Honey Rivals Antibiotics. Honey's healing power.

How does honey heal?

Honey has bactericidal, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal and antibacterial.

Honey's high sugar content kills many kinds of bacteria, including some antibiotic-resistant germs. Honey also forms a moist environment, which speeds healing of wounds and minimizes scarring.

What are some uses for honey?

A study by Robert Bloomfield, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reports, "Applied every 2 to 3 days under a dry dressing, honey promotes healing of ulcers and burns better than any other local application. It can also be applied to other surface wounds, including cuts and abrasions..."

Heals abrasions, skin rashes and burns by drawing excess water from the tissues and reducing swelling. Honey also contains a germ-killing substance called inhibine, which helps prevent infections. Spread the honey directly on the wound and cover with a sterile bandage.

When applying honey over the affected area; you can cover the affected area with a dressing or a dusting of cornstarch to reduce any stickiness.

While some has been substantiated by research others have still not been substantiated. While honey is good for health,it is not to be replaced in place of the medicine prescribed by thedoctor.At best it could be used along with the prescribed medicine.The factor in manuka honey has not been isolated yet.May be those factors could be refined someday and used as a medicine.

Skin.

Honey is extremely nourishing for the skin when used as face pack and helps in rejuvenating the skin leading to the elimination of fine wrinkles. It is a good moisturiser.Honey has considerable Laxative effect on the human digestion system which in turn helps in reducing skin problem ie (pimples) and other problems associated with constipation, which become revealed on the skin.

Antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Honey contains many minerals and vitamins beneficial to man. However, one of the most important properties seems to be its antibiotic action.Honey has been shown to be superior to certain conventional antibiotics in treating some infections. This bactericide (bacteria-killing) property of honey is named "the inhibition effect". Experiments conducted on honey show that its bactericide properties increase twofold when diluted with water. It is very interesting to note that newly born bees in the colony are nourished with diluted honey by the bees responsible for their supervision - as if they know this feature of the honey.

Healing wounds & grazes.

Honey is of value in treating burns, infected surgical wounds and ulcers. Honey is very viscous, enabling it to absorb water from surrounding inflamed tissue. For example, a study in West Africa showed that skin grafting, surgical debridement and even amputation were avoided when local application of honey to wound promoted healing, whereas conventional treatment failed.For such wounds or Grazes, cover the wound with honey and a bandage.

Diarrhoea.

At a concentration of 40%, honey has a bactericidal effect on various gut bacteria known to cause diarrhoea and dysentery

Allergies.

Raw honey is an excellent treatment for 90% of all allergies.

Teeth.

Although Honey is sweet, it helps to maintain and protect teeth! Its anti-microbial activity has been tested on several species of dental plaque bacteria. A study shows that honey has been proven to sharply reduce acid production, thus killing the bacteria responsible for dental caries, and blocking the growth of oral bacteria.

Stomach Ache.

Take 1 teaspoon of honey, juice of ½ a lemon with a hot glass of water first thing in the morning.

Colds and coughs.

Honey is remedial in cases of persistent coughs and sore throat. The strong antibiotic properties it contains coats the throat and reduces throat irritation. Mix 6 oz. liquid honey, 2 oz. glycerin with juice of 2 lemons. Bottle and cork firmly. Use as required.For Blocked noses, Place a dessert spoon of honey in a basin of hot water and inhale fumes after covering your head with a towel over the basin.For Sore throats, Let 1 teaspoon of honey melt in the back of the mouth and trickle down the throat. Eases inflamed raw tissues.Uneasiness felt in the mouth & throat due to infection can be relieved immediately with honey, so there is extensive scope for honey in cough mixtures & expectorants.

Honey used for children helps inflammatory throat conditions as it both purifies blood.

Digestion.

Because sugar molecules in honey can convert into other sugars (e.g. fructose to glucose), honey is easily digested by the most sensitive stomachs, despite its high acid content. It helps kidneys and intestines to function better. Hence honey is beneficial for maintaining a healthy digestive system as well as combating illnesses such as constipation.For poor digestion, Mix 1:1 honey with apple cider vinegar and dilute to taste with water.For patients suffering with various maladies of stomach who consume 10 grams of honey on an empty stomach in the morning & not eat anything thereafter for about 1 hour, will start feeling relief from the disorders within a few days.

Weight control.

Honey has a low calorie content. Honey, when it is compared with the same amount of sugar, it gives 40% less calories to the body. Although it gives great energy to the body, it does not add weight.

