Posted on 04/27/2005 8:55:52 AM PDT by ShadowAce
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Doctors found around 50 maggots in the ears of an 84-year-old Thai man after he went to hospital complaining of an itch.
Wednesday's Nation newspaper said Anan Temtan, who lives in the tsunami-hit southern resort island of Phuket, had used cotton buds to relieve the itching, but had scratched so hard his eardrums ruptured and started bleeding.
"We believe flies might have gone inside his ears to lay eggs, which hatched into larvae and caused the itching," said Somsak Nonthasri, the doctor who treated him.
Somsak, who used tweezers and a small suction device to remove the maggots, said Anan would be kept in for observation for a while to make sure no more eggs hatched.
I had to post this due to subject, and the name of the town.
I'm having to scratch my scalp, as my head started itching while I was reading this.
EEEEWWWW! Makes me want to scratch, too. I can handle a lot of gross things but that's just too gross!
10 or 20 I could see, but 50!
Personally I've never had more than a couple of dozen.....
I just had to ping you on this one!
Believe it or not, maggots are useful in medicine. They only feed on rotting or dead flesh, and can be used to clean gangrenous wounds to pristine conditions. Leeches are also used for certain procedures requiring increased or restored circulation.
LOL...Phuket! LOL
I know, but having them in your ear without medical supervision?
And to think I always passed off the itching in my ears to a low-grade infection...
I suspect they would fly away as soon as they were finished with their job and matured. Still, you're right, it's ICKY. they must have been tiny for there to be so many of them.
He'd make it easy if you took him fishing. Live bait bucket.
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