> I cringe whenever I read postings of these "home medical cures" on Bee-L -
> this isn't informed in the least. I suspect that if it was someone writing
> similar stuff about impact of pesticides on honeybees everyone would
> immediately jump in with "correlation does not equal causation".
>

Agree....but.
I did due diligence and did not proceed on my hands blindly but had tested
it on small wounds and cuts, and it did work with no complications. I also
learned that it has been used through history for wounds and still is in
many countries. As I noted, it is antibacterial because of its acidity,
supersaturation, and enzymes, specifically glucose oxidase, the enzyme that
creates hydrogen peroxide when confronted with moisture. That helps in the
prevention of fermentation of honey in the hive. It also acts to slough off
dead tissue in a wound as well as kill of bacteria.This way the wound heals
with little scar tissue- my hands are proof of that.

The only reason I used honey on my post op hands was because they were
healing slowly and the Doctor was slightly concerned. It took a couple of
weeks to convince him, including visiting the office more often, to allow
me to proceed. They healed rapidly after that. So he let me start my honey
treatments on the other hand immediately post- op.

So I was under medical observation the whole time and it was not a "home
remedy". I did my homework.

So.. would I recommend it to others...no. Why, because it is a royal pain.
It requires a lot of work, time, and is messy. For me, it was a scientific
experiment so it was pure joy. I had excellent medical supervision so would
know nearly immediately if it was not working.

I see many pitfalls in using it as a home remedy without medical oversee.
But I would be pleading to my Dr if I had MRSA (I volunteer at a hospital,
the best place to get it) to use it on the wound.

Here is a set of papers on it,

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23308029_Honey_as_a_topical_treatment_for_wounds

In essence they say it works, but in varying degree. So there is no reason
to discount it for wound treatment.

One major problem with a lot of research is the honey has to be raw with
enzymes, especially glucose oxidase to work, otherwise it is just an
acidic, supersaturated sugar. So all of my honey was fresh off the hive.
Store honey is acidic, supersaturated flavored sugars. No enzymes.

Then you have the problem of "Raw" honey which some put on the label and it
ain't.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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