September/October 2001
HEALTH BYTES

Honey helps heals chronic wounds

Honey can help heal chronic infected lesions caused by a bacterial infection. The study examined severe cases of skin lesions that had gone unhealed during nine months of intensive care. Within 10 weeks of the start of a topical treatment with honey, all lesions had healed completely. Other studies have shown that dressing with honey is as effective as aggressive surgical removal of infected tissue in treating "flesh-eating" bacteria. Honey also has strong antimicrobial and antioxidant capacity, is effective against bacteria involved in gastroenteritis, strep throat, dental caries and gingivitis, and promotes growth of probiotics in the gut.