Rapidly diffuses through the blood.

When accompanied by mild water, honey diffuses into the bloodstream in 7 minutes. Its free sugar molecules make the brain function better since the brain is the largest consumer of sugar.

Conjunctivitis.

(pus in the eye)Honey dissolved in equal quantity of warm water. Apply, when cooled, as lotion or eye bath.

Blood.

Honey provides an important part of the energy needed by the body for blood formation. In addition, it helps in cleansing the blood. It has some positive effects in regulating and facilitating blood circulation. It also functions as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.

The Heart.

British researchers have discovered that honey slows the oxidation of 'bad' IDL cholesterol, which is responsible for causing arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. So Honey can fight against Colesterol. And the darker the honey, the better.Pure honey taken with food daily (instead of white sugar) relieves complains of cholesterol.This is beneficial for those of Old age, sufferers of Heart-disease, Diabetes, High-blood Pressure, Stroke, and others.

Appetite.

Honey improves appetite in children suffering from conditions of Appetite loss.

Headaches & Migraine.

Take 2 teaspoons at meals to prevent an attackFor Migraines, Take 1 dessert spoon honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water at start migraine. Repeat in 20 minutes if necessary.

Insomnia.

Honey helps in nervous disorders including Insomnia and acts as a tonic in recovery of any damage to the human nervous system. In cases of Insomnia (Sleeplessness) one teaspoon full of honey mixed in luke-warm water (or milk) & drunk before going to bed helps in getting sound sleep.

Stress.

Honey in water is a stabilizer - calms highs and raises lows. Use approx. 1:4 honey to water.

Healing.

Honey also greatly helps in convalecense as it has properties to make the body heal faster.

Tuberculosis.

Honey helps patients suffering from Tuberculosis as it vastly helps in arresting the spread of this disease.

Asthma.

Honey helps in conditions of Asthma as many conditions of Asthma respond favourably to Honey.

Fatigue and exhaustion

Honey is best used to increase the physical stamina & energy level of the human body & since honey is easily absorbed in the blood, it is the best ingredient to remove tiredness ad fatigue after hard work almost instantly.Dissolve 1 teaspoon honey in warm water or quarter honey balance of water in a jug and keep in the fridge. Honey is primarily fructose and glucose and so it is quickly absorbed by the digestive system.

The Old and young.

French doctors advise weak, emaciated children & older patients to take honey & cream or honey & butter instead of cod liver oil.Boiled mild mixed with equal quantity of water & seven percent honey is a fabulous energy packed food for children.

Osteoporosis.

1 teaspoon of honey a day helps calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis. Essential from age 50 onwards.

Burns.

Apply freely over burns. It cools, removes pain and aids fast healing without scarring. Apart from being a salve and antibiotic, bacteria cannot live in honey.

Infertility.

Honey consumed with milk increases human sperm count to an astonishing degree. Since, basically Sexual Virility is concerned with three fundamental Organs in the male body, all these organs use Glucose and Fructose to obtain energy.Honey as already mentioned is the best source of the above required sugars.

Baldness.

Scrub the bald area with onions till red. Then apply honey.

Constipation.

For patients suffering from constipation as spoon of honey mildly heated with a small quantity of wheat husk added after it is cooled & administered to the patient, gives immediate relief.Otherwise take ½ teaspoon honey mixed with ½ - 1cup warm water 2-3 times a day

Paralysis.

The famous physician ibn Sina (Aviccina) writes that licking honey mixed with the extract of boiled rice Wij (Peench in Urdu) helps cure partial facial paralysis.

High Blood Pressure.

Take mixed 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon ginger juice and 1 teaspoon cumin powder 2x a day

Anaemia.

Honey is the best blood enricher by raising corpuscle content. The darker the honey the more minerals it contains. Take 1 ripe banana with 1 tablespoon honey 1-2x a day

Hay Fever.

Chewing the tops of comb honey stimulates the immune system due to minute amounts of pollen. During the season chew for 20 minutes a teaspoon of bee capping (tops) five to six times per day. Highly effective and useful for asthma sufferers as well

Insect Bites.

For cases of bite or stinging of poisonous insects, a paste made of one part unsoaked limestone, four parts honey & four parts olive oil applied on the affected part will give immediate relief.

Ancient Healer Effective in Treating Infected Skin Lesions.

