Honey as a Wound Therapy
Honey, an Effective Wound Care, Ulcer, Incision, and Burn Dressing
Oct 16, 2009
According to Dr. Terry Treadwell, evidence shows that honey has been used as far back as Ancient Egyptian times as a wound dressing. It has been used at least as recently as 1933 for the same purpose (Dr. Bodog Beck, "Honey and Health," 1938). Although it has fallen out of favor in recent decades, it is a safe, effective treatment that should be reconsidered.
How Honey Heals Sores
Honey helps heal skin in a variety of ways. In a study with rats, honey increased the amount of tissue regrowth in several different kinds of wounds (including incision and burn). It also increased wound closure. (Iftikhar et. al, 2009) In addition, honey decreases inflammation, or swelling and redness at the wound site (Majtan, 2009).
Honey is a Powerful Antibacterial
Another key to honey's healing power is its ability to prevent and cure infection, a common complication of wound and ulcer healing. According to a study published in 2009 by Merckoll et al., honey effectively killed strains of MRSA, MRSE, and ESBL bacteria -- even those that had gathered into protective, hard-to-kill colonies known as "biofilms." Not only that, but honey kills bacteria at a concentration that can be maintained in wounds (4%-14.8% honey), and does not seem to trigger resistance in bacteria. This may be because honey kills bacteria in multiple ways. (Blair et al., 2009)
Medical Grade Honey vs. Food Grade Honey
In the studies reviewed for this article, researchers used medical grade honey. Medical grade honey is more finely filtered than food grade honey; this is to remove pollen and other substances that may cause allergic reaction (Boukraa and Sulaiman, 2009). Medical grade honey may also be sterilized to remove bacterial spores (such as botulism spores), and is quality controlled to ensure consistency. Several healthcare products that contain medical grade honey, including Medihoney, are now on the market.
Is Honey Safe for Wound Care Treatments?
When compared to silver dressings (the standard treatment for infected wounds in recent years), the silver interfered with tissue regrowth, while honey demonstrated no toxicity to cells (Du Toit and Page, 2009). This shows that honey may be less harmful to wounds than more commonly-used treatments.
However, regular table honey (food grade honey) may contain impurities that cause allergies or harbor bacterial spores that can withstand honey's antibiotic properties. Using table honey for wounds may not be advisable.
References:
- Honey and Health by Dr. Bodog Beck, originally published in 1938
- Phytotherapy Research, Iftikhar et al., Effects of acacia honey on wound healing in various rat models, October 2009
- Journal of Wound Care, Du Toit and Page, An in vitro evaluation of the cell toxicity of honey and silver dressings, September 2009
- Epidemiologie, mikrobiologie, imunologie, Majtan, Apitherapy--the role of honey in the chronic wound healing process, August 2009
- Recent Patents On Anti-infective Drug Discovery, Boukraa and Sulaiman, Rediscovering the Antibiotics of the Hive, November 2009
- The New Zealand Medical Journal, Wijesinghe et al., Honey in the treatment of burns: a systematic review and meta-analysis of its efficacy, May 2009
- European Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Blair et al., The unusual antibacterial activity of medical-grade Leptospermum honey: antibacterial spectrum, resistance and transcriptome analysis, October 2009
- Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases, Merckoll et al., Bacteria, biofilm and honey: a study of the effects of honey on 'planktonic' and biofilm-embedded chronic wound bacteria, 2009
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