itsonlyme
Well-Known Member
As the title really. Need the UMM/MGO rating to be as high as possible. I've found loads for sale in supermarkets & online, but just want to check Im not missing out on a bargain! 
Best place to buy manuka honey?
- Thread starter itsonlyme
- Start date
itsonlyme
Well-Known Member
Oops, I meant UMF!
albeg
Well-Known Member
I buy mine in the supermarket. I find the stuff marketed at horses is more expensive, but exactly the same. The stuff I buy comes in a squeezy bottle, so is nice and clean to use, no sticky spoons!
I'll Give It A Go
Active Member
Yes from the supermarket...I have read that you need to be the 'active' version for it to be effective. Not sure if that helps you?
leflynn
Well-Known Member
Holland and Barratt have it on buy one get another one for a penny 
HilaryG
Well-Known Member
I buy mine from Aldi - 10+ Manuka Honey £3.99 for 250 grams.
I used it on a leg wound (after the vet used some small tubes which cost over £10 each) and had very good results.
Really nice on toast as well!
I used it on a leg wound (after the vet used some small tubes which cost over £10 each) and had very good results.
Really nice on toast as well!
NOISYGIRL
Well-Known Member
I was talking about this on the weekend with my farrier, he said he thought it had to be over 15+ to be any good
littlescallywag
Well-Known Member
I bought 15+ from morrisons supermarket, was about £15
itsonlyme
Well-Known Member
Thank you everyone!
zoon
Well-Known Member
Or get your local pharmacy to order Medihoney in - it's what the NHS use on wounds. Comes in single use tubes that are only a few £ each.
AmyMay
Situation normal
Waitrose have 340g on offer for £11.96 - 15+
itsonlyme
Well-Known Member
Bargain amymay, thank you!
Will look into the medihoney too - had no idea about that
Will look into the medihoney too - had no idea about that
Auslander
Well-Known Member
Excuse the copy and paste, but this WAS copied from an article I wrote, so I have excused myself!
The argument for NOT using food grade Manuka on wounds
"Food grade Manuka honey is not processed in a way that renders it acceptable for medical application. To make it safe for human consumption, it is pasteurised, a process which does not eliminate clostridium botulinum spores, which could become viable as the honey dilutes through osmosis within the wound environment. Medical grade Manuka honey undergoes cold sterilisation via gamma radiation, which ensures inhibition of spores, while the beneficial enzymes that would be denatured by pasteurisation are preserved. It is also carefully filtered to remove wax and other contaminants"
Happy to forward a copy of the entire article to anyone who's interested.
The argument for NOT using food grade Manuka on wounds
"Food grade Manuka honey is not processed in a way that renders it acceptable for medical application. To make it safe for human consumption, it is pasteurised, a process which does not eliminate clostridium botulinum spores, which could become viable as the honey dilutes through osmosis within the wound environment. Medical grade Manuka honey undergoes cold sterilisation via gamma radiation, which ensures inhibition of spores, while the beneficial enzymes that would be denatured by pasteurisation are preserved. It is also carefully filtered to remove wax and other contaminants"
Happy to forward a copy of the entire article to anyone who's interested.
Nicnac
Well-Known Member
I am a big fan of Activon products http://www.medicalhoney.com/index.php as the gauze impregnated with honey gave amazing results when my boy (stoopid TB) rolled and caught his leg in electric fencing a couple of years ago.
Although the gauze pads were expensive (thank you SEIB!) the tube of 25g honey can be found for about £3 online and it's medical grade. Their website is pretty good giving background information and science.
Although the gauze pads were expensive (thank you SEIB!) the tube of 25g honey can be found for about £3 online and it's medical grade. Their website is pretty good giving background information and science.
Auslander
Well-Known Member
Sorry Darren, I wasn't intending to cast aspersions on your product - I had no idea whether it was food grade or medical grade. BUT, it is proven that pasteurised honey does not maintain its sterility in a wound environment - and I think its important that people are aware of the risk. It's probably ok for minor injuries, but based on the available evidence, I would not use anything but medical grade manuka on a serious wound.
Incidentally, I do not work for a company that supplies medical grade manuka, although I have written articles for them. Everything here is my personal opinion, based on my findings whilst researching. I've been writing on the subject on and off for 5 years, so am pretty well informed.
cremedemonthe
Well-Known Member
Think they sell it in the cash & carry Costco, am going up there next week I'll have a look and get some prices if they have any, Oz
Jools1234
Well-Known Member
the vets I work at use it, they get 15+ from tesco's as the price is good, its local and they find it effective
Moody-Mare
Well-Known Member
Holland and Barratt have it on buy one get another one for a penny
SNAP
I went through a load of it when my foal got tangled up in barbed wire, It worked miricles on his legs ( I bough it from Holland and Barratt- Slap my wrist
) . In saying that i will try get the photos! its incredible!
