Use of Honey on Skin Grafts to Help Healing

Honey has been used for medicinal reasons since ancient times. Honey offers antibacterial and anti-fungal effects that are well-documented. In addition, historically, honey has been used topically on wounds, burns and acne.

Honey Benefits

• Pure unaltered honey, as obtained from a beehive, is often used in medical applications. It serves as a popular folk medicine application. Only recently has modern science proven honey's antibacterial and anti-fungal effects. Recently, studies have been conducted that reveal honey's effectiveness as an adjunct in the healing of a split-thickness skin graft donor site.

  Other historic uses for honey include its use as a topical agent to speed healing in wounds and burns. It also serves purpose as a skin moisturizer. When ingested, honey offers various healing properties and nutritional benefits. It has a sweet taste suited to many palates and is often used as a replacement for sugar or other sweeteners.

Use of Honey in Wound Healing

• A study published in Dermatologic Surgery journal in 2003 explored honey's use in helping heal a split-thickness skin graft donor site. Researchers concluded that using honey-impregnated gauzes is safe, practical and effective. The researchers also concluded that honey is a good alternative material for treatment of split-thickness skin graft donor sites. According to the authors, it has been well known that honey is effective in wound treatment; however, it was not widely established that it was effective in healing partial-thickness wounds. The use of honey as a dressing on split-thickness skin grafts was relatively unexplored.

  This study sought to analyze the usage of honey as a dressing, compared with other dressings. All patients had recently undergone skin grafting procedures. Part of the group received honey-impregnated gauzes; the others received paraffin gauzes, hydrocolloid dressings or saline-soaked gauzes. The honey-dressed wounds were found to show faster epithelization time and a low sense of pain.

Use of Honey in Wound Care

• In another review of honey's function as a wound dressing, published online in BioMed Central Complementary and Alternative Medicine, seven studies were reviewed covering patients treated with honey for wounds, burns, partial thickness burns and infected postoperative wounds.

  At seven days of treatment, the honey application excelled, showing results better than other treatments for resolution of infection and wound healing. At 21 days of treatment, the healing rates were high for honey and compared treatments.

Applying a Honey Dressing

• Wash your hands first with antibacterial soap. Wear clean, new plastic gloves if you have them. Place a towel under the affected area to catch any drainage. Rinse the wound site with saline solution or regular tap water and soap. Avoid antiseptics such as hydrogen peroxide. Gently wipe the wound area with a clean soft cloth (or gauze) to clear it of any debris, and then pat it dry lightly with another clean cloth. Wipe from the center outward. Pour pure honey onto a new, sterile gauze pad and place it face down lightly onto the site. Secure the gauze with medical adhesive tape.

  Watch for signs of infection, which may include redness, swelling, yellow or green pus, a bad smell coming from the wound, warmth and tenderness around the wound.