On Saturdays I often post a short piece about debunking popular remedies that don't work as claimed. This Quack doesn't quite fit this description, but it's an interesting report, just the same. For many years honey has been used, apparently successfully, to treat skin ulcers that heal with difficulty. It's often Manuka honey from New Zealand , but no controlled clinical studies are referenced online by the manufacturers, although there is some evidence from lab and animal studies that the honey has antibacterial properties and stimulates the release of cytokines (signaling proteins for the immunological system).

A New Zealand surgical group has now reported a study in the British Journal of Surgery of 12 weeks' treatment of venous leg ulcers with dressings impregnated with Manuka honey. Patients with varicose venous ulcers were randomly allocated to have honey-impregnated dressings or 'usual treatment'. After 12 weeks, 56% of the honey-treated ulcers and 50% of the usual-treatment ulcers had healed. The difference in healing numbers was not significant - i.e. it could have occurred by chance - and was both more expensive and associated with more side-effects, especially pain. The pain is presumably due to the acidity of the honey.

It looks as if honey doesn't have a significant role to play in the treatment of venous ulcers...

Source

HealthandAge Blog