Manuka Honey - a revelation!!

[Flicker]

Has anyone used this? I used it on a wound my boy managed to inflict on himself whilst on box rest (I kid you not!!). It is fantastic. Within a couple of days, the wound had granulated beautifully and it is now scabbed and very clean.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
A couple of people at the yard have had similar experiences and we now regard it as somewhat of a miracle cure.
Just wanted to share.

PS - apparently it is very good in hot water for humans if you have a dicky tummy

 

[daisybe33]

I have heard of this and keep meaning to get some for the vet box!

 

[CBAnglo]

Yes - its really good.

Also good for sore throats!

 

[Aru]

i've heard it's good i remember seeing a amazing picture of a horse on here with before and after picture's of a nasty wound but i cant remember who's he was...

There's also a lot of research going into the chemical make up...well in one of the collages(sligo it)over here anyway to see if they can isolate what's causing the healing properties as far as i know there already on their way to producing a synthetic version...which made a sceptic about homeopathic medicine fairly impressed!
clearly there as things out there that we dont know enough about!
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/...re-1573710.html

 

[MurphysMinder]

I used it on one of my dogs after she had a lump removed and the wound just would not heal. After weeks of trying everything I put manuka honey on and it started healing within a couple of days! I always have some in the cupboard now.

 

[Flicker]

My OH is a doctor and he swears by it too. The very high sugar content is a natural antiseptic, and the manuka (is this tea tree?) seems to boost this.
What I love about it is that its natural stickiness means it clings to the wound and is flexible, so it stays put and lets things dry out underneath.
My boy likes licking it off my fingers too

 

[Steeleydan]

This may sound a silly question, but when you put honey on a horse or dog wound does bedding and dirt stick to it as honey is very stickey.

 

[Peacelily]

it's given a MHF rating - which, because they don't know how it has wondrous healing powers stands for Manuka Honey Factor

and the higher the number the better!

I suppose if stuff sticks to the honey on the outside of the wound it's not stuck to the wound itself...
you could just cover it over - I'd be more worried about the licking it off and them developing a "manuka honey habit!"

 

[glenruby]

Manuka honey can be a fantastic healer. But please only use medical grade Manuke Honey if putting it on open wounds (especially deep ones!).The normal shop bought ones are not sterile and may intoduce infection into the wounds. Ive seen a horse whose trainer put normal manuka honey on his hock starting 6 days after arthroscopy - hock became v swollen and the honey caused quite a lot of synovial damage resulting in the horse bing out of training for 8mths and never returning toprevious athletic standard. Its not worth the risk - get the medical stuff.
I think Activon is one of the bands of the medical grade stuff.

 

[bailey14]

Manuka honey is used by veterinary practices up and down the country and by hospitals - my Dads doctor and the consultant at the hospital was using it for treating my Dads leg ulcer. Its been around for hundreds of years and has been used all around the world although it originates from New Zealand. It is also very expensive!

http://www.manukahoney.co.uk/

 

[marie98765]

Re Steeleydan - yes, its the downside to using honey, it is sticky. Generally it is best to cover it with some form of dressing to stop sticky contact, and equally to stop the animal from licking it off (this will do no harm, but it can't work if its been licked off!).

Apparently there is more 'manuka honey' sold in the UK than is actually produced in New Zealand, so care should be taken to get a reputable brand, and one that is actually properly antibacterial.

Normally one should look for 'UMF' - this is the industry standard. Medical grade stuff (that has been sterilised) has been proven to be very good on human and animal wounds.

There was a recent story about a dog with bad burns healing with it -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8259984.stm

You can get ready made manuka honey dressings, called 'Apinate dressings'.
Or for sterilised tubes of it, it is called Manukacare -
http://www.newzealandhoneyshop.co.uk/manuka-honey/manukacare-18.html

 

[swillymaid]

My ridiculous youngster has had two accidents both involving a lot of stitches - one on a hock and currently one on a fetlock. Both times we have used manuka honey once the stitches had been removed to help with the healing. You cannot see last years scar and this one is healing well. We just put the honey on a dressing and bandage it and leave it on, changing the dressings every day or so.

 

[henryhorn]

I have been telling everyone on HH about honey and cod liver oil tulles for years!
They come in tin boxes of 32, stick beautifully to a wound but peel off just as easily, and with a self stick bandage over are quite the best thing I've ever used.
They have MM's written on the tin and you get them via your pharmacist, they were originally developed for use in burns units.
We have seen enormous wounds heal without scarring, nasty infected cuts look clean after several days etc, and they are a better way of using honey than just dabbing it on.
Cost for a tin is around £14, but believe me, 32 take some using and they don't seem to go off.

 

[Tnavas]

Manuka Honey is collected from the Tea Tree (Manuka) in New Zealand - the healing properties are a natural occuring antibiotic and also the fact that the honey reacts with the wound and generates Hydrogen Peroxide. This reaction generates Oxygen and so assist in healing the wound fast. UMF 15 and above is specified as being suitable for treating wounds. Manuka grows everywhere in New Zealand it flowers almost all year round. It is very important that you use only the 'Active Manuka Honey' for treating wounds.

