Is it healthy to literally
"lick one's wounds"?
On the one hand, researchers at the University of Florida at
Gainesville have discovered a protein called Nerve Growth Factor
(NGF) in the saliva of mice. Wounds doused with NGF healed twice as
fast as untreated, unlicked wounds. So in a few species, at least,
spit does have some curative powers. NGF has not been found in
human saliva, but researchers do note that human spit contains such
antibacterial agents as secretory IgA, lactoferrin, and
lactoperoxidase. It has not yet been shown that licking your wounds
actually disinfects them, but on the other hand it probably won't
do you any harm.
See, the one problem is that your mouth also contains "anaerobic"
bacteria, which thrive in airless environments such as the nooks
and crannies of your teeth and gums. Normally these don't find
their way into your saliva, but if they do, you'd be better off
throwing yourself on a punji stake. So virulent are the anaerobic
microbes that hospital emergency room personnel consider human
bites to be among the most serious types of trauma. If not treated
promptly this kind of wound can result in severe infection,
sometimes so bad that the affected finger, or even the hand or arm,
has to be amputated. The danger exists even if the spit in question
is your own.
So in other words, licking your wounds either isn't so bad or it'll
kill you. If you're one of those types with a low tolerance for
ambiguity, maybe you should just forget it and try the old Boy
Scout method--namely, letting the wound bleed briefly before
bandaging it, thus allowing any contaminants to be washed out of
the damaged area.
