Fish Skin For Burns?
Written by Lillian Brinkmann
Edited by Tanishq Vaidya
February 9th, 2023
Edited by Tanishq Vaidya
February 9th, 2023
Research
You’ve probably been through it before: you touched a hot pan handle, spilled some coffee…whatever the circumstances, we all know what it’s like to get a burn. We’ll likely agree that no matter the case, burns are a nuisance. Even small ones are painful, and a third degree burn can be debilitating. We are around burn-inducing elements every day, so it’s important that we have effective treatments for when things go awry. Ironically, one of our most promising burn remedies may lie in an unlikely place: underwater. Indeed, recent studies suggest that fish skin is the key to effective burn recovery.
Current treatments for serious burns include enzymatic debridement followed by split-thickness skin grafting (STSG) (Alam & Jeffery, 2019). Enzymatic debridement describes the process by which dead skin is chemically broken down to improve the body’s natural healing process, and STSG involves transferring a patch of the patient’s healthy skin to the burn site. While this duo is efficient in both reducing recovery time and preventing complications like sepsis and organ failure, there are limitations. Larger burn sites require more healthy skin for grafting, which may be damaging to the patient. This issue necessitates identifying different grafting sources. Such sources could include pig and cadaver skin, but both present problems pertaining to religious and cultural beliefs, and run the risk of causing infection and autoimmune responses. Fish skin, however, evades the issues of its predecessors and shows promise in facilitating proper healing.
Kerecis Omega3 Wound, a medical fish skin product made from Atlantic cod, is
used to treat injuries like diabetic ulcers, surgical wounds, and, of course, burns. Fish skin is advantageous because it neither elicits an immune response nor conflicts with religious or cultural customs. Furthermore, the structure of the skin is inherently beneficial for healing, containing nutrients that are both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. One study by Wallner et al. sought to put Kerecis Omega3 Wound to the test by comparing its healing properties to those of standard burn care. To do so, the team monitored burn victims between the ages of 18 and 60. The patients were treated with enzymatic debridement before receiving one of three grafts: Kerecis Omega3, an STSG, or Suprathel, an epidermal skin substitute (Schwarze et al., 2008). For 12 months, the subjects’ wounds were compared with patches of healthy skin to assess variables like pliability, thickness, pigmentation, wound size, elasticity, and water content. In almost all measurements, the fish skin treatment proved most effective, with the skin of the wound more closely resembling healthy skin.
In a world where hot objects are around every corner, it’s essential that we have effective treatments for burns of all shapes and sizes. While current widespread treatments do have their merits, there are drawbacks that call for improvement in future methods. Through various trials, fish skin has proven its potential toward successful and quick burn treatment. Indeed, when we suffer a burn, the best place to look might be the sea.