In the second Episode of House of the Dragon, a scene with King Viserys may have looked like something out of the Dark Ages. But the medical technique used is actually still employed today. Viewers were most likely surprised when Viserys inserted his rotting finger into a bowl full of maggots. It is still a commonly used method for cleaning out wounds.
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In House of the Dragon, we see two different medical treatments for two different conditions. In Episode 1, King Viserys has bedsores on his back, and his master suggests leeches as a treatment. However, in Episode 2, we see a necrotic finger treated with maggots. These two different treatments show how medical knowledge and technology have progressed over time.
This maggot therapy is an ancient medical practice that is still used today. The therapy helps to cleanse and remove the skin from the body. In this regard, Dr. Yamni Nigam from Swansea University told Inverse:
The oldest record of the positive association between maggots and human wounds is in the Bible, in the book of Job. We know there are reports of ancient tribes and cultures, in the Mayan Indian tribe they were known to soak cattle blood on white cloth and hang it up to the sun where it was infested with flies that laid their eggs, they would hatch into maggots. The minute that that cloth was wriggling, they’d put it on various lesions.
What do you think about the science of Maggot therapy? Let us know in the comment section below.
