Can maggots get in your body alive and if so what do you do?

Answer 1

Maggots are larval flies and feed on necrotic tissue -- ie, dead tissue. This is why you don't hear of maggot infections in live humans; larval flies do not feed on living tissue. Generally, the only time that maggots will be found on living things is when said host has some sort of serious injury or wound that is festering or gangrenous. But, even in these cases, it is the festering necrotic tissue that is being eaten, and not the living tissue. In fact, it is precisely this ability to eat rotting tissue, while preserving living cells that makes the maggot useful for medical purposes. In areas of the world that are technologically impoverished, larval flies may be deliberately applied to wounds to clean them; this poses no danger.

So, any fear of being eaten alive by maggots is unfounded and unjustified. If they are ingested, one's body would digest them as any other foodstuff. It would be unlikely that they could enter the human body in any other way.

There are, however, numerous parasitic worms that could inhabit a human host; the most obvious (and easily detectable) would probably be the common pin worm, which looks nearly identical to a maggot; Pin worms are an intestinal parasite, and can readily be observed when they are secreted in the stool of an infected person. This seems the most likely reason for the posting of this question. These are not larval flies (insects), but rather actual worms, and similarly pose no serious risk to the host; they are most common in elementary school children, who are in close contact with each other without handwashing, etc. Usually, the only symptom for young children is restless sleep, as the worms are nocturnal and more active at night, causing annoying rectal itching. Older children or adults will likely notice the tiny worms in their stool eventually, and make inquiries. They are extremely common in the third world, though frequently appear in the U.S. and other developed areas. One's physician can treat them with a single dose of any number of wormicides.

In any case, don't panic... although upsetting and revolting in the extreme (to our Western sensibilities), it's really not a very big deal. Call your doctor.