12 June 2008

Who knew?

I always feel guilty for things I shouldn't, and not for things I should. One that falls into the former category is giving blood, which I haven't been able to do for 6 years now what with the perpetual parturition/lactational longevity. To assuage this misplaced guilt, I was poking around to find out about milk donation. I'm too much of a capitalist to donate my own personal self to this for-profit company, but I came across this in their FAQs and found it darn interesting:

Breast milk does have uses for adult diseases as well. People with cancer drink breast milk to calm their stomachs after chemotherapy, bolster their immune systems and help digest food. In some parts of the world, it is used for burn patients and organ transplant patients. If you are interested in donating your milk for these other uses, contact one of the 6 milk banks associated with the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA).

4 comments:

Susan said...

I seem to remember that it's good for eczema (used topically). That would fit with the skin-healing that's implied by your quote about the burn victims. Right now, with a few painful rashes that popped up this week, I'm wishin' I still had some milk to try out the theory ...

Anne said...

Also works great for ear infections or general ear aches and pink eye. I cured our whole family of pink eye on vacation once:) For even more ideas go to mothering.com and search for "your walking medicine chest"

Reb. Mary said...

Wow. I'm really intrigued by my status as a "walking medicine chest" :). Anyone else have firsthand accounts to share of how this worked for them?

Anne said...

My sister also used it when one of her girls rubbed her eyes after cutting jalepenos for salsa. Cleared the burning right up.