Oh, Honey: From Kitchen to Medicine Cabinet

Using honey to treat open wounds on the skin has been done for centuries, but read this before you dismiss this simple treatment as myth. This post is informational only, and I do not advise you to do anything one way or the other. I maintain that infected wounds need the care of a doctor, but knowledge in a TSHTF scenario is always a welcome thing.

Natural honey contains and enzyme that is converted to hydrogen peroxide, and both are great topical antibiotics. Because honey has hygroscopic properties, it actually attracts moisture, which could lead to a reduction in scaring and faster regeneration of skin cells at the wound site if covered with an appropriate bandage.  With the emergence of bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics, studies are being conducted in ancient medical methods to determine the effectiveness. Thankfully, honey is included in those studies.

In a study posted on biomedcentral.com, honey was proven to inhibit the growth of bacteria such as: Staphylococcus aureus (Staph infection), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The healthcare community has been battling with MRSA or Methicillin-resistant S. aureus for a number of years, and honey has showing some very promising results especially in the cases of burn victims (Hern T Tan).  A number of protozoa, viruses, and fungi also cannot withstand the application of honey. People suffering from diabetic and other types of ulcers have also shown great improvement in killing off the microbes that are perpetuating their infection.

            Accelerated healing with the use of honey could also be do to the noted increase of B and T-cell Lymphocytes in the area when honey is applied versus when it is not. Since I do not intend this to be an anatomy and physiology posting, I’ll leave it to you to read about those lymphocytes if you are just that curious. If you chose to skip that, just know that those cells are the body’s way of fighting infection, the more the merrier.

            If you chose to use honey in your med-kit, there are directionson the web for applying honey to a wound (Molan). I am not including these directions here since I am not a doctor. There are concerns that the honey could cause problems in those people who are sensitive for pollen since all honey contains pollen due to the nature of the substance. The sources I located also mention a difference in local food honey versus medicinal honey, so I encourage you to do some additional research. My medicine cabinet will have Neosporin, but my kitchen always has honey!

            If you buy your honey at a major grocery store, make sure that you are buying REAL honey made in the USA. Other countries do not have the standards the USA does, and some have tried to sneak in a mix of corn syrup and water under the guise of honey.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Prepping!!!

 

Hern T Tan, Rosliza A Rahman, Siew H Gan, Ahmad S Halim, Siti A Hassan, Siti A Sulaiman, Kirnpal-Kaur. "The antibacterial properties of Malaysian tualang honey against wound and enteric microorganisms in comparison to manuka honey." 15 September 2009. biomedcentral.com. 24 November 2012 <http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/9/34>.

Molan, Peter Charles. "Honey as a topical antibacterial agent for treatment of infected wounds." 1 December 2001. World Wide Wounds. 24 November 2012 <http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/november/Molan/honey-as-topical-agent.html>.