Back in September of last year, I tried the honey experiment when I cut my finger with fairly good results.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to repeat it when I dropped a plate of frozen wontons and in the process of getting them off the plate, I once again cut myself. I sliced a pretty deep chunk off the tip of my index finger, two pieces, albeit smaller, from the middle joint of the middle finger, and another piece off of the knuckle on the ring finger. (This time, I think I'll spare you the pictures.) I thought about leaving one cut untreated as a control, but decided I couldn't take the pain.
I was googling the usage of honey as an antibacterial today and found an article online detailing the various properties for why honey makes a good topical antibacterial dressing. The one finding that makes the most sense to me is that honey contains glucose-oxidase. Meaning the enzyme is constantly turning sugar to small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, which we all know has antibacterial properties, at a level that does not damage healthy cells. This is better than the 3% solution typically available at drug stores because at this level and form, not only does it damage healthy cells, but its effectiveness is limited as exposure to light and heat causes it to decompose to water and oxygen. Another interesting fact is that honey somehow is effective against resistant bacterial strains while also promoting healing. Studies found it to be effective against MRSA, ulcers, and burns of various kinds where "traditional" (ironic since the use of honey is actually older than any modern antiseptic we have) antibiotics have failed to make improvements at all.
From personal experience, I find that it helped with pain too. I generally try not to use band-aids for wounds, but with the skin having to create new layers instead of just stitching itself together, I have to use it to keep the wound clean. However, I always worry about too much moisture creating a bacteria friendly environment when using band-aids, so using honey for me is a peace of mind.
Update 3/30/10: by the third day the cut no longer hurts if I don't press on it. By the fourth day, I was able to take the band-aids off. New skin seems to be growing vigorously on the deep cut. The others formed scabs once exposed to air. There was a bit of inflammation that developed on the 5th day on the shallower cuts that weren't really there when the honey was on.
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