Fish oil helps heal bed sores among the critically ill: study

Fish oil may help residents experience fewer pressure ulcers, according to researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel. 

Investigators added eight grams of fish oil to their patients’ daily diet for three weeks. They discovered that bedsore-related pain and discomfort dropped by 20% to 25%. Findings were based on the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing. Moreover, the same patients also exhibited a more efficient immune system and a reduction to inflammation throughout their bodies. Investigators’ full findings were reported in the British Journal of Nutrition and the American Journal of Critical Care. 

“We saw a modification in the expression of a group of molecules associated with directing leukocytes, or white blood cells, in the direction of the wound, which could said the improved healing,” said Prof. Pierre Singer, M.D., of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. Researchers also noted a significant decrease in the amount of C-reactive protein in the blood, which is associated with inflammation and linked to viral and bacterial infections, rheumatic diseases, tissue injury, and necrosis.

Inspired by the results of a previous study showing that dietary fish oil supplements for critically ill patients raised oxygen levels in body tissues, Singer and his fellow researchers sought to determine whether the supplement could also help heal bedsores, which also are formed by a lack of oxygen, reduced blood flow, and skin wetness.