Honey is Now Sweet on Burns (Part 2)

One trial narrowed down the honeys that seemed to work the best healing wounds, those types that are derived from a single type of flower: aloe, jambhul, manuka or jarrah were most common. Honey is alternative medicine’s approach to harsh chemical-laden creams and ointments that are generally used to treat burns.

In a partner study also published in the Cochrane Library, an Australian researcher and co-author Jason Wasiak of the Victoria Adult Burns Service at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and his team looked through 26 random trials to determine there is no evidence to the effectiveness of common cream SSD used with gauze to prevent infections, he writes, “The use of silver sulphadiazine (SSD) as a comparator on burn wounds for the full duration of treatment needs to be reconsidered, as a number of studies showed delays in time to wound healing and increased number of dressing applications in patients treated with SSD dressings." The Australian researchers urge for better awareness for topical applications for burn victims and urge consumers to reconsider using SSD because it may be extending the healing process instead of speeding it up.

As with many trials, even randomly controlled trials, there still need to be more tests and more investigations into the natural fighting substance called honey for the purpose of treating burn wounds. So when you’re taking your tea or slathering it on your toast and you accidentally burn your fingers on the tea pot or the toaster, you might want to hold off on soaking your fingers in honey, at least until more research is published.