The most disgusting myiasis in history

The following content may make you feel physically uncomfortable, so please be cautious before reading. Subcutaneous myiasis is a relatively common skin disease. This disease often occurs in pastoral areas. The pathogen of myiasis is mainly a parasite, which can directly enter the human skin or hair, hatch into larvae, and drill into the skin, causing great harm to the skin.

The cause of cutaneous myiasis is a parasitic disease of maggots which originates from livestock such as cattle and horses and can also infect humans. There are many types of flies that cause this disease. Those recorded in Chinese literature include the cow skin fly (Qinghai), the pattern fly (Shenyang, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), and the Chen's rare fly (Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region). Depending on the different parasitic sites, it can be divided into: intestinal myiasis; eye, ear, nose and oral myiasis; wound myiasis; vaginal and urethral myiasis; skin myiasis.

There are three types of parasitism:

1. Maggots lay eggs directly on human skin, hair, or clothing. When the eggs hatch into larvae, they can penetrate the skin and cause subcutaneous myiasis.

2. When flies suck human blood, they enter the skin through the wound of certain mosquitoes (such as human skin flies)

3. Directly lay eggs in skin wounds or skin ulcers and live in rotting tissues (such as horse flies and flesh flies), which is called traumatic myiasis

Clinical manifestations of cutaneous myiasis: Before the appearance of skin lesions, patients often feel general discomfort, such as mild fever, headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, insomnia, numbness of the limbs, and burning, tingling and itching of the local skin.

1. After several months of furunculosis infection, a migratory wheal-like lump of normal skin color or red color appears on the skin, about the size of an apricot kernel, protruding above the skin surface and deep under the skin. The lump gradually increases in size, the itching intensifies, and you may feel a crawling sensation of worms. The lump is often movable. After about one to several days, the lesion increases in size and the swelling intensifies. Purple-red bloody blisters appear in the center. After rupturing, larvae (maggots) and a small amount of yellow mucus or pus are discharged. After about 2 to 3 days, the inflammation gradually subsides and scars are left after healing. They are generally more common in loose skin areas. The number varies and can be as many as more than ten, and they often occur in batches. It often occurs on the shoulder blades, chest, abdomen, waist, buttocks, and can also be seen near the eyelids or lips. It often occurs in one place and then heals, then appears again in another place.

2. The skin of the serpiginous type appears as a zigzag line of redness and swelling with a blister at the end. This is a sign of larval activity, and the larvae are located in front of the blister.

There is currently no specific treatment for myiasis . Generally, the larvae are discharged on their own, or the tumor is squeezed to encourage the larvae to be discharged. After discharge, chloroform is used to flush the internal organs of the tumor, or 2% procaine is used for local anesthesia, and then the larvae are removed by incision. Chloroquine 0.25g can be tried, twice a day for 2 to 3 weeks or ethodiol carbamazine (Haizan) 0.2g, 3 times a day, a total of 14 days as a course of treatment. Antibiotics can be used if there is secondary infection.

Take antihistamines or prednisone orally to relieve itching, pain, reduce systemic reactions, and reduce the effect of blood eosinophils. Use anti-inflammatory and antipruritic lotions topically.

For local treatment in traditional Chinese medicine, you can use a bamboo knife to cut the wound, and then apply the juice squeezed from loofah leaves to the wound. After the maggots are out, the wound will be healed. You can also apply Baijiangdan locally and then apply a black cloth instead of poison ointment. After the wound breaks, use Baijiangdan to twist the tunnel to kill the maggots, and then compress them to remove them.