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Maggot Therapy on Leg Ulcers Debrides Wounds Faster
By: Heather Hajek
Published: Sunday, 22 March 2009

Maggot therapy, while revolting to some, has proven to be just as effective as traditional hydrogel therapy when used to heal leg ulcers, and it is quicker removing dead tissue from the surface of the ulcer. Maggot therapy is not new, in fact, it has been used to treat wounds for over seven hundred years. However, there is now new research which compares the therapy’s effectiveness to the more traditional treatment for leg ulcers, hydrogel therapy.

To some, placing maggots in their body would be off limits, but there are some cases where this form of therapy or the more traditional hydrogel therapy may be necessary to save a patients hand, foot or limb, and the therapy could actually prevent amputation. Researchers at the University of York in the United Kingdom recently released results of a study in the British Medical Journal where they determined that maggot therapy was just as effective treating leg ulcers as the traditional hydrogel therapy and the maggots actually helped to remove the dead skin from the wounds faster than the gel. However, there were no real advantages noticed from faster debridement or removal of dead skin from the wounds, with wounds of both groups healing in similar lengths of time, and reports of bacteria being around the same.

More: http://www.healthnews.com/natural-health/alternative-medicine/maggot-therapy-leg-ulcers-debrides-wounds-faster-2835.html