Everyone is familiar with the miraculous benefits of highly nutritious, sugary, syrupy Manuka honey in treating wounds and infections. Due to its unique composition, it is best used as a remedial medicine regardless of the types of wound and stages of healing, especially when wounds fail to respond to antibiotic or antiseptic therapies. Science has provided plenty of evidence guaranteeing the efficacy of Manuka honey in clearing infection, deodorizing wounds, curing infected surgical wounds, debriding, decreasing scarring, and suppressing the progression of gangrene.
The bioactive components give honey rapid diabetic wound healing properties. Still, honey wound dressing and diabetes need more in-depth research. You must always consult with a diabetes expert/consultant to ensure safety.
Quality honey can heal partial thickness burns quicker compared to the traditional wound dressings (approx. 4 to 5 days). Adding to your surprise, studies proved how more effective honey is for treating septic surgical wounds than antiseptic therapy and typical gauze dressing.
Honey and Wounds - Medical Grade Honey As A Wound Dressing
Does Manuka honey hurt when used as a wound dressing? Absolutely not! But remember, you cannot put any honey on your wounds and expect it to expedite the healing process. To avoid triggering immune reactions, you need medical-grade, laboratory-tested, and 100% sterilized honey produced on the highest quality and purity standards. Manuka honey and its healing properties truly deserve appreciation.
The use of medical-grade Manuka honey is recommended for better wound care because:
- Unique pH balance
- High sugar content
- Ability to provide a moist wound environment (less water)
- Methylglyoxal (MGO)
- A wide variety of active compounds(flavonoids, phenolic acid, organic acids, enzymes, vitamins)
- Autolytic debriding activities
- Anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory properties
- Anti-odour properties
- Stimulating lymphocytic and phagocytic activity
A few Manuka honey dressings will do wonders for chronic and non-healing wounds and skin ulcers. Apart from complicated cases, you may use it for treating damaged tissue and healing minor cuts, skin abrasions, and low-grade burns.
Are you wondering how to apply Manuka honey on wound? Look for our blog!
8 Benefits of Medicinal Manuka Honey In Healing Wounds
As per the recent medical literature, honey hastens wound healing by providing the following benefits.
- Acidic pH & MGO
The medical grade honey tends to have a pH of 3.2 to 4.5 (acidic). This low pH is majorly responsible for:
- Promoting oxygen release, which is favourable to healing
- Decreasing the amount of proteases (a substance that can hinder the healing process)
Due to higher levels of methylglyoxal, you will notice minimized scarring. Moreover, it supports debridement, where dead, septic, and damaged tissues are cleared out from the wound site naturally without injuring the newly formed healthy tissues.
- Hydrogen Peroxide
Honey comes packed with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). It allows honey to fight bacteria, but its action can be compromised in the presence of catalase, an acidic environment, and protein-digesting enzymes. Honey’s antimicrobial and antibacterial activity doesn’t cause tissue destruction.
Manuka honey is prized for its high quantities of antibacterial phytochemicals.
- No Cross-Contamination
By putting honey on wounds, you can avoid cross-contamination as it is viscous enough to create a physical barrier. This barrier doesn’t let the harmful environmental bacteria, germs, pollutants, and contaminants attack infections or stick to the wound area.
- Exudate and Inflammation Management
Exudate reduction is vital to control the multiplication of bacteria, reduce oedema, and minimize inflammation. The honey’s anti-inflammatory ability cut down the amount of wound exudate, successively increasing surface exudate. As a result, you will experience lesser pain.
- Antibacterial Agent
Honey for burns and wounds acts as a natural anti-bacterial agent because it is either in the form of saturated liquid or supersaturated solution with less water. Due to the absence of ‘free’ water, microorganisms’ growth is inhibited or hindered. It works the best against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, salmonella, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE).
Manuka honey seems to be your defence shield against superbugs that can worsen the wound.
- Reduces Swelling
Honey can help reduce wound and peri-wound swelling by regulating lymph flow.
- Wound Malodour
You must have noticed the odour produced by the wounded or infected wounds. The solution to avoid wound malodour is honey dressings. By providing an alternative energy source to microbes, it controls the production of toxic compounds responsible for unbearable odours.
- Osmotic Effect
Sugar performs the natural phenomenon of pulling out the water from the damaged tissues, consequently kicking out the bacterial cells and stopping them from reproducing along with continually bathing the wound bed. It significantly minimizes the risk of maceration, avoids over-hydration, and removes healing-prohibitive matters.
Another benefit of using honey for cuts and wounds is that it enhances honey’s debriding action through osmosis.
Honey Varieties Cherished By Honey Enthusiasts!
Nature’s Blends has the purest and 100% organic collection of raw honey – unfiltered, unpasteurized, cold-extracted, and all-natural!
We bring a diverse range of thick kinds of honey with a tangy twist to subtle kinds of honey with earthy aromas. Our sweet, delicate Manuka honey is full of enticing smell, unique texture, and finger-licking taste. Each jar of honey is lab-tested and clinically proven with no artificial preservatives or additives.
Nature’s Blends sources honey from the most exotic places and hand-pick the finest ingredients to offer you nutritional goodness.