this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2024
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Dr 4Chan's Medical Advice (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/greentext
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[–] [email protected] 73 points 5 months ago (1 children)

i mean, as part of my job, i routinely take area hospitals medical grade leeches. it's not like they ever stopped being used by doctors.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago (6 children)

Why would you use a leech instead of a needle or something? What are they for

[–] starman2112 51 points 5 months ago

Not OP, but apparently they're useful for when you want a continuous, slow drain of blood. The ones they breed for hospitals don't carry disease, so you can just kinda plonk it onto the spot that you want blood out of, and replace it when it gets full

[–] [email protected] 47 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Wait until you find out what they still use maggots for...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

what the fuck? why do they use that?

[–] can 21 points 5 months ago (1 children)

They're really good at eating dead rotting flesh?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

like dead body's?

[–] can 19 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Nope:

Maggot therapy involves the use of maggots of the green-bottle fly, which are introduced into a wound to remove necrotic, sloughy and/or infected tissue. Maggots can also be used to maintain a clean wound after debridement if a particular wound is considered prone to re-sloughing.

Doctors and tissue viability specialists who have found that maggots are able to cleanse wounds much more rapidly than conventional dressings have reintroduced the technique into modern medicine.

They physically feed on dead tissue and release special chemicals into the wound that break down dead tissue into a liquid form that the maggot can easily remove and digest. The feeding maggot also takes up bacteria, during this process, which are then destroyed within their gut. It is an effective process that the larvae can often clean a wound within a few days.

Source

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

does it tickle when they eat you

[–] can 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

As per above source:

Most people are unaware of the maggots presence, although a small number of patients claim that they can feel the maggots moving but only describe this as a tickling sensation

Some other good FAQs:

Will Maggots bury into healthy tissue?
The maggots used in wound management will not attack or bury into healthy tissue, they only remove dead tissue.

Will the maggots multiply in my wound?
Only adult flies can lay eggs, so the maggots cannot reproduce or multiply within the wound.

Where do the maggots come from? Maggots are produced in a special unit by highly trained staff at Biomonde, a company with many years of experience in wound management.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

heartwarming

[–] Goldmage263 5 points 5 months ago

Definitely woundworming and not heartworming

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Burn victims

[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago

It's less about the blood they suck out and more about their saliva. It's a natural anticoagulant.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Amputation sites I think? The suction attracts blood flow to the area and supports healing/retention of blood vessels... I think. Neither one of us clearly can be bothered googling but that's what I recall...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

google makes things too easy. great thinks were thunked back in the day where people had nothing but their own minds to consult.

[–] Goldmage263 4 points 5 months ago

And bad thunks are thinked just as much now as then. Truly the worst of times

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

For skin grafts after burns; the leeches' saliva has anticoagulants that helps blood flow through the microvasculature (tiny blood vessels) of the area. This helps promote growth of new blood vessels, as well as improve the health of the current blood vessels in the area.

TLDR: Helps tiny blood vessels in skin grafts (and other procedures), reduces failure of said skin grafts

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

If anybody's wondering if there aren't more modern medicines and treatments...

Yes, but leeches are cheap and does the job just fine

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Others have already mentioned limb reattachment and anticoagulants, but if you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend a book called Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures. Leeches, mosquitoes, bedbugs, and vampire bats are fascinating!