The Edwin Smith Papyrus, written around 1600 BC, mentions the use
of honey for wound healing. It is known as the world's earliest medical
document and was discovered in Luxor, Egypt in 1862. Believed to be
based on materials from as early as 3000 BC, this manuscript was
considered a textbook on traumatic surgery. It illustrates how honey,
along with herbs, roots, bark, spices, animal fat and cat dung could be
used to treat burns and open wounds.
Pedanius Dioscorides, living in Rome in the 1st century AD, was a Greek physician who embraced the therapeutic powers of honey. Dioscorides wrote the 5 volume De Materia Medica, the primary pharmacopeia in the Middle East and Europe for over 16 centuries. Both honey and sugar continued to be used to treat wounds well into the 20th century before antibiotics became widely used.
Antibiotic ointments are the treatment of choice today for ulcers, burns, cuts and scrapes even though honey and sugar are far superior to any of them. The effectiveness of these ointments dissipates as the bacteria becomes more resistant to the antibiotic. Even though it kills most of the bacteria, the stronger ones survive and reproduce. As new antibiotics hit the market, they work for a while and then the superbugs again become resistant to them.
So we now have infections that are no longer eradicated by the use of antibiotics. This is apparent in the 82,000 Americans who lose a leg or foot to non-healing diabetic ulcers every year. Also, 2 million patients a year acquire infections during their hospital stay and 90,000 of them die due to the inability to stop these infections.
Wounds are especially susceptible to infection due to the gauze used to dress them that become a breeding ground for fungus and bacteria. In contrast, bacteria cannot become resistant to the effects of honey and sugar. When honey or sugar is packed inside or on top of an open wound, it dissolves into the fluid coming from the wound creating a highly concentrated medium. Bacteria cannot live in this highly concentrated environment.
Scientists investigated the ability of various types of bacteria to survive in this medium including staph, strep, shigella and klebsiella. None of them remained viable in the honey or sugar solution.
This therapy facilitates healing due to its drawing of fluid from the wound, reducing swelling, and preventing a scab from forming. It promotes formation of connective tissue and blood vessels on the wounds surface. It encourages dead tissue removal, making the way for new growth. It supports new skin growth covering the wound. Rapid healing with very little scarring is the result.
The leading expert in the country on the use of sugar as a wound dressing is Richard A. Knutson MD., a retired orthopedic surgeon at Delta Medical Center in Greenville, Mississippi. He used the sugar therapy on serious bed sores and consistently found the wound free of pus within a few days and with continued use of the sugar dressings the wound healed completely. He recorded almost 7,000 wounds over the years of varying sizes and severity that he treated. They included gunshot wounds, frostbite, punctures, ulcers, abrasions, lacerations, amputations, abscesses and bites.
Sugar dressings are also great for treating burns. All burn centers use silver sulfadiazine, an antibiotic ointment, but sugar or honey work better. A study published in the Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters discussed 2nd degree burns of 900 patients treated with either honey or antibiotic ointment. Burns were covered with gauze and bandaged, and dressings were changed every other day. The 450 treated with honey healed faster. They averaged 9 days compared to the 13 days in the antibiotic group. They also had fewer infections, 5½% as opposed to 12%. 20% of the antibiotic group had scarring versus 6.2% of the honey-treated patients.
Dr. Knutson's experience was similar to the results in this study. The 1,622 burns he treated with sugar dressings were all infection-free and required no skin grafts or antibiotics.
Why isn't this effective, inexpensive treatment being used in conventional medicine? Some physicians fear it may raise blood sugar levels. This does not happen because the honey or sugar is not absorbed into the bloodstream. More than likely it is not used because it is not a drug treatment and costs pennies. No nurse or doctor is necessary to administer it because the patients can apply the dressings themselves.
Honey/Sugar Wound Treatment
This dressing can be used to treat any open wound or burn. Sugar dressings are considered less messy than using honey.
Do not use on a bleeding wound since sugar promotes bleeding.
Do not use on abscesses or pustules covered with skin.
1. Coat a 4 X 4 piece of gauze with Vaseline and make a long strip which is placed around the outside of the wound like a donut
2. Cover the wound with ¼ inch of sugar.(The Vaseline Donut keeps it in place)
3. A 4 X 4 sponge is then placed on top of the wound. Bandage firmly with a cling dressing but not too snugly.
4. Change dressing every 1 or 2 days. Remove the dressing, irrigate with water, saline or hydrogen peroxide, pat dry and repeat steps 1-3.
Keep the 4 steps for this treatment easily accessible with your first aid items.
