Can a fly lay eggs in your skin?

Question

I saw a video where a little boy had a huge hole in his head and it was infested with maggots! I was so creeped out and got scared. Is it because of bad hygiene? I'm so scared right now..I shower and wash my face everyday..is this ok? =(

Answer 1

The human bot fly, native to South America does lay eggs in human flesh. The maggots eat your flesh until they pupate and emerge as adults

Answer 2

yes, it is okay. And yes, it is possible for a fly to lay eggs on your skin although a majority of the time they choose not to.

Hope I helped you out a bit. Good luck! And I don't think you have much to worry about :)

Answer 3

This usually occurs when a wound is open.

In this case, the fly may lay its eggs in the wound.

Hope this explained, and alleviated fears a little.

Answer 4

The fly was probably a 'human bot fly', a particular species of fly whose larva eats human flesh.  It's extremely rare for the larve to get into the brain, however.

You can learn more about this unfriendly critter here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_bot_f...

Answer 5

It can happen. I recall a case of a woman who had an elaborate beehive hairdo that she never washed in order to save the work of re-doing it. Her scalp was infested with maggots. From the flies' point of view, that was close to paradise.

Answer 6

In all likelihood this boy had a wound that was open. Flies then laid eggs near the wound and the eggs hatches into maggots which were feeding on the dead flesh. Maggots only eat dead flesh and will not eat alive flesh, so in a way they maybe helping the boy out. Even in modern medicine they use sanitized maggots and introduce them to bad wounds so that they can clean them out in hopes of preventing infection and increase the speed of healing. Since you mentioned the hole in the boy's head was infested with maggots, that rules out the Bot Fly maggot as they are found alone not in colonies as in the case of the common Phaenicia sericata species. Unless you have a gaping wound on your face you have nothing to worry about. However, good hygiene is always a smart idea!