Fish skin cheaper, less painful in treating burns than bandages: Scientist
Business Standard : Using fish skin to heal burns can be cheaper and less painful than bandages, says a scientist. Using the skin of Tilapia -- a freshwater fish -- on burns could be effective since it is rich in moisture and collagen proteins, the Daily Mail quoted Felipe Rocha, a neurologist at the Federal University of Ceara in Brazil, as saying. Tilapia skin contains a type of collagen that is similar to the protein found in human skin . This is thought to interact with a patient's immune system to speed up healing. More than 300 patients worldwide have had the unusual therapy, which shows up as a fishy pattern even after it has been sterilised and the scales removed. Although many patients can be reluctant to have fish skin wrapped around their burns, a growing number of children are actually arriving at hospital requesting the " bandage ", the report said. "The major concerns were whether the skins would subsequently come off, if the fish o...