Healing Power of Honey

The Healing Power of Honey

During the summer, my 8-year-old cut his foot on a rock while at the beach. It wasn't bad enough to need stitches but uncomfortable to walk on. He would gingerly walk around the house and preferred to put most of his weight on the side of his foot. While this worked for a while, his posture was wonky which caused his back to hurt. It was one discomfort after another, but thank goodness he's young and his body heals easily!

Luckily, soon after, I bumped into a friend. She asked why he was limping and I told her about the cut. She has 4 kids and is no stranger to gashes, burns, road rash and broken bones. In fact, I seek her out for minor injury advise on a lot of things before heading to a physician.

So what was her suggestion for the cut? .... HONEY!

So here's what I learned from healthline.com:

• Honey has a specific pH that promotes healing (between 3.2 and 4.5). When applied to wounds, the acidic pH encourages the blood to release oxygen, which is important to wound healing. An acidic pH also reduces the presence of substances called proteases that impair the wound healing process.
• The sugar naturally present in honey has the effect of drawing water out of damaged tissues (known as an osmotic effect). This reduces swelling and encourages the flow of lymph to heal the wound. Sugar also draws water out of bacterial cells, which can help keep them from multiplying.
• Honey has been shown to have an antibacterial effect on bacteria commonly present in wounds.

And here are the suggested ways to apply honey on a wound:

• Start with clean hands and applicators, such as sterile gauze and cotton tips.
• Apply the honey to a dressing first, then apply the dressing to the skin.
• Place a clean, dry dressing over the honey.
• Replace the dressing when drainage from the wound saturates the dressing.
• Wash your hands after dressing the wound.

Published by Kacey Moe

MS Holistic Nutrition

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