It feels disgusting to even think of having maggots in an infected wound. Maggots are commonly seen in animal wounds, but mere imagination of having maggots in wounds in live human beings is spine chilling. As a matter of fact, human wounds too can get infected with these fly larvae.

There are various kinds of maggots found in wounds and can be distinguished based on their size and color. Majority of them appear like worms, measuring 1-30 mm in length. They are limbless, headless, and equipped with special hooks that help them lodge in the open wound till pupation.

Development of maggots inside an infected wound is medically termed as ‘Myiasis’. Quite horrifyingly, this condition can occur in any part of the body, like eyes, ears, mouth, genitalia, forehead, nose, intestines, anus, sinuses, and even the genitalia. The symptoms of infestation of a wound with maggots depend largely on the site of infection. For instance, if such a wound is present inside the nose, the patient may experience severe headache, edema, and high fever. On other hand, any such infection in intestines may lead to severe stomach ache, diarrhea, and other severe complications of the gastrointestinal tract. Maggots in open wounds on the skin may lead to a severe rash outburst.

Maggots develop in large numbers in wounds, when an infected wound is not properly taken care of and is often exposed to unhygienic conditions. This is very common in diabetic and cancer patients who develop lesions quite frequently. Maggot infestation of wounds requires immediate medical attention as the condition tends to get worsened every day. Picking out maggots from the wound using forceps after applying local anesthesia is a common form of treatment. The wound is thereafter cleaned and bandaged. Another way is to use 100 percent pure petroleum jelly and/or turpentine oil on the infested area to kill the maggots by blocking their supply of oxygen.

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