8 March 2002 News Update

HONEY BRINGS SWEET RELIEF TO INFECTION

New studies on the therapeutic value of honey is being presented at the Australian Wound Management Association conference this week in Adelaide.

The studies show honey stimulates healing and fights infection, and researchers also believe honey offers a potential treatment for eczema, acne, halitosis, gastroenteritis, skin grafts and even dental caries.

The clinical studies into the use of honey were conducted in New Zealand and the UK.

Professor Peter Molan of Waikato University, who leads studies into the medicinal uses of honey with the University's Honey Research Unit, conducted a pilot trial on patients with chronic wounds using manuka honey, a type of the highly anti-bacterial Leptospermum variety.

The types of wounds treated included ulcers, abscesses, boils and surgical wounds. Prof Molan found all wounds healed, except those with insufficient blood flow in the arteries.

Prof Molan concluded in his paper that "with appropriate dressing techniques and honey with assured antibacterial activity it is possible to get excellent healing rates using honey for the treatment of infected chronic wounds."

Shona Blair, from the University of Sydney's Microbiology Department, has also been conducting studies into Leptospermum honey which she believes deserves a wider acceptance by mainstream medicine within the fields of infection control and wound care.

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