Honey as a Dressing for Wounds, Burns, and Ulcers (Part 7).

For thousands of years, honey has been a symbol of prosperity. In ancient times it was so valuable merchants and landowners accepted it as a form of money. Even the Bible refers to the Holy Land as the “Land of milk and honey”. Experts say it is a valuable medicine in addition to being a sweet treat – one that can destroy dangerous infections, quiet a painful stomach ulcer, clean dirty wounds, revive dry skin and soothe an upset tummy. Honey even pours on antioxidants that defeat cancer-causing free radicals.

Honey as a Dressing for Wounds, Burns, and Ulcers: A Brief Review of Clinical Reports and Experimental Studies.

Advantages of using Honey as a Wound Dressing.

Honey provides a moist healing environment yet prevents bacterial growth even when wounds are heavily infected. It is a very effective means of quickly rendering heavily infected wounds sterile, without the side-effects of antibiotics, and it is effective against antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

In recent years honey has taken a back seat to man-made antibiotics and to processed sweeteners. But modern science shows honey kills bacteria that even the most powerful antibiotics cannot handle. And since it contains other nutrients – which sugar does not have – it is the sweetener of choice again for many people.

Its antibacterial properties and its viscosity also provide a barrier to cross-infection of wounds. It also provides a supply of glucose for leucocytes, essential for the 'respiratory burst' that produces hydrogen peroxide, the dominant component of the antibacterial activity of macrophages.

Furthermore it provides substrates for glycolysis, which is the major mechanism for energy production in the macrophages, and thus allows them to function in damaged tissues and exudates where the oxygen supply is often poor.

The next time you get a scald or scrape, reach for your honey pot - just a dab will perform several healing tasks at once.

The acidity of honey (typically below pH 4) may also assist in the antibacterial action of macrophages, as an acid pH inside the vacuole is involved in killing ingested bacteria.

Honey forms a protective barrier over your wound while cleaning it of debris; it allows, even encourages, your skin to re-grow; it reduces swelling; and prevents scarring. It does not irritate your tissues and is virtually painless to apply and remove. Most importantly, it spells doom for bacteria by slowly releasing antiseptic hydrogen peroxide over several hours.

Whether it is through this action, or through preventing the toxic unionised form of ammonia from existing that is involved, topical acidification of wounds promotes healing. The high glucose levels that the honey provides would be used by the infecting bacteria in preference to amino acids from the serum and dead cells, and thus would give rise to lactic acid instead of ammonia and the amines and sulphur compounds that are the cause of malodour in wounds.

In fact, hospitals around the world are using honey as a healing salve in hundreds of cases and on all kinds of wounds – abrasions, burns, amputations, diabetic ulcers, bed sores, surgical wounds and others. The success rate is extraordinary.

Honey gives a fast rate of tissue regeneration and suppression of inflammation, oedema, exudation and malodour in wounds, as evidenced in clinical observations and the results of animal studies and clinical trials. The antibacterial properties clearing infection could alone account for these effects by preventing the production of the products of bacterial metabolism which are responsible for the contrary conditions.

Honey is recommended by experts for minor wounds and for emergency first aid. Stir or warm the honey very slightly, then for a 4-inch square wound, spread bout an ounce on a bandage. For more serious injuries it is important to get a doctor’s opinion as a new wound may need stitches, and a persistently non-healing wound may be malignant or have a failure in the blood circulation system beneath it.

But honey has a direct trophic and anti-inflammatory effect on wound tissues, as evidenced by the results of animal studies in which there was no bacterial infection involved, particularly in those where the honey was administered systemically.

Honey can be expected to have a direct nutrient effect on regenerating tissue because it contains a wide range of amino acids, vitamins and trace elements in addition to large quantities of readily assimilable sugars.

While all honeys are antibacterial to some extent, some are more potent healers than others. In particular, honeys made from specific flowers in New Zealand have amazing antibacterial qualities. You may be able to find this manuka honey at a health store, but it is more likely you will have to order it directly from the beekeepers in New Zealand or one of their distributors near you. Your best bet is to get hold of a computer and search the Internet to compare prices. Simply search under the term “active manuka honey,” and you should come up with several ordering options.

