Why People Have Used Ghee To Heal Wounds For Centuries

Not many decades back when antiseptic creams and gauze bandages filled the shelves of a pharmacy, an Indian household used to have a small container of ghee stored in the kitchen. The grandmother would apply it on scalds caused due to hot stove, while mothers used to apply it to a child’s scratched knee. It wasn't just superstition handed down out of habit. Ghee’s role in wound care was documented in ayurvedic texts thousands of years ago, with the same seriousness that modern medicine lends to clinical treatment. And the practice lived on, not because people had no other choices, but because it worked, time and again. If we are to understand why we need to examine the tradition behind it and the sciences behind it.

What are the important components in Ghee?

The healing power of ghee is not unfounded in folklore. The way it acts on the skin is due to a few specific ingredients.

• Butyric Acid  is among the most widely researched compound contained in ghee. Butyric acid is a short chain fatty acid, which has been shown by various studies to lead to low levels of inflammation and improved digestive system and tissue health. It is because of this that ghee has traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal purposes both internally and externally.
  
• Desi Ghee is naturally abundant in fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K, especially where it is obtained from grass fed cow milk. Vitamin A is known to play an important role in skin cell regeneration while vitamin E is well known as a skin antioxidant.
  
• Another fatty acid that may be found in ghee and which has anti-inflammatory effects, as was shown in different researches, is conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. 
  
• Short and medium chain fatty acids allow ghee to be absorbed easily through the skin without making it too greasy, which is why the substance may be put on a wound directly without causing additional discomfort to the affected area.

How is ghee beneficial in healing wounds?

Ghee’s reputation as a healing agent is the result of a number of properties working together, not from any single magic ingredient.

Ghee gives protection

Whenever applied on wounds or burns, ghee leaves behind a thin film on the skin. This helps in keeping the skin surface free from dust and any type of germs that can harm the wound or the burn. Additionally, ghee acts like a moisturizer and keeps the skin wet, which helps in faster healing of wounds and burns.

As an anti-inflammatory agent

The traditional use of ghee has been known for its cooling properties in Ayurveda. This is because the chemical butyric acid, which exists in ghee, has been studied extensively for its anti-inflammatory nature in tissues.

Promotes skin regeneration

Ghee is a good source of fat-soluble vitamins, namely vitamins A and E, both of which have been linked to skin repair and collagen production. This is one reason why old wounds with ghee applied to them were said to leave less visible scarring.

Slight antimicrobial effect

When you clarify butter into ghee , you take out the water and the milk solids . This leaves something that is naturally resistant to bacterial growth . This made it a practical, shelf-stable option in homes long before refrigeration was common.

 It takes pain away on contact

Many burn victims noted coolness almost immediately upon application of ghee and it became a first response remedy in homes without easy access to formal medical care.