Honey Dressings Healed Pressure Ulcers 4X Faster Than Comparison Group.

Objective: To compare the effect of a honey dressing vs an ethoxy-diaminoacridine plus nitrofurazone dressing in patients with pressure ulcers.

Jem Bonnievale was 15 when he contracted meningococcal septicemia caused by an infection of Neisseria meningitidis. By the time the British teenager reached the hospital, he had multiple purple batches on his legs and fingers, which rapidly progressed to tissue death.

Both legs were amputated below the knee as well as fingers on both hands.

Design: This 5-week randomized clinical trial evaluated the effect of a honey dressing on pressure ulcer healing.

He endured multiple skin grafts and suffered for months with non-healing infected sores. His case was extreme and difficult to treat because of the severe pain it caused. "I can't even begin to explain how painful it was just to have a small piece of dressing changed.

Setting and Subjects: Thirty-six patients with a total of 68 stage II or III pressure ulcers referred from a university hospital in Izmir were enrolled in the study. Twenty-six subjects completed the trial.

The nurses tried everything to make it easier, like changing the dressing in the bath, but it was agony," said Jem. Over the next six months the success of the grafts was variable and the sores showed heavy growth of Pseudomonas and Staphlococcus aureus. All traditional treatments were tried without success.

Instruments: Ulcers were measured with acetate tracings and Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) evaluations.

When nothing else had any effect on the chronic infected sores, clinical nurse Cheryl Dunford and her colleagues turned to honey. Dressing pads impregnated with sterilized active manuka honey from New Zealand were applied to one leg and a traditional dressing to the other leg.

Methods: Fifteen patients with 25 pressure ulcers were treated with honey dressings, and 11 patients with 25 pressure ulcers were treated with ethoxy-diaminoacridine plus nitrofurazone dressings. Wound healing was assessed weekly using the PUSH tool, version 3.0. The primary outcome measure was the change in PUSH tool scores in each group at 5 weeks.

Within a few days, the honey dressed leg showed a reduction of wound bacteria. Both legs were then treated with the honey dressings. Within 10 weeks, all lesions were healed. Jem was released from the hospital, fitted with artificial legs and is getting on with his life.

The use of honey as medicine is mentioned in the most ancient written records.

Results: The two groups were statistically similar with regard to baseline and wound characteristics. After 5 weeks of treatment, patients who were treated by honey dressing had significantly better PUSH tool scores than subjects treated with the ethoxy-diaminoacridine plus nitrofurazone dressing (6.55 +/- 2.14 vs 12.62 +/- 2.15, P < .001).

Today scientists and doctors are rediscovering the effectiveness of honey as a wound treatment. Peter Molan, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemisty at Waikato University, New Zealand has been on the forefront of honey research for 20 years. He heads the university's Honey Research Unit, which is internationally recognized for its expertise in the antimicrobial properties of honey. Clinical observations and experimental studies have established that honey has effective antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Conclusion: By week 5, PUSH tool scores showed that healing among subjects using a honey dressing was approximately 4 times the rate of healing in the comparison group. The use of a honey dressing is effective and practical... [read more]

It painlessly removes pus, scabs and dead tissue from wounds and stimulates new tissue growth. "Randomized trials have shown that honey is more effective in controlling infection in burn wounds than silver sulphadiazine, the antibacterial ointment most widely used on burns in hospitals" says Dr. Molan. The significance of the case of the British teenager, as reported in the June issue of Nursing Times, is that it is the first case in which honey was used on multiple meningococcal skin lesions. The antibacterial action was evident as the mixed infection of Pseudomonas and Enterococcus cleared from the lesions in a few weeks and the number of colonizing staphylococci diminished to a harmless level.

Dr. Molan believes that if honey were used from the start in cases of meningococcal septicemia, there would be far less tissue damage resulting. "The remarkable ability of honey to reduce inflammation and mop up free radicals should halt the progress of the skin damage like it does in burns, as well as protecting from infection setting in," said Dr. Molan. "At present, people are turning to honey when nothing else works. But there are very good grounds for using honey as a therapeutic agent of first choice."

Researchers believe that the therapeutic potential of honey is grossly underutilized. It is widely available in most communities and although the mechanism of action of several of its properties remains obscure and needs further investigation, the time has now come for conventional medicine to look at this traditional remedy. With increasing interest in the use of alternative therapies and as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria spreads, honey may finally receive its due recognition as a wound healer.