Maggots, leeches, and snails, oh my!

Maggots for ulcers. Leeches for wounds. Snake venom for stroke. If you're thinking it's an April fool's joke, think again. It may sound creepy, but such creatures can offer curative powers, and may offer an alternative means to healing ulcers, bee stings, and more.

Bees. Tiny amounts of bee venom is used in immunotherapy treatments for people with severe allergic reactions to bees, desensitizing them and providing almost complete protection.

Gila Monster. A hormone in the reptile's saliva is the basis for Exenatide (Byetta), an injectable synthetic hormone to help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar when other medications don't work.

Leeches. Leech saliva is a powerful anticoagulant that has been harnessed in the blood thinner lepirudin (Refludan). And leech power doesn't stop there. Surgeons use leeches on severed fingers to stimulate blood flow for reattachment. They're also used on wounds to keep blood from pooling.

Maggots. These grisly fly larvae are currently being tested for use in removing—er, eating—dead tissue from wounds, such as leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, bed sores, and wounds from surgery and trauma that aren't healing by traditional means. Researchers hope these good bugs may one day help heal wounds caused by the superbug, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Malayan pit viper. A drug derived from the venom from the Malayan pit viper, ancrod (Viprinex), is currently being tested as an anticoagulant to see if it can help restore blood flow to the brain when given within six hours after the onset of an ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke.

Pregnant Mare. Mare's urine is the original source for the estrogen in the menopause drug Premarin.

Scorpion. A compound based on the venom of these arachnids may allow doctors to deliver drugs to brain tumors without harming neighboring tissue.

Snails. Snail toxin may ease nerve pain stemming from advanced diabetes.

Editor's note: We know you'll be tempted, but don't bother incorporating leeches or maggots into your home remedies. You'd need medical grade creatures raised in carefully controlled environments.

—Kevin McCarthy, associate editor