Honey as a dressing

[lazybee]

Hello, I thought I'd post this on here too as posts get buried PDQ in NL.
There seems to be a lot of hype at the moment about certain types of honey.

A note on honey, all honey is hygroscopic, as it's an inverted sugar. That means it attracts moisture. For example: if you leave a jar of honey in a humid environment it will absorb moisture from the air. That's why it's used on wounds it removes moisture without allowing the wound to dry. All honey has antibacterial properties, put there by the bees so they can store it in the combs without it spoiling. These two properties are exploited when used as a wound dressing. Honey used for human dressings is treated to remove pollen, yeast, bees legs etc.

No particular type of honey has an advantage over another. Manuka, clover, oil seed rape makes no difference. As long as it's not 'set' honey. Set honey or Oil seed rape honey can be turned to clear liquid by putting it in the microwave on defrost. Don't believe the hype with Manuka it's just marketing.



PS Trust me I'm a beekeeper Personally though for mud fever I use Sudocrem as I find honey such a sticky mess to use, and prefer it on my toast

 

[cm2581]

Yes but Manuka honey is the only type to have laboratory tested antibacterial ratings. Anything else is down to chance. The honey from your hive may or may not be more antibacterial than the +10 rating Manuka I bought in Tesco last night!

 

[Apple1]

I think using honey is fantastic.

It helps heal, it helps draw the muck out....ect.

I swear by honey and sugar dressings for abscesses.

 

[lazybee]

Yes but Manuka honey is the only type to have laboratory tested antibacterial ratings. Anything else is down to chance. The honey from your hive may or may not be more antibacterial than the +10 rating Manuka I bought in Tesco last night!

In house tests by the New Zealand honey producers.
Manuka honey, like most tree honeys is inferior in taste to most other honeys. The problem for the producers is that it's has such huge yields and surpluses. The New Zealand and Australian producers have spend a fortune on different marketing angles to shift the stuff. Honey farming in the southern hemisphere is a multi million dollar industry.
Basically it don't taste good. Play the health card.
You can even buy it in capsules, like cod liver oil ?? I wonder if you can get peanut butter in capsules

 

[Oberon]

I have often thought Manuka honey was overhyped compared to local honey.

Can I ask your thoughts on proplis?

 

[lazybee]

I have often thought Manuka honey was overhyped compared to local honey.

Can I ask your thoughts on proplis?

Hello,

Propolis or 'bee glue' As you probably know is used to seal and protect the inside of the hive. This is a byproduct of beekeeping. I has shown some antimicrobial qualities it has little practical use and can cause contact dermatitis and other allergic reactions. I know of 3 beekeepers who have become hypersensitive to it. One of the problems is that bee collect resins from plants to make it, it has been known for them to collect bitumen products and even tar (rarely). Again the spurious health card is played. I have a big lump at home about the size of a large grapefruit (or small melon) It's easy to sell to alternative medicine manufacturers, one of the beekeeping suppliers buys it back from beekeepers as well as wax. Really though there's no proof it has any health benefits.

 

[Oberon]

Thank you. I am terribly gullible and tend to believe anything I read! It's nice to have someone in the know to tell me straight.

You are my very own bee guru;0)

One last one then - what about all the claims made about the benefits of bee pollen?

 

[Tnavas]

Sorry folks - being in a Manuka Honey town in New Zealand I will refute all the rubbish that it is just a marketing hype and that we have too much of it.

We don't have honey in such excess that we have to find a reason to get rid of it.

The ACTIVE MANUKA Honey business relies on the availability of the Manuka Tree. Which grows in the wild.

ACTIVE MANUKA HONEY has extensive healing properties. See pics below.

I have used it on several extremely serious injuries and the speed of healing has been amazing. One horse a TB racehorse ditched her rider and bolted off the training track and went straight through a 20cm dia gate post - snapping it clean off. As a result it split the skin all around the top of one leg and made a double fist size hole in its chest. Deep enough that the bone showed through. It had honey poured into it after the stitches broke down and immediately started to heal - eventually took two months to fill in the hole but had no further infection problem, horse was comfortable and thouogh never returned to work - too much internal muscle damage she retired to the brood mare paddock.

The pictures below are of another injury. Initial injury, aftter stitches had broken down - honey was then used and 5 weeks later when horse was back in work - Again a gate post collision.

Buy ACTIVE MANUKA Honey and use on wounds, both animal and human and see the speed the wounds heal with minimal scarring - rarely ever any proud flesh problem.