Honey as Healer!
Ancient Healer Effective in Treating Infected Skin Lesions
LONGMONT, Colo., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Jem Bonnievale was 15 when he
contracted meningococcal septicemia caused by an infection of Neisseria
meningitidis. By the time the British teenager reached the hospital, he had
multiple purple batches on his legs and fingers, which rapidly progressed to
tissue death. Both legs were amputated below the knee as well as fingers on
both hands. He endured multiple skin grafts and suffered for months with
non-healing infected sores. His case was extreme and difficult to treat
because of the severe pain it caused. Over the next six months the success
of the grafts was variable and the sores showed heavy growth of Pseudomonas
and Staphlococcus aureus. All traditional treatments were tried without
success.
When nothing else had any effect on the chronic infected sores, clinical
nurse Cheryl Dunford and her colleagues turned to honey. Dressing pads
impregnated with sterilized active manuka honey from New Zealand were applied
to one leg and a traditional dressing to the other leg. Within a few days,
the honey dressed leg showed a reduction of wound bacteria. Both legs were
then treated with the honey dressings. Within 10 weeks, all lesions were
healed. Jem was released from the hospital, fitted with artificial legs and
is getting on with his life.
The use of honey as medicine is mentioned in the most ancient written
records. Today scientists and doctors are rediscovering the effectiveness of
honey as a wound treatment. Dr. Peter Molan, Professor of Biochemisty at
Waikato University, New Zealand has been on the forefront of honey research
for 20 years. He heads the university's Honey Research Unit, which is
internationally recognized for its expertise in the antimicrobial properties
of honey. Clinical observations and experimental studies have established
that honey has effective antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It
painlessly removes pus, scabs and dead tissue from wounds and stimulates new
tissue growth. "Randomized trials have shown that honey is more effective in
controlling infection in burn wounds than silver sulphadiazine, the
antibacterial ointment most widely used on burns in hospitals," says Dr.
Molan. The significance of the case of the British teenager, as reported in
the June issue of Nursing Times, is that it is the first case in which honey
was used on multiple meningococcal skin lesions. The antibacterial action
was evident as the mixed infection of Pseudomonas and Enterococcus cleared
from the lesions in a few weeks and the number of colonizing staphylococci
diminished to a harmless level.
Dr. Molan believes that if honey were used from the start in cases of
meningococcal septicemia, there would be far less tissue damage resulting.
"The remarkable ability of honey to reduce inflammation and mop up free
radicals should halt the progress of the skin damage like it does in burns,
as well as protecting from infection setting in," said Dr. Molan. "At
present, people are turning to honey when nothing else works. But there are
very good grounds for using honey as a therapeutic agent of first choice."
Researchers believe that the therapeutic potential of honey is grossly
underutilized. It is widely available in most communities and although the
mechanism of action of several of its properties remains obscure and needs
further investigation, the time has now come for conventional medicine to
look at this traditional remedy. With increasing interest in the use of
alternative therapies and as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
spreads, honey may finally receive its due recognition as a wound healer.
Dr. Molan is analyzing U.S. honey varietals for their antimicrobial and
antioxidant capacity. He will be in Denver, CO on August 31 to discuss his
research with the National Honey Board.
SOURCE National Honey Board
CO: National Honey Board
ST: Colorado
IN: FOD HEA
SU:
08/01/2000 12:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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