Back in 2017 doctors in Brazil experimented with using tilapia skin to treat burns. These were reportedly the first human trials that have experimented with tilapia to heal burns.

Frozen pig skin or human tissue have traditionally been used to help burn victims, but there are many benefits to using tilapia skin.

This alternative can help to speed healing because of the high amount of collegen, it can ease pain, reduce the need for pain medications, it's edible, stays moist longer, and is drastically cheaper.

Tilapia skin costs roughly 75 percent less than alternatives...

For Brazil, they're frequently found to be short on alternative supplies such as pig skin, but tilapia is abundant in the region. For an item that is often discarded, what might have previously been trash can now be used to potentially heal burn victims.

After hearing about the doctors in Brazil who used tilapia to heal burn victims, a veterinarian from the United States decided to experiment with the same method for animals with severe burns from the recent wildfires.

Vets from California used tilapia skin on bears who had been badly burned in the wildfires...

They also treated a mountain lion cub with the sterilized fish skin too. This was reportedly the first time that treating with tilapia skin has taken place in the United States, as well as the first time it has been used to treat animals.

Veterinarians had wrapped the bears feet up like tamales (see image above) and they reportedly had new skin grow back within weeks.

The method has thus far proven to be successful and they hope more research will be done in this area in the future to explore the potential here.

As far as a cruelty-free option for tilapia bandages (although it is an item that is often discarded) there is also the potential to utilize new technology to grow tilapia skin in a lab or use a 3D printer to print the tilapia skin. Researchers might one day create a device that would ultimately 3D print lab-grown tilapia bandages directly onto burn victims.

Pics:
Pixabay
pic 2 - FIS
pic 3 - California Department of Fish and Wildlife via VICE

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