Some people believe that small wounds can be disinfected by licking them. The reason is that saliva contains lysozyme, histatin, and other antibacterial substances, among which lysozyme can dissolve the cell walls of certain bacteria, thereby killing them. However, is this reliable? Can saliva sterilize and reduce inflammation?
Saliva can only eliminate oral bacteria
The lysozyme in saliva mainly targets common bacteria in the mouth, and has the function of inhibiting their growth and reproduction. If we are only considering oral hygiene, saliva can have a certain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect.
Saliva cannot kill pathogens
Although saliva contains certain antibacterial substances, they only possess strong antibacterial activity at very high concentrations outside the body. The concentration of these substances in saliva is extremely low, so they cannot kill pathogens effectively.
Limited range of antibacterial effect of saliva
The antibacterial substances in saliva have a limited range of action. Even if they can kill pathogens, there are many different types of pathogens, while the lysozyme in saliva mainly targets a specific category of bacteria. Therefore, relying on saliva for sterilization and reducing inflammation is not reliable.
Sterilizing with saliva may be harmful to health
Since the mouth also contains other pathogens, the antibacterial substances in saliva can only eliminate a certain type of bacteria in the mouth, while other potential pathogens that can cause illness (such as herpes viruses) may still remain. If saliva is used to disinfect wounds, it may introduce pathogens to the wound and cause infection.
A helpful tip
From the above, it is clear that using saliva for sterilization and reducing inflammation not only fails to achieve the desired effect, but also carries potential health risks. Therefore, when there is a wound, it is necessary to undergo proper disinfection treatment and not rely on the shortcut of applying saliva.
