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Asked by Fe Maiden to Alex, Ali, Kerry, Philip, Theo on 17 Nov 2014.
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Alex Pool answered on 17 Nov 2014:
There are differing opinions on this.
The main theory is that in humans saliva contains some antibacterial agents, so licking the wound helps kill of bacteria and keep the wound clean. However at the same time your mouth is full of its own bacteria so may just be adding more to the wound.
In other animals though there is more evidence. So in mice saliva they have nerve growth factor and the wounds heal much quicker than saliva without the nerve growth factor. But human saliva doesn’t contain it.
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Philip Ratcliffe answered on 17 Nov 2014:
As Alex said, it’s debatable. Licking you wounds, as they say, is a good way to clean them if there’s already risk of infection. However, if the wound is clean it’s probably best not to. As an example, playing rugby, a teammate accidentally ended up head butting my daughter in the mouth and her teeth pierced the skin on his forehead – it got infected and he needed antibiotics!
Your mouth (together with other and of your digestive tract) is teeming with bacteria and so it isn’t really such a healthy place as you might imagine. -
Alison Thomson answered on 19 Nov 2014:
Yes! Saliva contains a chemical that helps your blood to clot, so that you can form a scab. There is also an enzyme called lysozyme that attacks bacteria, and that’s found in your saliva and your tears, so that helps with keeping a wound clean.
Great question!
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