Manuka Honey Healing

Recent studies and scientific research indicates that the antimicrobial properties found in Active Manuka Honey play a major role in healing a wide variety of health conditions.

Medical grade honey produced in New Zealand known as 'Manuka Honey' is being used as an ingredient in health care products because of its extraordinary healing properties, especially its ability to miraculously heal wounds. Clinical studies have shown that Manuka Honey effectively addresses wound issues such as exuding wound fluid, tissue inflammation, pain, devitalized tissue and infection. Manuka Honey-based creams and lotions have been developed to make the application easier and not as messy or sticky as applying honey directly on the skin.

The differences between the various types of honey and their healing properties depend on the floral source that it is derived from. Not all kinds of honey should be used for medical purposes. It is generally accepted that Active Manuka Honey is the only type of honey that should be used therapeutically. Manuka Honey's healing properties are so effective that scientists and medical professionals are beginning to regard it as the best natural antibiotic in the world.

Honey has been used as a healing agent for thousands of years. In fact there has even been mention of honey being used for medicinal purposes in the Bible, Koran and Torah. Honey dressings were used for wound care all the way up until the first part of the 20th century. With the advent of antibiotics in the 1930s and 1940s, doctors were under the misconception that antibiotics were more effective that honey. However, with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria (such as MRSA), medical professionals have been reconsidering the use of honey in modern medicine. Even consumers have been warming up to the idea of using honey as a medicine with all of the recent documentation available on the Internet stating Manuka Honey's effectiveness as an all-natural healer with no negative side effects.

Unfortunately, the therapeutic use of active Manuka Honey is grossly underutilized. As more reports of its astounding results become known, this is expected to change. Scientists caution that only medical grade active Manuka Honey should be used for healing wounds and other health conditions and not the standard honey that can be purchased in supermarkets as a food item. Active Manuka Honey is filtered, gamma-irradiated and produced under carefully controlled standards to ensure its potency.

Manuka Honey may be ahead of its time as many doctors have failed to recognize the evidence linked to its effectiveness. However, honey's transition from the food cabinet to the medicine cabinet is imminent. Manuka Honey's ability to combat bacterial "biofilms" is unprecedented. A biofilm is a bacterial community that exists within a self-produced extra-cellular polysaccharide matrix. Bio-films act as a barrier, protecting the bacteria from antimicrobial elements, such as antibiotics. "Manuka Honey prevents the bacteria from forming biofilms and proceeds to draw water out of the bacterial cells, making it impossible for the bacteria to survive," says Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International, a manufacturer of health care products containing active Manuka Honey as a healing agent. "This is how Manuka Honey is able to destroy MRSA and heal Staph infections where antibiotics have failed." To date, there has been no evidence of any form of bacteria being able to develop a resistance to Manuka Honey.

There is no doubt that honey is being re-established as a valuable agent in modern wound care management. Healing properties of Manuka Honey are as follows:

* provides a moist healing environment;
* has a debriding action;
* eliminates malodor;
* has extremely powerful antibacterial and antimicrobial properties;
* has an anti-inflammatory activity which helps the reduction of pain.

In addition to wound care, reports indicate that Manuka Honey is also effective in treating the following conditions:

* Eczema
* Ringworm
* Arthritis
* Acne
* Lice and Dandruff
* Psoriasis
* Muscle and Joint Pain
* Dermatitis and other dry skin conditions
* Skin Ulcers and Pressure Sores