The increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria may just force us to turn to an age old folk remedy:
Honey is not just a sweet treat, it can also be used as a wound dressing! It has already been used for centuries for wounds, burns, skin ulcers, scrapes and cataracts. Some types of honey have some strong antimicrobial properties, which makes them perfect for treating wounds. Honey can prevent a wound from infection, and treat one after it becomes infected.
This is not a new development: honey was frequently used as a wound dressing before world war II, but people stopped spreading it on themselves when commercial antibiotic creams became available. Now that most creams no longer work on some resistant bacteria, honey may be the cure we are looking for. Thanks to its lack of popularity bacteria have not (yet) developed resistance to this natural product. And thanks to most of us having some honey at home anyways there is no need to rush out and spend money on creams and ointments whenever we hurt ourselves or our kids get into accidents.
“Medical honey” is already available as a wound dressing through online pharmacies in the US and in regular pharmacies in Australia. However, I’d say we can just run to the local grocery store and get some honey to treat our scrapes and burns.
The honey treats the wound by providing a protective barrier, releasing germ killing hydrogen peroxide, reducing inflammation and speeding up the formation of new healthy tissue. These benefits apparently outweigh the fact that bacteria in the wound can consume the sugars naturally present in the honey. Regardless of this, other properties will still slowly kill the bacteria present.
Honey is even better at treating superficial burns than regular burn medicine! Talk about a cheaper alternative! Studies showed faster healing in patients who were given a layer of honey on their burns, after which the burn was protected with gauze, compared to patients given a popular burn medicine. Honey treated patients also had less scar formation and experienced less pain!
The most potent honey is Manuka Honey, it contains an antibiotic that has helped in cases where all other antibiotics have failed! The honey is currently being sold under the name “Medihoney”. Although this type of honey has been tested in a laboratory, you can still use normal store bought honey for your burns and scrapes. In the mean time you save a bundle by eliminating the need for commercial creams, which tend to be much more expensive! Honey can also be used on kids, as long as you can convince them not to eat it!
Photography by Jeff W.