I think that this is the wound someone was talking about. My friends horse crashed the gate post and split his shoulder, there were a couple of deep wounds. The wouond was stitched but broke down a few days later. Then she started using 'Active Manuka Honey' smearing it on liberally, for the deeper wounds she melted the honey and squirted it into the depths with a syringe. The pictures were taken - immediately he had injured himself, a week after the injury and then four weeks later. The horse was back in work within five weeks.

 

[Lou_Lou123]

Wow that wound healing is amazing. I have never heard of it's would healing properties, when my auntie had throat cancer she was advised to eat a teaspoonful a day for it's healing properties and swears she feels better in herself for taking it (worth saying cancer now at bay for 4 years, but she still takes it as she feels more energetic than before)

 

[TarrSteps]

I did hear a very interesting interview with a "honey expert" recently, where he made the point that Manuka honey has been promoted (as commercial industry, obviously) on it's medicinal basis but in fact there haven't been any studies comparing it with other kinds of honey. Not to denigrate Manuka honey's properties, just to make the point that there many in fact be benefits to all sorts of different kinds of honey as well. We just don't know.

 

[SpruceRI]

[ QUOTE ]
I have been telling everyone on HH about honey and cod liver oil tulles for years!
They come in tin boxes of 32, stick beautifully to a wound but peel off just as easily, and with a self stick bandage over are quite the best thing I've ever used.
They have MM's written on the tin and you get them via your pharmacist, they were originally developed for use in burns units.
We have seen enormous wounds heal without scarring, nasty infected cuts look clean after several days etc, and they are a better way of using honey than just dabbing it on.
Cost for a tin is around £14, but believe me, 32 take some using and they don't seem to go off.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Henryhorn.

Not sure whether I'm being thick, but what is the product you mention? 'MM'??, What does that stand for please?

 

[Janah]

I know an elderly lady with really bad leg ulcers that wouldn't heal. As a last resort Manuka honey was used and healed them completely.

Jane

 

[Dotilas]

Just a guess here, but as jam stops bacteria growing due to its high sugar content, (and low water potential), do we think that the high sugar % could be of the reasons why manuka honey is is a natural anti biotic? If so, then as someone said above, other honeys should have similar properties.

Would be interesting comparing the water potential of different 'grades' of manuka honeys!

 

[henryhorn]

I've been advocating using it in tulle dressings on here for years now !
We have healed wounds so severe the vet wanted to do plastic surgery on them, ours are impregnated with cod liver oil too and were developed for use in human burns units.
They recently have promoted an equine tulle dressing and I may change over to those, but they work, as the op says above.

 

[LEC]

I got medical grade Manuka honey from the vet and it was brilliant at sorting out a very nasty pastern wound. I would definitely go and use it again as horse was back being ridden after 4 weeks.

 

[Tnavas]

I did hear a very interesting interview with a "honey expert" recently, where he made the point that Manuka honey has been promoted (as commercial industry, obviously) on it's medicinal basis but in fact there haven't been any studies comparing it with other kinds of honey. Not to denigrate Manuka honey's properties, just to make the point that there many in fact be benefits to all sorts of different kinds of honey as well. We just don't know.

There have been extensive studies - my friends horse was used for part of this study following a very nasty experience with a wire fence.

 

[Tnavas]

Henryhorn, please can you give us the full name of these dressings as the ones I can think of are tins of gauze in a petroleum jelly mix. They are great as they don't stick to the wound, keep it moist and don't let stuff in from outside.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

you can put sugar on a granulating wound and the sugar stops the granulation. i have some +15 manuka honey as well. sugar and iodine mixed into a paste is also very good for poulticing foot abcesses.

 

[Orangehorse]

Back in the "olden days" honey was used on wounds - that was pre sugar as well. It was the ony antispectic that was available.

Henryhorn - do you have a trade name or website for your honey dressings? Sounds like a really useful product to keepin the first aid tin, human and horse.

 

[brucea]

Evelyn I think what you are referring to is called Jelonet - a very old product - been around for years.

Manuka - amazing. Moist wound healing.

 

[Tnavas]

Evelyn I think what you are referring to is called Jelonet - a very old product - been around for years.

Thanks for that - I remember some being called Penguaze but Jelonet had escaped my memory - definately great stuff.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

jelonet does not contain any honey. but good stuff tho

 

[henryhorn]

Thanks Madhossy, just to prove I was telling the truth!
The MM's is the maker's name and you can buy them from Malam Laboratories Ltd
37 Oakwood Drive Heaton Bolton Lancs BL1 5EE.

Your pharmacist can get them via this address or I just rang the place and they sent them to me.
Thanks, it's good to share things that work, I just hope this doesn't get deleted as advertising, I don't get a cut honestly!

 

[TarrSteps]

There have been extensive studies - my friends horse was used for part of this study following a very nasty experience with a wire fence.

Which I did not deny. I know there are some very good studies. I've used Manuka honey very successfully myself.

The point was there have not been independent studies comparing Manuka honey to other types of honey (or other traditional natural wound dressings for that matter) so we simply don't know there isn't a whole pharmacopeia out there of similar usefulness. The assumption is that the tea tree oil factor brings something special to the equation - and that may be true - but perhaps that's not the case or perhaps other plants bring their own qualities?

What we really need to be worried about is the continued survival of bees!

More honey info: http://www.honey-health.com/honey-20.shtml