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Auslander
Well-Known Member
SNAP
I went through a load of it when my foal got tangled up in barbed wire, It worked miricles on his legs ( I bough it from Holland and Barratt- Slap my wrist
I'm not into slapping wrists, and as a positive advocate of Manuka - I'm delighted to hear it's worked for you, wherever it came from! Just wanted to make sure people knew about the risk of using non medical grade, so that they can make an informed decision on their particular case!! The sort of cases I have written about are critical/lifethreatening, and in wounds of that nature, I wouldn't take the chance - but for less serious ones, it's just good to hear that people are having a positive experience with it.
That said - if 100 horses are treated with food grade manuka, and one dies as a result of chlostridium botulinum as a result - then that's one too many in my book, even if 99 owners are completely cool with the results they've achieved
misterjinglejay
Well-Known Member
Just a quickie - I love honey on my toast and use manuka 15 on that, as i have it in the cupboard for wounds ect, but can medical grade honey be eaten. If it's better for healing, I might as well just buy that, but I do like my toast and honey
Auslander
Well-Known Member
Just a quickie - I love honey on my toast and use manuka 15 on that, as i have it in the cupboard for wounds ect, but can medical grade honey be eaten. If it's better for healing, I might as well just buy that, but I do like my toast and honey
Quite an expensive way to get your honey fix, but as far as I know, there's no reason why you shouldn't!
Delighted to see that someone gets why you should use the medical grade version! I thought I was banging my little drum all alone in my corner!
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
Yes please would like to see the aarticle - To date I've known many people in NZ who have used non-medical grade honey on their horse and none have suffered any detrimental effects.
This wound that was done in appaling wet muddy weather was treated with Off the counter supermarket activated Manuka Honey from the 2nd day - the wound as you can see was disgusting and oozing. Honey was used for about 10 days - the wound NEVER became infected and is now only a few mmm across and still closing cleanly.
a friends horse went from this to this in 5weeks and back in work - recently saw her and the scar is barely visable
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Jools1234
Well-Known Member
Yes please would like to see the aarticle - To date I've known many people in NZ who have used non-medical grade honey on their horse and none have suffered any detrimental effects.
This wound that was done in appaling wet muddy weather was treated with Off the counter supermarket activated Manuka Honey from the 2nd day - the wound as you can see was disgusting and oozing. Honey was used for about 10 days - the wound NEVER became infected and is now only a few mmm across and still closing cleanly.
G]
you also used copper sulphate according to the 'does this look normal to you?' thread, on this wound due to proud flesh
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
Not sure where you are coming from with this comment - the wound was treated for around 10 days with the honey - it never infected - developed a light amount of proud flesh that would in the past have produced a massive amount with traditional treatment.
After 10 says I started to remove the proud flesh with Copper Sulphate.
Day 8 - showing the great work the honey has done - a lovely clean wound with a good blood supply
Day 15 the wound has been treated now for 5 days to slowly remove the proud flesh
Day 23 Wound has reduced in size - still using Copper Sulpahte to remove proud flesh
From experience I certainly would not have had a wound that size in the area it is heal so well treated in the traditional manner with Animalintex.
In NZ we have been using Manuka Honey for a long time and there is no record of any horse suffering from any clostridium botulinum infection - honey has natural oxygen producing properties so reduces the risk that the wound would become infected. The dressing if changed regularly and cleaned between dressings would also prevent a chance of botulism developing.
Contrary to some beliefs that research is only done by the honey companies - Massey Universtity in NZ http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/fms/...osoft Word - Manuka honey and mastitis v2.pdf
Auslander
Well-Known Member
Tnavas, I'm not saying that food grade (providing it IS in fact pure Manuka, which over here , more often than not, it isn't) doesn't have the same antibacterial effect as medical grade manuka honey. I KNOW its great stuff, or I wouldn't write about it.
Here's an analogy for you. A surgeon performs an operation without scrubbing up, using unsterilised instruments. The first 99 patients recover fine, no infections. The 100th patient develops a raging infection and dies, as a result of the surgeon using the right tools, but not prepared in the correct way for an invasive medical procedure. Had he scrubbed up, and used sterilised instruments, that last patient may not have died.
Medical grade honey is gamma irradiated, meaning that it is sterile. Food grade is pasteurised, and when it heats up, any bugs it contains can become active again, meaning that, in the moist environment of a wound, it is no longer sterile.