(The vitamin C content of honey, which is typically more than three times higher than that in serum, and may be many times higher, could be of particular importance as because of the essential role of this vitamin in collagen synthesis.)

In addition, the high osmolarity of honey causes an outflow of lymph which serves to provide nutrition for regenerating tissue which otherwise can only grow around points of angiogenesis (seen as granulation): healing is delayed if the circulation to an area is poor, or if a patient is poorly nourished. Also it has been suggested that the decreased turgor resulting from the application of honey may increase oxygenation of tissues.

Just remember if your honey has been heat-processed, important antibacterial enzymes are destroyed. In addition, look in specialty health food stores for brands of honey with an antibacterial – or UMF – rating of at least ten.

This osmotically induced outflow will also assist in lifting dirt and debris from the bed of a wound. It also ensures that the dressing will not stick to the wound, as what ends up as the material in contact with the wound tissue is a fluid solution of honey, which can be easily lifted off and any residue rinsed away.

Like that famous pink, over-the-counter remedy, honey spreads soothing relief throughout your belly. Against diarrhea caused by bacteria, for instance, research shows it could ease that bloated and cramped feeling. Next time you are laid low by a stomach bug, mix three teaspoons of honey into every 10 ounces of clear, non-caffeinated beverage your drink.

Thus there is no pain on changing dressings, and no tearing away of newly formed tissue. The cleansing effect of the osmotic flow and the chemical or enzymic debriding effect of honey makes surgical debridement unnecessary, thus saving the patient pain or the risks associated with anaesthesia. It has also been noted that by reducing in surface area oedematous and soggy wounds, or making them more clearly defined, it enables a definite decision on limb amputations to be made, which would be of particular advantage in the case of diabetic and malignant ulcers.

Bacteria called Helicobacter pylori – not stress or spicy foods – cause up to 90 percent of all ulcers. Honey’s antibacterial properties can be just as effective against this kind of pesky bug as against those that infect cuts and scrapes. Researchers say eat the honey one hour before meals, with no fluids, and again at bedtime. Spread a tablespoon on a piece of bread. This keeps the honey in your stomach longer. Making honey your everyday sweetener may also shield your stomach from other irritants that can cause ulcers- like non-steroidal anti-flammatory drugs (NSAID’s) and alcohol.

There is also an economical advantage to using honey as a wound dressing. This is seen both in the direct cost savings when compared with conventional treatments, and in the savings in ongoing costs when consideration is given to the more rapid healing rates that are achieved. Cost comparisons that have been made are: 480 F for treatment with Debrisan compared with 7.5 F for treatment with honey ; $70 for treatment with antibiotics compared with $2 for treatment with honey ; $40 for treatment with Duoderm compared with $8 for treatment with honey.

Other observations on cost savings have been: use of antibiotics ceased, length of hospitalisation reduced (by at least half). In addition there are the savings in the costs of surgery where debridement and skin grafting become unnecessary when honey is used.

Pollen is not really bad for you, it’s your body’s overreaction to pollen that brings on the runny eyes, sneezing and wheezing. To stop this allergic reaction without drugs and uncomfortable side effects, try honey. Not just any kind of honey will suffice: Only honey from local flowers full of local pollen will suffice. Your immune system is trained not to attack anything ingested by mouth. Eat the pollen-laced honey, it is believed, and you tell your immune system this pollen is not bad for you. Then when you breathe in the same type of pollen later, your immune system recognizes and accepts it... [read more]

Honey is also an ideal first-aid dressing material, especially for patients in remote locations when there could be time for infection to have set in before medical treatment is obtained: it is readily available and simple to use. It would be particularly suitable for first-aid treatment for burns, where emergency dousing or cooling frequently involves the use of contaminated water which then leads to heavy infection of the traumatised tissue. As well as providing an immediate anti-inflammatory treatment the honey would provide an antibacterial action and a barrier to further infection of the wound.

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