Manuka honey - your thoughts, and best places to buy

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HashRouge

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Does anyone here use manuka honey, and what for?
I've been told it can be good for abscesses - does anyone have any experience of that? Do you have to use medical grade manuka honey for abscesses, or is the normal kind you put on toast okay? :confused:
Does anyone feed it to their horses? Someone told me it can give the immune system a boost but I don't know if that's true.

And lastly, where is the best place to buy it?
 
It's excellent stuff for treating wounds and helping to heal from the inside out. Everyone should have some in their tack room for the unexpected. It's in my local Co-op, which I was surprised to see but its great to know you can get some so easily.
 
Its amazing stuff very good for healing wounds, latest one was sarcoid removeal from arm pit area stitches kept ripping open so left it open washed and applied manuka honey twice daily within one week huge improvement from a wound the size you could put your fist into to barely fingernail deep.. We use medical grade think it says 12+ and we find it in tescos.. Good luck
 
i used it on a leg that had a hole in it... it got infected so the vet told me to use manuka honey and it did the trick :) i got it from the vet but i think i have seen it in tesco and possibly holland and barret

first it was like this-
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then it got infected-
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then we started using honey on it
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and this was it 2 weeks later :)
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I seem to get shouted down every time I talk about it on here, but I have written extensively on the subject of manuka honey for the veterinary press, so claim a degree of knowledge.

In the briefest of explanations, medical grade manuka is processed differently. It is gamma irradiated, rather than pasteurised (which is how food grade is processed) Pasteurisation renders it safe to eat, but when introduced to a wound, it can release chlostridium botulinum spores, which no-one in their right mind wants to add to the mix! Gamma irradiated manuka is completely sterile, and safe to use in really severe, infeted wounds.
Happy to go on, but I'm keeping it brief for the moment, as I get grumpy when I take loads of time explaining how it works, only get shouted down by people who think I'm talking out of my bottom!!
 
I read a bit about it Auslander, the problem is I'm just not sure where to source medical grade manuka honey :confused:. Does the same go for an abscess as any other wound, in your opinion?
 
HashRouge said:
I read a bit about it Auslander, the problem is I'm just not sure where to source medical grade manuka honey :confused:. Does the same go for an abscess as any other wound, in your opinion?
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Absolutely! In terms of medical v food grade, I'd be even less comfortable using food grade on an abcess due to the relatively small surface compared with whats going on underneath - perfect environment for brewing a nasty. Although it can be used on any cuts/scrapes, manuka comes into its own when used on really grotty, infected wounds/abcesses etc.

Google Activon!
 
I have some in my first aid box at the yard. It's not medical grade (didn't know there was such a thing!) and it was bought from Costco as its quite pricey in the shops. I've only needed to use it on small cuts (touch wood) but I know loads of people swear by it. I have a jar at home to make a hot lemon drink if I get a cold or sore throat.
 
Auslander said:
Absolutely! In terms of medical v food grade, I'd be even less comfortable using food grade on an abcess due to the relatively small surface compared with whats going on underneath - perfect environment for brewing a nasty. Although it can be used on any cuts/scrapes, manuka comes into its own when used on really grotty, infected wounds/abcesses etc.

Google Activon!
Click to expand...
Great thanks, I will order some tonight!!
 
Auslander said:
At the risk of sounding gushy, you don't know how happy this makes me! Lovely when someone joins the medical grade manuka club!
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Well I'm not happy taking even the smallest risk with her, because she has trouble with recurring abscesses (just been diagnosed with cushings), so your help has been a godsend :D
 
HashRouge said:
Well I'm not happy taking even the smallest risk with her, because she has trouble with recurring abscesses (just been diagnosed with cushings), so your help has been a godsend :D
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If you need any more help with treatment options, do let me know. I work with a lovely lady called Georgie Hollis, who is secretary of the Veterinary Wound Healing Association. What she doesn't know about wound healing isn't worth knowing!
 
mandwhy said:
Hmm how much is the medical grade one I was thinking about getting some, does it not run all over the place and go sticky and horrid and attract flies?
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It comes in a variety of different applications. You can get tubes of honey to squeeze into holes, or honey impregnated gauze, which is my particular fave, as you can cut it into strips, and use it to pack a deep wound/abcess. Ir's designed for wound use, so much easier to use than normal honey.
 
I was having a tour around a small but successful racing yard in newmarket and the trainer could not speak highly enough about it!

