Wound Care

Natural antibacterial leg ulcer treatment

My mother introduced me to the use of manuka honey on wounds. She had a leg ulcer that just was not healing after it was infected with MRSA from a stay in hospital. After nearly 18 months of suffering with the ulcer, she heard about the effectiveness of manuka honey in treating leg ulcers. After a week of applying dressings with active manuka honey, she started to see a noticeable difference. If only she had tried it first, rather than as a last resort!

Medical literature reports honey being used to treat wounds, burns, boils, and infections. Honey is a traditional remedy for dyspepsia and peptic ulcers. This is due to hydrogen peroxide, a well-known antibacterial agent, being produced when honey is diluted.

Active Manuka Honey from New Zealand has been found to have an antibacterial activity in addition to hydrogen peroxide, making it twice as potent, and does not require dilution to be active. There is evidence that the two antibacterial components together may have a synergist action, i.e. the combined effect is greater than the sum of its parts. This also means that active manuka honey can be used externally to treat wounds.

Manuka Honey

Manuka honey is gathered in New Zealand from the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium, which grows uncultivated throughout the country. Manuka honey is not only delicious to eat, but is well known around the world for its remarkable healing properties. Not all manuka honey is antibacterial, and "active" manuka honey is identified by its UMF rating.

Research done by Dr. Peter Molan of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato in Hamilton New Zealand catalogued the effects of UMF honey on the healing process. It was shown to accelerate healing, reducing infection, inflammation, pain and scarring in a number of skin problems including:

• Cuts
• Cracked nipples
• Trauma wounds
• Surgery wounds
• Burns
• Skin lesions from menincoccal septicaemia
• Fournier’s grangrene
• Abscesses
• Cranium oris
• Septic wounds
• Pressure sores
• Skin ulcers
• Infected skin graft sites
• Fungal skin conditions

Active Manuka honey products help wound care by:

• providing an antibacterial barrier against cross infection and secondary infections
• protecting the wound from drug-resistant bacteria like MRSA and MSSA
• creating a moist, healing environment in which new cells can flourish
• stopping dressings adhering to tissues, reducing pain and disturbance to the wound

Testimonial
My husband has diabetes and as a result had a toe removed. It wasn't healing - the Dr. said the foot would have to come off. We were not ready for that so when i found your site i decided it was worth a try. In 6 weeks the removal site was completely healed. Several Drs. said it couldn't work but it did and we are very happy with the end results. So I will keep it on hand from now on. Thank you for being there when we needed you. Thank you again.
A. Parker, USA, 13 Dec. 2005

In the UK, the NHS is now being supplied with a medical-grade honey dressing which is being used in particular in the fight against superbugs, like MRSA, that are resistant to antibiotics, but not manuka honey. Read about it in an article from the Telegraph: The healing power of honey bees

In a current trial at Aintree Hospital, Liverpool - where Medihoney is being compared to conventional wound healing treatments on deep lesions with tissue loss - Val Robson, a clinical nurse who specialises in leg ulcer management, has seen remarkable results. “As the trial is ongoing I cannot produce a statistical analysis, but my gut feeling is that honey works,” says Robson. “I have one patient who has had leg ulcers for 40 years that are now well on the way to healing, and another who had leg ulcers for 21 years that cleared up in a year.

(excerpted from article)

Another article of interest about a researcher, Dr Rose Cooper, studying manuka honey and MRSA

How to Use Manuka Honey in a Wound Dressing

The amount of honey required depends on the amount of fluid exuding from the wound - the more fluid, the more diluted and less effective the honey becomes. The amount of manuka honey applied, and the frequency of dressing changes will depend on each person.

Wound care tips

Apply manuka honey onto a dressing. Typically, use 20ml (1 ounce) of honey for a 10cm x 10cm (4 in. x 4 in.) dressing. Waterproof (occlusive) dressings are required to prevent the manuka honey from oozing out from the dressing. You can also you absorbent dressings, but this will have the effect of drawing the honey away from the wound, which is not idea.

• Daily dressing changes are usual, but up to three times daily may be needed.
• If the dressing sticks to the wound this indicates that more frequent changes of dressing - are needed.
• As the honey takes effect, there may be less fluid from the wound, requiring less frequent dressing changes (every 2-3 days)
• Manuka honey with higher UMF ratings will be effective deeper into the tissue.
• Pressure bandaging is used over the honey dressing for varicose ulcers.
• Ensure there is honey in contact with the wound. In the case of abcesses, cavities or depressions in the wound bed, additional honey may need to be applied.
• Cut the dressings to a size that extends beyond the edges of the wound and any surrounding inflamed area.

Caution: Do not cease regular medication or medical treament without your doctor'ss consent. Injuries and wounds that are severe, seriously infected or unhealing should be presented to a medical practioner. Some people may be particularly sensitive to manuka honey and experience a burning sensation - stop using the product if an adverse reaction occurs.

Order Manuka Honey from our online shop:

UMF10+ Manuka

UMF20+ Manuka

UMF25+ Manuka

Online Shopping

To order active manuka honey today, please click on a product link above, or browse our online store. With a few exceptions (see our shipping page for details) we can send honey anywhere in the world. For some orders we can ship products from Canada but for most we send items directly from New Zealand and deliveries generally take 7-12 working days.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.