Pedanius Dioscorides, living in Rome in the 1st century AD, was a Greek physician who embraced the therapeutic powers of honey. Dioscorides wrote the 5 volume De Materia Medica, the primary pharmacopeia in the Middle East and Europe for over 16 centuries. Both honey and sugar continued to be used to treat wounds well into the 20th century before antibiotics became widely used.
Antibiotic ointments are the treatment of choice today for ulcers, burns, cuts and scrapes even though honey and sugar are far superior to any of them. The effectiveness of these ointments dissipates as the bacteria becomes more resistant to the antibiotic. Even though it kills most of the bacteria, the stronger ones survive and reproduce. As new antibiotics hit the market, they work for a while and then the superbugs again become resistant to them.
So we now have infections that are no longer eradicated by the use of antibiotics. This is apparent in the 82,000 Americans who lose a leg or foot to non-healing diabetic ulcers every year. Also, 2 million patients a year acquire infections during their hospital stay and 90,000 of them die due to the inability to stop these infections.
Wounds are especially susceptible to infection due to the gauze used to dress them that become a breeding ground for fungus and bacteria. In contrast, bacteria cannot become resistant to the effects of honey and sugar. When honey or sugar is packed inside or on top of an open wound, it dissolves into the fluid coming from the wound creating a highly concentrated medium. Bacteria cannot live in this highly concentrated environment.
Scientists investigated the ability of various types of bacteria to survive in this medium including staph, strep, shigella and klebsiella. None of them remained viable in the honey or sugar solution.
This therapy facilitates healing due to its drawing of fluid from the wound, reducing swelling, and preventing a scab from forming. It promotes formation of connective tissue and blood vessels on the wounds surface. It encourages dead tissue removal, making the way for new growth. It supports new skin growth covering the wound. Rapid healing with very little scarring is the result.
The leading expert in the country on the use of sugar as a wound dressing is Richard A. Knutson MD., a retired orthopedic surgeon at Delta Medical Center in Greenville, Mississippi. He used the sugar therapy on serious bed sores and consistently found the wound free of pus within a few days and with continued use of the sugar dressings the wound healed completely. He recorded almost 7,000 wounds over the years of varying sizes and severity that he treated. They included gunshot wounds, frostbite, punctures, ulcers, abrasions, lacerations, amputations, abscesses and bites.
Sugar dressings are also great for treating burns. All burn centers use silver sulfadiazine, an antibiotic ointment, but sugar or honey work better. A study published in the Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters discussed 2nd degree burns of 900 patients treated with either honey or antibiotic ointment. Burns were covered with gauze and bandaged, and dressings were changed every other day. The 450 treated with honey healed faster. They averaged 9 days compared to the 13 days in the antibiotic group. They also had fewer infections, 5½% as opposed to 12%. 20% of the antibiotic group had scarring versus 6.2% of the honey-treated patients.
Dr. Knutson's experience was similar to the results in this study. The 1,622 burns he treated with sugar dressings were all infection-free and required no skin grafts or antibiotics.
Why isn't this effective, inexpensive treatment being used in conventional medicine? Some physicians fear it may raise blood sugar levels. This does not happen because the honey or sugar is not absorbed into the bloodstream. More than likely it is not used because it is not a drug treatment and costs pennies. No nurse or doctor is necessary to administer it because the patients can apply the dressings themselves.
Honey/Sugar Wound Treatment
This dressing can be used to treat any open wound or burn. Sugar dressings are considered less messy than using honey.
Do not use on a bleeding wound since sugar promotes bleeding.
Do not use on abscesses or pustules covered with skin.
1. Coat a 4 X 4 piece of gauze with Vaseline and make a long strip which is placed around the outside of the wound like a donut
2. Cover the wound with ¼ inch of sugar.(The Vaseline Donut keeps it in place)
3. A 4 X 4 sponge is then placed on top of the wound. Bandage firmly with a cling dressing but not too snugly.
4. Change dressing every 1 or 2 days. Remove the dressing, irrigate with water, saline or hydrogen peroxide, pat dry and repeat steps 1-3.
Keep the 4 steps for this treatment easily accessible with your first aid items.
I am in my 60's with a Certification from Bauman College as a
Diet Counselor and looking forward to many more healthy, productive
years. For at least the last 30 years I have had an insatiable curiosity
about the positive effects a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition can
have on the human body. By sharing some of the knowledge I have
accumulated over the years, perhaps it can help to give my readers a new
awakening to the benefits of natural approaches to good health.
http://www.thebridgetohealthonline.com
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