Clinical observations on the wound healing properties of honey

TLDR

Unprocessed honey was applied topically to 59 patients with refractory wounds and ulcers. Topical honey produced rapid debridement, granulation, epithelialization, and edema absorption, sterilized infected wounds within a week, and led to remarkable improvement in 58 of 59 patients, with one Buruli ulcer case not responding.

Abstract

Abstract Fifty-nine patients with wounds and ulcers most of which (80 per cent) had failed to heal with conventional treatment were treated with unprocessed honey. Fifty-eight cases showed remarkable improvement following topical application of honey. One case, later diagnosed as Buruli ulcer, failed to respond. Wounds that were sterile at the outset, remained sterile until healed, while infected wounds and ulcer became sterile within 1 week of topical application of honey. Honey debrided wounds rapidly, replacing sloughs with granulation tissue. It also promoted rapid epithelialization, and absorption of oedema from around the ulcer margins.