How long has honey been used for wounds?

Paintings on cave walls from over 8,000 years ago have shown people using honey on wounds.¹ Honey has been used throughout time by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Chinese for its ability to help heal wounds and decrease infections.

How does honey work?

Honey allows the wound to stay moist while decreasing the amount of bacteria in the wound.  It does this by slightly increasing the acidity in the wound, making it so the bacteria can’t grow.  Also, the sugar content of the honey is so high that the bacteria cannot survive in it.^1-13

Honey also helps to decrease the amount of drainage from the wound and swelling around the area by decreasing inflammatory factors, much like anti-histamines do for allergies.^2,5  By doing these things, it helps to decrease the odor from the wound.^2,12

Additionally, it helps the wound heal faster by increasing the blood flow to the area and the growth factors necessary to repair the wound.^2,5,8,12

What kinds of wounds does it work for?

Honey has helped the following types of wounds to heal:

• New cuts ^3,11
• Scrapes ¹¹
• Burns on the top layers of the skin ^4,11
• Open wounds from cancer ⁵

• Pressure ulcers ⁶
• Ulcers from diabetes ^9,12
• Non-healing surgical wounds ^9,11