Its all about Honey !

Dear Vedika,

Nice informative blog.

For at least 2700 years, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained.

Wound gels that contain antibacterial raw honey and have regulatory approval for wound care are now available to help conventional medicine in the battle against drug resistant strains of bacteria MRSA. As an antimicrobial agent honey may have the potential for treating a variety of ailments. One New Zealand researcher says a particular type of honey may be useful in treating MRSA infections. Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide effect, and high acidity.

Honey appears to be effective in killing drug-resistant biofilms which are implicated in chronic rhinosinusitis.

Osmotic effect
Honey is primarily a saturated mixture of two monosaccharides. This mixture has a low water activity; most of the water molecules are associated with the sugars and few remain available for microorganisms, so it is a poor environment for their growth. If water is mixed with honey, it loses its low water activity, and therefore no longer possesses this antimicrobial property.

Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide in honey is activated by dilution. However, unlike medical hydrogen peroxide, commonly 3% by volume, it is present in a concentration of only 1 mmol/L in honey. Honey chelates and deactivates the free ion, which starts the formation of oxygen free radicals produced by hydrogen peroxide and the antioxidant constituents in honey help clean up oxygen free radicals present. http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/november/Molan/honey-as-topical-agen...
C6H12O6 + H2O + O2 → C6H12O7 + H2O2
When used topically (as, for example, a wound dressing), hydrogen peroxide is produced by dilution with body fluids. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is released slowly and acts as an antiseptic.

In diabetic ulcers
Topical honey has been used successfully in a comprehensive treatment of diabetic ulcers when the patient cannot use other topical antibiotics.

Acidity
The pH of honey is commonly between 3.2 and 4.5. This relatively acidic pH level prevents the growth of many bacteria.

Nutraceutical effects
Antioxidants in honey have even been implicated in reducing the damage done to the colon in colitis. Such claims are consistent with its use in many traditions of folk medicine.

For throats
Honey has also been used for centuries as a treatment for sore throats and coughs, and according to recent research may in fact be as effective as many common cough medicines. It is important to remember however that this is an initial study with a small sample size.

Mixed with lemon juice and consumed slowly, honey coats the throat, alleviating discomfort. The antibacterial and antiseptic properties of honey aid in healing sore throats and laryngitis.
Some studies suggest that the topical use of honey may reduce odors, swelling, and scarring when used to treat wounds; it may also prevent the dressing from sticking to the healing wound.

Honey has been shown to be an effective treatment for conjunctivitis in rats.

Though widely believed to alleviate allergies, commercial honey has been shown to be no more effective than placebos in controlled studies of ocular allergies. However, a recent study has shown pollen collected by bees to exert an anti allergenic effect, mediated by an inhibition of IgE immunoglobulin binding to mast cells. This inhibited mast cell degranulation and thus reduced allergic reaction

Honey mixed with water and vinegar was also used as a vermifuge. The concoction was called Oxymellin.

A review in the Cochrane Library suggests that honey could reduce the time it takes for a burn to heal - up to four days sooner in some cases. The review included 19 studies with 2,554 participants. Although the honey treatment healed moderate burns faster than traditional dressings did, the author recommends viewing the findings with caution, since a single researcher performed all of the burn studies

Dr.S.Gunasakaran,MBBS,MD

dear vedika..
Nice blog..But one thing to remember is honey should not be given to children below 1year as it is very toxic for young children.

honey can also be used as an anti-marking agent to remove dark circles and it when taken along with some warm water and lemonjuice early in the morning depletes the unwanted fatts in the belly.............

Nice to know regarding use of honey in treatment of eye inflammation.

Dear,
Good information, You have mentioned "Honey has been shown to be effective in treating inflammation of the eyelid, some types of conjunctivitis, and keratitis (" but how does it applied ? is it used directly or in combinations ??

Honey has great healing property...Great blog....keep sending such informative blogs.
Regards,
Faria Zarrin
Team: BLOGBUSTERS

good info
There are different types of honey how can we differniate as which type is used for which treatment?
Regards,
Aishwarya

A recent study has shown pollen collected by bees to exert an anti allergenic effect, mediated by an inhibition of IgE immunoglobulin binding to mast cells. This inhibited mast cell degranulation and thus reduced allergic reaction.

source:wikipedia

Really honey is having a good spectrum of activity....
So Sweat keep it up.......