:08 pm

    Hello Johnson & Johnson marketing…..Band-Aid brand healing strips, now with live maggots!

  2. Snake says:
    January 30, 2006 at 4:17 pm

    It’s a sure winner, Doc. Have I told you recently that you’re a genius? And how shall we split the profits?

  3. Anonymous says:
    January 30, 2006 at 6:41 pm

    zardoz says :

    YOU racist , you

    whatabout da liccheessss

    hav yo no respect for de lleeeecchheesss

    XM..cansomeone be racist between leeches and maggots.?

    xm i wonder..

    ..zardoz

  4. Snake says:
    January 30, 2006 at 10:01 pm

    You’re right, Z, leeches have a bad rep. too & are worthy of a blog post at the very least…

  5. Flubberwinkle says:
    January 31, 2006 at 3:47 am

    That’s a whole lotta healthy dead people six feet under.

  6. MsAmber says:
    January 31, 2006 at 9:50 am

    Ha ha ha ha ha.. A whole lot of healthy dead people.
    You crack me up Flubberwinkle.
    MsAmber

  7. Snake says:
    January 31, 2006 at 10:05 am

    You’re right; that is a good one.

  8. Windfall Woman says:
    January 31, 2006 at 8:36 pm

    ummmmm….gag. You need to post a warning for those of us with weak stomachs before a post like this. Like……WARNING….STOMACH TURNING POST……STP…

  9. Snake says:
    January 31, 2006 at 10:00 pm

    You’re right WFW. Maybe I need a more general warning like STOMACH TURNING BLOG. TURN BACK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

  10. Wakfu Kamas says:
    March 6, 2009 at 9:30 am

    this blog looks great,i hope i can read your article very soon.

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