Raw honey has been used for hundreds of years now as a really effective remedy for various health problems including ulcers, burns and wounds. Research has been done and it is still being done by specialists from all around the world.
Honey Used To Deal With Infections
Honey’s composition includes various things that work together in order to offer antimicrobial properties. We can mention:
- High osmolality – honey can be supersaturated or saturated in terms of sugar solution. This will interact with the body and will inhibit microorganism growth.
- Hydrogen peroxide – honey would be diluted by the wound exudates, producing hydrogen peroxide thanks to glucose oxidase, with a slow release. This offers antibacterial activity and will not damage the tissue.
- Antibacterial phytochemicals – there is honey that includes antimicrobial activity when we have the hydrogen peroxide active, normally when it comes from the Manuka tree. This has been proven to be particularly effective as an antibacterial substance.
Besides these antimicrobial properties, we also see honey stimulating both phagocytic and lymphocytic activity. In case you did not know, these are really important immune responses in the body that will battle infection.
What Can Honey Treat?
In most situations honey is utilized as a strong topical antibacterial agent with the purpose of treating infections appearing in various wound types, like those appearing in burns, diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers or infected wounds.
In most situations we see honey being used in the event that the regular antibacterial treatment with the use of antiseptics or antibiotics is ineffective. Studies highlighted that wounds that are tough to heal do respond really well to the use of honey dressings. Pain, swelling and inflammation do subside, with unpleasant odors disappearing and debridement being enhanced. This is because honey will remove the dead tissue and will not cause any damage to the new cells that appear. We thus have faster healing and minimal scarring, which is definitely something that you will love. You can also utilize honey as a first aid treatment when faced with burns because of the anti-inflammatory action.
What Is The Honey That You Can Use?
There are many different types of honey that are available at the moment and you cannot simply buy the very first thing that you find in the supermarket. There are some differences that appear when referring to the antibacterial activity.
Studies show that manuka honey has the highest possible antibacterial activity. This is because of the high antibacterial phytochemical activity. Honey needs to include non-peroxide antibacterial components in order to increase efficiency.
While you will not find manuka honye everywhere, you can easily go for sterilized honey, preferably laboratory tested, in order to heal wounds.
Using Honey On Wounds
Make sure that you go to the doctor in the event that you have a serious wound. Below you can see general tips about using honey in wound care but the elp of the doctor is priceless.
You will determine how much honey to use based on how much fluid appears in the wound. A large amount will require more honey. Dressing frequency normally depends on the speed at which the honey is getting diluted by exudates.
It is a good idea to put honey on dressing and then apply that to a wound instead of direct honey application. You can find some dressing pads that are pre-impregnated with various types of honey in pharmacies. If the wounds are deep, cavity based or abscesses, you will want to have wound bed filled before you apply the dressing pad.