Longest English Word

What is the longest English word? As listed in the Guinness Record, the longest word ever to appear in an English language dictionary is the 45-letter word

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

which means a lung disease caused by the the inhalation of very fine silica dust from volcanoes. Interesting thing to learn!

Santyl

The stitches were removed three weeks ago, yet part of my incision wound is still not healed yet. It is a small incision opening with a white-yellowish bed. My surgeon prescribed me Silvadene, but it didn't quite work. I was worried that it was a skin infection, so I went to see the surgeon yesterday. She said it didn't look like an infection, and she prescribed me a stronger topical cream called Santyl for skin healing. I hope Santyl works, because I don't want to go back to the OR room for sutures again.

I do learn a lot in the area of pharmacy these days, particularly the topical creams Silvadene and Santyl. Silvadene is actually silver sulfadiazine, which promotes skin healing by preventing the growth of many kinds of bacteria and yeast on the damaged skin. It is the golden standard for second-degree to third-degree burns. However, patients should not be tempted to apply too much Silvadene cream on the wound, because that will somehow inhibit skin growth. Santyl is actually collagenase, which digests collagen in necrotic (dead) tissue, thereby promoting the formation of granulation tissue and subsequent epithelization of dermal ulcers (which is what my wound looks like) and burned areas. However, my surgeon warned me seriously that I must apply the Santyl cream over the ulcer area only, not the surrounding skin, as it may cause skin irritation.