We're on the same side here! I love Manuka honey as a wound treatment. I'm just really keen to make people aware that there is a risk attached to using a non-sterile product in an open wound.
PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy of one of the articles.
Here's an analogy for you. A surgeon performs an operation without scrubbing up, using unsterilised instruments. The first 99 patients recover fine, no infections. The 100th patient develops a raging infection and dies, as a result of the surgeon using the right tools, but not prepared in the correct way for an invasive medical procedure. Had he scrubbed up, and used sterilised instruments, that last patient may not have died.
Medical grade honey is gamma irradiated, meaning that it is sterile. Food grade is pasteurised, and when it heats up, any bugs it contains can become active again, meaning that, in the moist environment of a wound, it is no longer sterile.
We're on the same side here! I love Manuka honey as a wound treatment. I'm just really keen to make people aware that there is a risk attached to using a non-sterile product in an open wound.
PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy of one of the articles.
ponynotexpress
New User
Auslander is making some very relevant points. A proper medical grade manuka honey should be used for wounds.
If you want to know the expert opinion then do some searching for the work of Dr Rose Cooper of Cardiff University. The team there seem to be at the forefront of research into using this honey on wounds, and although what they do relates mainly to use on people, am sure it is equally applicable to animals.
Only some products are approved for use in hospitals, and in the USA the FDA approval is important - again only some products qualify.
Here is an example of a medical grade honey:
http://www.newzealandhoneyshop.co.uk/manuka-honey/manukacare-18.html
There is something wrong with the honey being mentioned from the likes of Aldi etc at those prices - I've tried to buy in bulk before direct from beekeepers in New Zealand and can't get close to those prices from the beekeepers gate, let alone the freight afterwards (and the costs put my ideas for my honey fudge out the window).
Guess where to buy it from will depend on where you live, and who happens to be running any promotions at the time. The site above though does appear to have quite a bit of information you can research through first. There is even a list of the test results for the different strengths - http://www.newzealandhoneyshop.co.uk/news/manuka-test-results-2012.html
I take it there are no issues in the horse eating it if they end up licking it off
If you want to know the expert opinion then do some searching for the work of Dr Rose Cooper of Cardiff University. The team there seem to be at the forefront of research into using this honey on wounds, and although what they do relates mainly to use on people, am sure it is equally applicable to animals.
Only some products are approved for use in hospitals, and in the USA the FDA approval is important - again only some products qualify.
Here is an example of a medical grade honey:
http://www.newzealandhoneyshop.co.uk/manuka-honey/manukacare-18.html
There is something wrong with the honey being mentioned from the likes of Aldi etc at those prices - I've tried to buy in bulk before direct from beekeepers in New Zealand and can't get close to those prices from the beekeepers gate, let alone the freight afterwards (and the costs put my ideas for my honey fudge out the window).
Guess where to buy it from will depend on where you live, and who happens to be running any promotions at the time. The site above though does appear to have quite a bit of information you can research through first. There is even a list of the test results for the different strengths - http://www.newzealandhoneyshop.co.uk/news/manuka-test-results-2012.html
I take it there are no issues in the horse eating it if they end up licking it off
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
Even here in New Zealand the honey is anywhere between NZ$12 - 18 for a normal size pot.
I would be wary of any really cheap Manuka Honey as it definately isn't cheap.
I would be wary of any really cheap Manuka Honey as it definately isn't cheap.
misterjinglejay
Well-Known Member
Has anyone ever done a comparison between manuka honey and collodial silver. I use cs on wounds as well as honey (makes the toast go soggy though )
)
Tnavas
Well-Known Member
"The incidence of botulism in animals is not known with accuracy, but it is relatively low in cattle and horses" (Merck Veterinary MAnual)
What we need to remember is that horses spend all day eating dirt and this will include botulism spores - their immune system is more than capable of dealing with this sort of intoxication.
While pasturised honey may be a problem for babies once on solid foods they can be given honey.
I really think that the risk of developing botulism from the use of non medical grade Manuka Honey is very slight.
What we need to remember is that horses spend all day eating dirt and this will include botulism spores - their immune system is more than capable of dealing with this sort of intoxication.
While pasturised honey may be a problem for babies once on solid foods they can be given honey.
I really think that the risk of developing botulism from the use of non medical grade Manuka Honey is very slight.
Whispers1
New User
The co-op £8?!?!?, fixed my boys v.deep cut late one saturday eve (avoiding vet bill out of hours!) which should have been a stitch up job. Great stuff highly recommended from me can't rate it enough!