Those Damn Maggots

So when you saw this week's title what did you think I would be writing about? Maybe the wealth redistribution of the current administration or the nanny state policies of the liberal democrats. Or was it the blood sucking lawyers or perhaps those parasites in our country that suck the system dry without producing anything. Well it is none those. I am actually writing about a patient so if you have a weak stomach (you know who you are) do not read any further.

At the beginning of the week I received a consult on a patient to evaluate a situation described by the nurse that when she was suctioning the patient see saw something crawling out of the patient's nose, It was sent to be identified and was determined to be maggots. FYI maggots are the early stage of flies similar to a caterpillar and a butterfly. So the fly lays its eggs in someone's nose and it develops into maggots which eventually become flies. Maggots feed off dead tissue so the eggs are laid on a corpse or rarely on dead human tissue such as a bed sore or cancerous regions which have caused tissue death. In fact, some believe in using maggots purposely to clean dead tissue in a would since they will rid the dead tissue and preserve the healthy tissue.

Well, I never treated a patient with nasal maggots so I googled maggots in nose. Believe it or not you can see videos of maggots being removed from peoples noses. I have pasted the links below if you have any interest. Isn't the internet great? When I went to see the patient I couldn't identify any more maggots in his nose and I suspect this was because his nose was healthy and there was nothing for the maggots to feed on so they left. So that ended my maggot consult.

I started thinking how much one would pay to have maggots removed from their nose. I think the insurance company would pay me less if I had to remove them surgically versus what a plumber would receive relieving a blocked toilet, although that is pretty important too. I think the exterminator gets paid more to spray my house and definitely the eradication of bed bugs would be more profitable. Come on, if you had maggots crawling in your nose is there any price I can quote that you would not pay to have them removed?

I was originally going to write about something else this week but I coudn't resist sharing this experience. I realize it may not appeal to some, so sorry. Enjoy the videos. (paste into tool bar)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=87f_1249968683
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXzFDtxp-Vk