Medical grade honey produced in New Zealand known as Manuka Honey is
being used as an ingredient in health care products because of its extraordinary
healing properties, especially its ability to miraculously heal wounds.
Clinical studies have shown that Manuka Honey effectively addresses wound issues
such as exuding wound fluid, tissue inflammation, pain, devitalized tissue and
infection. Manuka Honey-based creams and lotions have been developed to make
the application easier and not as messy or sticky as applying honey directly on
the skin.
The differences between the various types of honey and their healing
properties depend on the floral source that it is derived from. Not all kinds of
honey should be used for medical purposes. It is generally accepted that Active
Manuka Honey is the only type of honey that should be used therapeutically.
Manuka Honey's healing properties are so effective that scientists and medical
professionals are beginning to regard it as the best natural antibiotic in the
world.
Honey has been used as a healing agent for thousands of years. In fact
there has even been mention of honey being used for medicinal purposes in the
Bible, Koran and Torah. Honey dressings were used for wound care all the way up
until the first part of the 20th century. With the advent of antibiotics in the
1930s and 1940s, doctors were under the misconception that antibiotics were more
effective that honey. However, with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant
strains of bacteria (such as MRSA), medical professionals have been
reconsidering the use of honey in modern medicine. Even consumers have been
warming up to the idea of using honey as a medicine with all of the recent
documentation available on the Internet stating Manuka Honey's effectiveness as
an all-natural healer with no negative side effects.
Unfortunately, the therapeutic use of active Manuka Honey is grossly
underutilized. As more reports of its astounding results become known, this is
expected to change. Scientists caution that only medical grade active Manuka
Honey should be used for healing wounds and other health conditions and not the
standard honey that can be purchased in supermarkets as a food item. Active
Manuka Honey is filtered, gamma-irradiated and produced under carefully
controlled standards to ensure its potency.
Manuka Honey may be ahead of its time as many doctors have failed to
recognize the evidence linked to its effectiveness. However, honey's transition
from the food cabinet to the medicine cabinet is imminent. Manuka Honey's
ability to combat bacterial "biofilms" is unprecedented. A biofilm is a
bacterial community that exists within a self-produced extra-cellular
polysaccharide matrix. Bio-films act as a barrier, protecting the bacteria from
antimicrobial elements, such as antibiotics.
Manuka Honey prevents the
bacteria from forming biofilms and proceeds to draw water out of the bacterial
cells, making it impossible for the bacteria to survive. This is how Manuka Honey is
able to destroy MRSA and heal Staph infections where antibiotics have failed.
To date, there has been no evidence of any form of bacteria being able to
develop a resistance to Manuka Honey.
There is no doubt that honey is being re-established as a valuable agent in
modern wound care management. Healing properties of Manuka Honey are as
follows:
provides a moist healing environment;
has a debriding action;
eliminates malodor;
has extremely powerful antibacterial and antimicrobial properties;
has an anti-inflammatory activity which helps the reduction of pain.
In addition to wound care, reports indicate that Manuka Honey is also effective
in treating the following conditions:
