ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Maggot therapy

Maggot therapy is when tiny little bugs called maggots are used to help heal wounds. Here’s how it works:

First, a grown-up doctor or nurse will collect the maggots from a special laboratory where they’re grown. The maggots used for this kind of therapy are special because they’re very clean and only eat unhealthy tissue. They don’t eat the healthy parts of your body!

Once the doctor has the maggots, they’ll take them to a hospital or clinic where they’ll put them in a special kind of bag. This bag is called a “debridement” bag, and it keeps the maggots from escaping while they’re doing their work.

When the bag is ready, the doctor or nurse will put it on your wound. The maggots will crawl out of the bag, and start munching on any unhealthy tissue in your wound. As they eat, they’re also cleaning your wound by getting rid of any germs or bacteria that might be there.

You might be worried that maggots could hurt you, but don’t worry! They don’t have teeth, so they can’t bite you. And even though it might sound yucky to have bugs crawling around on your body, it doesn’t hurt at all!

After a few days, the doctor or nurse will remove the bag and the maggots. By then, your wound will be much cleaner and healthier. This means it will be easier for your body to heal the wound on its own.

So, to sum it all up: maggot therapy is like having tiny little bugs eat away any unhealthy parts of a wound, which helps the wound heal faster. It might seem scary at first, but it doesn’t hurt, and it can actually be really helpful for people who have trouble healing from wounds.