SC - Re: SC: Use of Medicinal Leeches
Siegfried Heydrich
baronsig at peganet.com
Thu Sep 7 09:09:52 PDT 2000
In a message dated 9/7/00 8:23:30 AM US Mountain Standard Time,
tsersen at nni.com writes:
<< I wonder how good they are at reducing infections? Like, sucking out
infected
goo with the blood around a sutured wound in a pre-antibiotic era >>
No, actually, maggots were used for such things. The Leeches were good for
removing the "evil spirits and allowing the blood to flow" into the affected
area, but maggots were used to remove the dead tissue and infected masses.
This per a book I own called Crime and Punishment, The Medical History of
Torture. I don't even remember where I got it originally, I think a gift
(don't ask about my friends, they're scary). Years ago, about 1960, my mom
had very badly ulcerated legs due to a blood disorder. The doctors at
Letterman General Hospital got special permission to try various methods of
treatment and leave one ucler as control (the disease she had is very, very
rare). So, being the military smart fool the doctor was, he used various
creams, oxygen blasts, ointments, and in one case sterile maggots born in the
lab. Three days later they removed the maggots and had a spotlessly clean
wound which they then used ointments on and covered.It never became infected
and it healed two weeks faster than any of the others. No significant
scarring. However, when the doc wrote up his findings he was told by the
hospital board that he was derranged to have wanted to try it, that it
sounded torturous, and that such practices "went out in the middle ages".
Basically, he was censured for using the technique. Consequently, I don't
believe it was ever attempted again at that hospital. But I do know that
years later I read where a baby was badly burned and the maggots were used to
control the infections that happen with severe burn cases. It was during this
time I got the book from my friends. In it, it says that the maggots were
never used as torture, but actually by the medical staff that was called in
to keep the patient alive and "vigorous of health and free of disease" to
"endure continued questioning". I imagine in some cases that such "treatment"
prolonged the torture, but I also imagine that in some cases it might have
assisted in surviving the torture by some.
FYI.
Lars
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