bacta the basics

[sensiblecrow]

We all know that bacta is the go-to healing tool in the Star Wars universe, but even science that's basically magic must have some limits.

What can't bacta fix?

Potential sub-questions:
- How do people deal with conditions that can't be treated by bacta?
- Are there people who can't use bacta at all?
- How has bacta affected medical research and treatment progress?
- Why might someone refuse bacta treatment?

Comments

[21st_century_flapper]

I think one of the limitations of bacta is that there must be species that it doesn't work on. Even if it's able to adapt to and use most species' natural healing abilities, there are limits, seeing how vast the difference in species in the Star Wars universe is. I mean, we have everything from humanoids and reptilians to insectoids and "I don't even know what that is supposed to be". Nothing is that adaptable. So far, we've mostly seen it used on humanoids, so I think it's a safe bet to say that those are the species it works on.

As we know from watching several Skywalkers lose limbs and be sliced up, it doesn't seem to work on large wounds, and it can't regrow limbs, which strengthens the idea that it somehow uses and enhances the body's self-repairing properties, and those only go so far.

I kind of think that bacta doesn't work on bacterial/viral/parasite infections, either. It can probably halt some of the destruction those infections wreak inside the body, so you can probably put someone in a bacta tank to keep them in a coma/stasis and buy yourself and your patient more time, but in the end, it's up to the individual's immune system, and that works via a mechanism that is very different from repairing physical harm.

The question of why someone might refuse bacta treatment is very interesting! I'm sure that, given how vast the Star Wars universe is, there are individuals that refuse treatment. A common reason is probably religion/spirituality - I mean, there are a number of religions right here and now that refuse certain medical treatments because they go against their teachings. There might also be a bit of paranoia surrounding it, since it's basically this miracle treatment whose properties many people don't understand. So who knows what's in there? Maybe the companies that produce bacta put some mind altering/controlling substances in it. Or nanotech that at some point will be activated to turn everyone into mindless zombies. Maybe it's evil sorcery/the Dark Side of the Force. I think you could do some really interesting things with the idea that some people refuse to use bacta for any of those reasons. And of course there's got to be people who are allergic to it...

[potboy]

It clearly can't cure the bite of the Parnassos beetle, given that Brendol Hux dissolved in a vat of the stuff. And given all the lost hands it can't regrow bits of your body that have been entirely separated from you

[eatingcroutons]

There have been several characters in the EU with allergies to bacta - Ton Phanan comes to mind. He had a bunch of cybernetic body parts because he was unable to be treated by typical methods. I think there was also at least one character who died because they were stuck in a bacta tank by people who didn't realise they had an allergy?

On the sociopolitical side of things, there was a lot of interesting stuff around bacta as a limited resource in The Bacta War, but it's been ages since I read the X-Wing books so I only remember the broad strokes...