Healing power of Honey

Spider Bite - Day 1 - Recently I was bitten by a spider. Initially it was extremely swollen with a raised center section. It was weeping and itchy. Not pretty, but it didn't seem like something to worry about. I put some antibacterial ointment on it, took some benedryl and went to bed.

Spider Bite - Day 2 - The next day it didn't look very good, again I put some antibacterial cream on it, bandaged it and went to work. It started hurting during the day, I took the shoe and bandage off of it and was a little worried when I looked at it this time. I called my spouse and asked her to make a doctors appointment. During the mean time I am looking up all I can on spider bites on the internet and of course the pictures are gruesome and only increased my anxiety. Well I went to the doctors and they were a little concerned, gave me a tetanus shot and prescribed some antibiotics and told me to go to the hospital if the bite ulcerated any further. Needless to say I wasn't very comforted by their analysis and I hate antibiotics because they don't discriminate between good and bad bacteria in your body. I decided against the antibiotics and resolved to try my own treatment. I had heard where honey was an antibaterial so I put some honey on the wound (spiderbite) and bandaged it up.

Spider Bite - Day 3 - The next day I took the bandage off and it looked considerably better, the swelling had gone down and the redness was reduced. In addition the skin appeared to be growing back. So I did a little research and was amazed at what I found.

Here are some of the reasons honey works to heal wounds and burns:

1. Honeys' low ph hinders or prevents many forms of bacteria from growing
2. Honeys' tendency to absorb water deprives bacteria of the moisture they need to thrive
3. When honey is diluted with moisture from the wound an enzyme is activated that produces hydrogen peroxide which is a potent antibacterial
4. Honey dressings do not stick to wounds - no pain when changing bandages and no tearing away of newly formed tissue

Do no take this as medical advice. If you have a wound that is not healing properly seek immediate medical attention. I just wanted to relate my experience with honey.

Here is some additional fascinating information about honeys' currative powers I found out while doing my research:

• A three year clinical trial showed that unprocessed honey could heal wounds when modern dressings and antibiotics failed
• 59 patients with wounds and exterernal ulcers that were treated with honey found that it was effective in all but one case
• Topical applications kept sterile wounds sterile and infected wounds became sterile within a week
• Honey was shown to remove dead tissue from persistent wounds thereby avoiding skin grafts and amputations
• Some honey may even be effective against Helicobacter pylori (the main culprit in many stomach ulcers)

One particular kind of honey that was noted as especially effective was New Zealands Manuka honey. I had never heard of this before. What makes it so special? It is my understanding that Manuka Honey contains extra antibacterial components found in honey produced from the Manuka Bush which is indigenous to New Zealand. The more I read about honeys' currative properties the more fasinated I become. Do your own research and I bet you will become just as intrigued. Thanks for reading my hubpage and I hope you enjoyed it.