What Are the Medical Uses of Alum?
Alum is the name generally given to two common salts: potassium aluminum phosphate and ammonium aluminum sulphate. In its naturally occurring state, the substance has been used for more than 2,000 years in a wide variety of applications. Before the beginning of the 20th century, it was routinely manufactured and used for pickling, canning, tanning leather, and baking. From then on, its use in food processing gradually decreased because of safety concerns over its side effects. Professionals in the fields of medicine and health care, however, still frequently use alum to treat injuries and disease. In medicine, alum is regularly employed as an astringent to shrink tissues and reduce the discharge of bodily fluids; a styptic to contract organic tissues and stop or reduce hemorrhage and bleeding; and an emetic agent to induce vomiting when someone has ingested poison. It is also often used to enhance certain vaccines and to prevent or treat infections. Veterinarians typically advise pet o
