For cinematic superhero fans like me, whenever we hear of a “spider” it is so easy to co-relate the term with the Marvel comic character of Spider-man.
As a character portrayed by a young teen, the character went on to become a very appealing cinematic superhero that young readers could easily relate to.
However, despite the fascinating nature and the superpowers of the Spidey, the very one thing a lot of people would have wanted to know more about was the very composition of its webs, and what possible use the spun webs could have, apart from hoisting criminals pending the arrival of the cops, or for the usual counter-attacking defense acts the very firm but elastic web is deployed for, against criminals.
The character, till date and irrespective of several cinematic reboots still thrills viewers, especially young comic movie lovers.
But hold on, we aren’t talking about the Spider-man today, we are actually going to look at the amazing scientific potentials of the Spider insect and how science and an age-long practice has proven that the spider-webs have incredible potent medical importance, order than for trapping preys, and acting as an enthralling layer of ecological habitation and protection for the spider insect.
Having said all that; a study I discovered online recently, which I share in this post, talked about how the one thing that could potentially prove useful in a spider insect is hardly ever really talked about.
Incase you are still wondering about where I am headed, well, I am referring to the spider’s web or cobwebs, which were in the not-too-distant-past, used to cover wounds for faster healing.
Use of spider webs for treating wounds
The current and ever expansive world of science, and scientific evolution never failed to capture the fact that the practice was very common in Europe several hundreds of years ago.
The use of spider webs to treat injuries way back in time was initially more of a trial and error transition period, but the numerous trials in the past proved eventually to be very effective.
It might sound ridiculous and weird, but according to research and studies which I share in this post, when people got injured way back in time, these spider webs were used as a gauze or pad to cover up the wound.
The practice became popular with the ancient Romans and Greeks, especially because they were involved in so many battles and wars at the time.
But studies showed that, not only did the spider webs aid covering of wounds, it also healed the injuries faster.
What do spider webs contain that aid healing?
Well, research overtime and continuous studies have shown that spider webs are highly rich in Vitamin K. This unique Vitamin variant is very potent in aiding blood clots.
Properties of Spider webs
A spider’s silky web is;
- Biologically neutral
- Antiseptic
- Having anti-fungal properties
- Has low or minimal chances of infections, as long as the web is clean
How do you validate or verify a clean web?
A couple of pointers can always help with that, according to the studies and researches carried out. Firstly;
- You should not live in a location infested with poisonous species of spiders, such as the black widow. Also, places with some of the other creepy crawlies which can prove to be fatal with just a single bite, should be a no-go-area. Such areas can’t have useful or medically potent cobwebs, so just forget about such areas, or make such such poisonous spiders aren’t around.
- It is super important to make sure that there’s nothing stuck on the web, like dead insects, putrefying bird poop, or any other microbial organisms which can potentially lead to various forms of infection.
Using a spider web for injury treatment
Once a web has been validated or verified to be clean; not much is left in terms of its medical and scientific application to injuries. Just fold up a sizable ball of the silky web and stuff it on the wound. As easy as that sounds, that is pretty much how to medically or scientifically put the spider webs to healing-use.
Proper bandaging could also be wrapped or placed over the web, just to keep it in place on the affected spot. Bearing in mind that the web has to actually touch the wound or injury in order to perform its healing work
It is also important that the wound surface is dry. Once that is factored in, using the web would further work its magic to dry up the injury deep within and activate the healing process.
Once the healing process has been achieved, the web can be removed with hot water. The hot water serves to soften and moisten the web, thereby allowing it to be easily removed from the wound surface or region.
Further medical potency of the Spider Web
Research in recent times and further studies have shown that the spider silk can also be used in the treatment ligament damage.
Spider webs can also be used for grafting as well. This grafting procedure has already been scientifically proven and administered on larger mammals already.
Further scientific potency and application of the spider web, was actually verified recently when soe medical students from the Unversity of Gadjah Mada, developed a potent gel called “Spidweb”, which apparently aids the healing of dental wounds.
Quite amazing wouldn’t you say?
As the evolution of science and today’s technology takes center stage in our world today, amazing discoveries of great scientific ramifications are being made to the benefit of human existence.
The very organisms we once thought of, as useless, are gradually turning out to be man’s recent scientific breakthroughs in the field of human medicine.
In Summary
When next you see a spider or cockroach and you feel the irritating need to squash the squirmy looking insects, think again about the potential scientific compositions, the surplus embedded benefits and effective medical substances and breakthrough you might be destroying in your fit of irritation.
As much as we might not want to have highly valuable living organisms and bio-species on our planet competing with us humans; in terms of importance, we might one day have to accept that we aren’t the only superior or most important living beings on the planet like we once used to assume and believe.
While you and I must have thought that the only thing spiders could inspire was a superhero, we now have to factor in, the aspect of scientific breakthrough revolving around;
- The healing phenomena exclusive to spider webs
- How spider webs can be relatively strong and yet very easy to remove
- How dangerous and poisonous the insects and their venoms can be and yet possess natural healing powers.
We just have to admit it - Scientific and technological breakthrough is only just beginning; I dare say!
Thank you for your time and for reading my post.
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interesting post.
(upvoted and followed)
Thanks @toyman, I do appreciate!
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