See the short here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAbFVIbgHX7/
So as I said in the video, I fell off my bike the other week. Whoops. But this ended up being a really interesting rabbit hole to go down, learning some cool facts about how honey is being used to treat wounds, burns, and chronic irritation.
A few cool facts that didn’t make it into the video:
- “Honey has been used in wound care for thousands of years, with records of its use in Ancient Egyptian times documented on the Edwin Smith papyrus between 2600 and 2000 BCE” (Moses, 2023)
- Honey includes flavonoids, which is what makes the color/pigmentation in flowers and fruits. Flavonoids aren’t broken down by our digestive system, they’re broken down by our gut microbiome into antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. That doesn’t help with topical wound care, per se, but it is neat!
- The viscosity of honey helps just plain cover the wound to keep bacteria from getting in and protect it from dehydration
Transcript
Did you know there’s such a thing as medical grade honey?
Hi! I’m Ben and I recently competed in the “Ride a Bike Really Well” competition and… I lost. But, when I got home, I had recently moved, so I didn’t have any Neosporin or anything to clean out my wound. But that’s when I realized that I do have honey! And honey is antibacterial!
You may already know that honey is antibacterial, but do you know why? Honey is so oversaturated with sugar that when it’s exposed to water, the water wants to get into the honey to help even out that concentration. That’s osmosis! And that’s a problem for bacteria, because these are single celled organisms filled with water. So, if the bacteria gets into the honey all the water gets SCHLOOPED out and it dies!
In terms of wound care, that osmosis can also draw out fluid from the skin to help flush out dead skin and other debris. But, medical grade honey has been shown to do even more when applied with dressings and bandages, reducing healing time by up to 30% or 15 days! Manuka honey, often sold on the brand MediHoney, also has a compound called methylglyoxyl, which acts as an antibiotic.
And that makes this the naturally derived product to be approved by the FDA for use in wound care!
Follow for more cool science!
Sources
- How, When, and Why Honey Is Used for Wound Care: Nall, 2019
- HONEY DRESSING IN WOUND TREATMENT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW: Yilmaz, 2020
- Evidence for Natural Products as Alternative Wound-Healing Therapies: Moses, 2023
I didn’t know that that’s so cool
@bean I typically treat minor scrapes and cuts with a dab of honey and a band aid. My wife is horrified and nags me to use store-bought antibiotic cream. I have had good results however.
The science is on your side! Honey is great for fighting bacteria and inflammation, and Neosporin can actually irritate skin and doesn’t speed up the healing process.