He said he uses it for the same reasons as above and that one of his owners had a large company so he bought it in bulk from them
 
Dubsie said:
http://www.redhorseproducts.com/All_Products/Honeyheal500 This is good stuff with manuka honey in, works well with mud fever
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Not suggesting it isn't good - but it hasn't got Manuka in it! Bio-active is a buzz word. All honey is antibacterial to a degree, and calling it bio-active is just a marketing thing. Manuka honey only comes from Leptospermum bushes (tea tree family) in New Zealand, and its provenance is registered. It's quite a procedure, so if this stuff had Manuka in it, they'd definitely state it.
 
I know it's sterile when you open it, but I confess I've never used a tube in one application, I just make sure I contaminate as little as possible and then resell it as best I can
A tube goes a really long way! (Not what they recommend though!)
 
My Tb got caught in stock wire and had a huge chunk of flesh missing. We started off just dressing it, but started to get proud flesh. Alot of people recommended Manuka Honey, was very sceptical about it but thought it was worth a try. Anyway put it on and 2 days later when we dressed it again it had smoothed right out. Would post a pic but I don't know how to.

Got it from local health food shop. Cost me £14.99 for a 500g tub. It needs to be active 5+ but I was told that any more than about 10+ and your just wasting your money.
 
olderthanshelooks said:
I was told that any more than about 10+ and your just wasting your money.
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Whoever told you that was wrong! UMF 5-9 basic maintenance level, 10-14 is verging on being suitable for therapeutic use, and 15+ is the good stuff, that is proven to have high levels of antibacterial activity, suitable for use on infected wounds.
 
Auslander said:
I seem to get shouted down every time I talk about it on here, but I have written extensively on the subject of manuka honey for the veterinary press, so claim a degree of knowledge.

In the briefest of explanations, medical grade manuka is processed differently. It is gamma irradiated, rather than pasteurised (which is how food grade is processed) Pasteurisation renders it safe to eat, but when introduced to a wound, it can release chlostridium botulinum spores, which no-one in their right mind wants to add to the mix! Gamma irradiated manuka is completely sterile, and safe to use in really severe, infeted wounds.
Happy to go on, but I'm keeping it brief for the moment, as I get grumpy when I take loads of time explaining how it works, only get shouted down by people who think I'm talking out of my bottom!!
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Would love to hear more - how does the chlostridium botulinum survive the pasturisation process? (but completely agree that to an already infected wound is a bad plan)

We used manuka with my sister's dog when she got stood on and degloved one toe and ripped various parts of her foot. We were unable to save the toe as the wound broke down and just wouldn't heal. The honey managed to heal the rest and also helped prevent the pressure sores from the bandaging getting worse (very thin skinned lurcher)
 
How does manuka honey work?

Humans have been using honey to treat wounds since ancient Egyptian times, but in recent years clinical studies have added gravitas to existing anecdotal evidence.

Research shows that medical-standard manuka honey can be effective in treating hard-to-heal wounds in horses.

The results of a study presented by Sydney University last year showed that wounds in horses that received no treatment took an average of 64 days to heal, while those treated with manuka honey gel took 47 days.

The honey’s exact healing mechanism is still unclear, although it seems to have an antibacterial and immune-modifying effect on the key initial healing phase.

Note:

Beware of using herbal and natural products on competition horses where the ingredients and properties are not known.

If you are competing “under rules”, check the product you are using does not contain any banned substances and be extra careful not to exceed the recommended dose.

For the full veterinary article on alternative remedies see the current issue of H&H (2 February 2012)
 
mynutmeg said:
Would love to hear more - how does the chlostridium botulinum survive the pasturisation process?
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Apologies if any of this sounds like I'm patronising - I don't know how geeky you are!

Pasteurisation kills micro-organisms with heat. Generally, honey is heated to 145° F for 30 minutes during the pasteurisation process - this is enough to destroy Chlostridium Botulinum bacteria and the toxins it produces, but the CB spores are considerably more resistant - it would take many hours of boiling at standard pressures for them to be destroyed, or for them to be exposed to 250° F for several minutes.

Once introduced to a wound, the spores (which remain inactive whilst suspended in the acidic environment of the honey) are again able to grow, proliferate and create toxins.

Make sense?
 
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What happens when you put your hoof through stock wire

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1 week later wound has started to go proud

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2 days after first application of manuka honey

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1 month after injury

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9 weeks after injury
 
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I find them fantastic from a medical point of view for humans (the progress I've seen from ulcerative tissue from 3rd degree burns and necrotic leg ulcers due to application of manuka honey is outstanding!) and brilliant for horses too.

I've not personally used any on horses yet *touch wood* but know and seen plenty who have and again they have repeatedly good results.

I'd recommend every time!
 
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