The healing power of crab shells

The healing power of crab shells
Good day fellow Steemians. Today article is about how crab/shrimp shells make wounds heal faster. Crab stew or Shrimp sauce is known to be delicious, but how does the shell of this crustaceans help in healing wounds. Sit back and grab some popcorns as you read through this scintillating post.

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Bandages typically help in stopping bleeding, keeping wounds clean, and protecting them from microbes. Usually an antibiotic is usually added before or with the bandage to help fight infections in the wound.

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Scientists have developed a bandage that contains a component from crab/shrimp shells that accelerate wound healing process. It is developed using a key compound CHITOSAN derived from crab/shrimp shells and hydrogel bandages. Let us first understand the meaning of Chitosan and Hydrogel bandages

CHITOSAN
Chitosan is a compound extracted from crab/shrimp shells. It is known for its bio-compatible, biodegradable, antibacterial, anti-fungal, analgesic and hemostatic (stops bleeding) properties. Its ability to kill different types of bacteria and fungi have previously been recorded in ancient China where crabs were smashed open and thrust into wounds in battles. Because of this, it makes it an excellent applicant for several biomedical applications.
Chitosan has gained approval in the Europe and U.S.A for use in bandages. In fact, bandages containing chitosan have already been tested by the U.S. Marine Corps and shown to be effective at stopping severely bleeding wounds.

HYDROGEL BANDAGES
Hydrogel bandages are already in use and have many advantages over dry dressings.
They are known for cooling wounds and easily conforming to any body part.
Keeping wounds cooler has been shown to relief pain.
A moist bandage doesn't stick to wounds like a dry one does, so a bandage change does not disrupt wound healing.

HOW IT IS DONE
To create a wound bandage that incorporated chitosan into a hydrogel
Chitosan is extracted from the shells of crustaceans and incorporated into the hydrogel bandage. Through irradiation, hydrogel bandage is combined with chitosan, employing electron beams and lactic acid to facilitate the process.
Although many wounds are easily handled by a bandage and some standard antiseptic, plenty of others require heavy treatments, which is why the development of this new treatment option is kind of a big deal. This is especially critical considering the increase in antimicrobial resistant of fungi, bacteria, viruses and parasites, which the World Health Organization estimates could eventually kill about 10 million people annually by the year 2050.
Chitosan is very big on the biomedical market right now. Currently, researchers are exploring the sugar’s use in applications that could encourage bone regeneration.

With this innovation, it seems that medical science owes the crustacean world a great deal.

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