Honey helps wound healing
April 30, 2012 — Smearing honey on a wound instead of using polysporin or fucidin may be a way of keeping wounds healthy in an all natural way.
Honey promotes wound healing and minimizes dead skin.
And it is not just me who thinks so. These are the results of a study recently published in a medical journal.
This study showed that honey both helped speed wound healing, and decreased pain in the wounds studies.
Researchers enrolled patients treated at 10 medical institutions in Germany and Austria between March 2007 and March 2009. The causes of 154 wounds in the 121-patient study group included general and postoperative wounds, pressure ulcers, soft tissue infections, burns, scalds, and skin lesions. Seventeen patients dropped out, leaving 104 to be included in the treatment assessment. Almost half the participants were younger than 18 years, and nearly one third (32%) were oncology patients.
Investigators changed dressings after 1 to 3 days if they observed wound exudation. They protected wound margins when necessary and cleaned the wounds with sterile solution. The investigators assessed each patient's wounds at least 3 times over observational periods averaging just under 5 weeks.
High tolerance of topical honey was reflected in 89% of the wound assessments.
Floral honey drawn from Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) has been shown in many case studies to accelerate healing. And numerous studies have focused on its antimicrobial benefits, especially with regard to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus. The current investigation, however, did not focus on the antibacterial effects of applied honey because physicians had already committed to the use of local antiseptics or systemic antibiotics for conditions afflicting many of the study's participants.
Raw honey works best, because it contains more antibacterial agents.
Int Wound J. Published online April 12, 2012. Abstract
Honey promotes wound healing and minimizes dead skin.
And it is not just me who thinks so. These are the results of a study recently published in a medical journal.
This study showed that honey both helped speed wound healing, and decreased pain in the wounds studies.
Researchers enrolled patients treated at 10 medical institutions in Germany and Austria between March 2007 and March 2009. The causes of 154 wounds in the 121-patient study group included general and postoperative wounds, pressure ulcers, soft tissue infections, burns, scalds, and skin lesions. Seventeen patients dropped out, leaving 104 to be included in the treatment assessment. Almost half the participants were younger than 18 years, and nearly one third (32%) were oncology patients.
Investigators changed dressings after 1 to 3 days if they observed wound exudation. They protected wound margins when necessary and cleaned the wounds with sterile solution. The investigators assessed each patient's wounds at least 3 times over observational periods averaging just under 5 weeks.
High tolerance of topical honey was reflected in 89% of the wound assessments.
Floral honey drawn from Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) has been shown in many case studies to accelerate healing. And numerous studies have focused on its antimicrobial benefits, especially with regard to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus. The current investigation, however, did not focus on the antibacterial effects of applied honey because physicians had already committed to the use of local antiseptics or systemic antibiotics for conditions afflicting many of the study's participants.
Raw honey works best, because it contains more antibacterial agents.
Int Wound J. Published online April 12, 2012. Abstract
Honey as cough medicine
August 6, 2012 — Honey is more effective than a placebo in controlling nighttime cough in children with upper respiratory infections (URI), according to the results from a new randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. The results were published online August 6 in Pediatrics.
The World Health Organization recommends honey as a nighttime treatment for coughing in young children with URIs. However, prior studies either tested only a single type of honey or were not blinded.
In the current study, children with URIs and nocturnal cough were given either 1 of 3 different honey products or a placebo 30 minutes before bedtime, based on a double-blind randomization plan. The primary outcome evaluated was a subjective change in cough frequency, based on parent surveys. Secondary outcomes measured included a change in cough severity, the effect of the cough on sleep for both the child and the parent, and the combined score on the pre- and postintervention interview.
"The results of this study demonstrate that each of the 3 types of honey (eucalyptus, citrus, and labiatae) was more effective than the placebo for the treatment of all of the outcomes related to nocturnal cough, child sleep, and parental sleep," the authors write.
The researchers enrolled 300 children with URIs, aged 1 to 5 years, who were seen at 1 of 6 general pediatric community clinics between January 2009 and December 2009. Patients were eligible if they had a nocturnal cough attributed to the URI. Children were excluded if they had symptoms of asthma, pneumonia, laryngotracheobronchitis, sinusitis, and/or allergic rhinitis. Patients who used any cough or cold medication or honey in the previous 24 hours were also excluded.
"Honey may be a preferable treatment of cough and sleep difficulties associated with childhood URI," they conclude.
Pediatrics. Published online August 6, 2012.
The World Health Organization recommends honey as a nighttime treatment for coughing in young children with URIs. However, prior studies either tested only a single type of honey or were not blinded.
In the current study, children with URIs and nocturnal cough were given either 1 of 3 different honey products or a placebo 30 minutes before bedtime, based on a double-blind randomization plan. The primary outcome evaluated was a subjective change in cough frequency, based on parent surveys. Secondary outcomes measured included a change in cough severity, the effect of the cough on sleep for both the child and the parent, and the combined score on the pre- and postintervention interview.
"The results of this study demonstrate that each of the 3 types of honey (eucalyptus, citrus, and labiatae) was more effective than the placebo for the treatment of all of the outcomes related to nocturnal cough, child sleep, and parental sleep," the authors write.
The researchers enrolled 300 children with URIs, aged 1 to 5 years, who were seen at 1 of 6 general pediatric community clinics between January 2009 and December 2009. Patients were eligible if they had a nocturnal cough attributed to the URI. Children were excluded if they had symptoms of asthma, pneumonia, laryngotracheobronchitis, sinusitis, and/or allergic rhinitis. Patients who used any cough or cold medication or honey in the previous 24 hours were also excluded.
"Honey may be a preferable treatment of cough and sleep difficulties associated with childhood URI," they conclude.
Pediatrics. Published online August 6, 2012.