What does this do and why do humans seem to instinctively do it?
In: Biology
Wound licking is a conserved instinct among mammals and some other species in the animal kingdom.
Saliva contains natural antiseptic that can kill some types of dangerous bacteria on contact, and also contains clotting factors that kick-start the wound healing cascade in the injured tissue. A natural painkiller is also present in saliva.
Even though saliva also contains a lot of bacteria on its own, the benefits of being able to lick wounds outweigh the risks in the wild. We, of course, have access to advanced medicine so we don’t always have to rely on such a crude method of wound care.
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