Honey, I Healed the Wound

With all due respects, Raye was a "big" woman. She topped the scales around 250 and stood well over six feet tall, appearing considerably ominous with her towering, beehive hairdo. She had a sweet disposition and a heart as big as her hair. She was about sixty years old when I first met her; I was in my thirties. What endeared me the most was that she called me, "Honey".

"Hi, Honey!" Raye said, with her deep, gravelly, former-smoker voice. "How the hell are 'ya?"

Although it is not very professional, I always submitted to her bear hug greeting, my face plunged deeply into her breasts, causing my glasses to be askew.

"I am just fine, Raye."

To this day, when I think of "honey", I think of Raye with that beehive. What a sweet lady.

Photo Credit: Nevena

Four thousand years ago, the Egyptians were routinely using honey for wound management, long before people knew that potentially-fatal microscopic bugs called bacteria even existed. We are not sure who slapped the first, sticky gob of honey on an infected wound, but it must have worked well. Honey became an integral component of the ancient pharmacopedia.

The first antibiotic (sulfa) was discovered in the 1930's. Penicillin was found in bread mold a few years later; both were just in time to save countless lives during World War II. Antibiotics were miracle drugs and everyone wanted a shot of penicillin, no matter what they had. For a while, it worked, but slowly but surely, the bacteria mutated and developed resistant strains. Prior to 1988, 99% of all bacterial infections caused by Strep pneumoniae were effectively treated with plain 'ol, cheap, penicillin. Due to antibiotics being misused, the level of resistant infections in California increased to 30% in 2000. It is even higher now, forcing medical providers to use the more-toxic and expensive "last resort" antibiotics.

Honey has naturally-occurring antibacterial and antioxidant properties and it resists bacterial resistance. It may be greatly useful in treating the dreaded MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - the superbug that you have heard so much about. But don't go out and buy some raw or store-shelf honey and use it on Grandma's bed sores. Not all honey is the same.

A new honey-infused bandage called Medihoney was granted approval by the FDA in November. It is made with highly-absorbent seaweed soaked in a special, sterilized Manuka honey, produced from the oil of tea trees in Australia and New Zealand. Wound management experts are ecstatic. Not only has it closed some chronic wounds that have defied modern drugs, it acts as a protective barrier against secondary infections. I bought some Manuka honey many years ago when traveling in New Zealand, but I had no idea of its potency for wound healing. I used it on muffins (better than Vegemite) and it did heal my sweet tooth.

Photo Credit: Vicky Brock

In October last year, parents were alarmed when infant cough and cold drugs were withdrawn from the market, due to safety issues and misuse. Lo and behold, an old folk medicine for cough resurfaced - honey. Honey has been used for centuries to combat coughs, often combined with lemon or ginger. I worked with an old pediatrician during the 1970's that gave his parents a "prescription" for his homemade cough medicine containing honey, whiskey, and lemon. Many years later, I desperately tried to remember the recipe to give to my own coughing daughter. I sort of guessed at it, perhaps adding more whiskey -or more lemon - than the prescription required. One taste caused my three-year-old to run crying and spitting from the room, mistrusting me for months to come anytime that I offered her medicine.

Honey should not be used by children under the age of 12 months (some pediatricians say age 18-24), because honey may have traces of botulism spores that cannot be filtered out during processing. Since the baby's gastrointestinal and immune systems are immature, they may not be able to fight of a rare botulism-toxin case of food poisoning.

When compared to dextromethorphan (DM), honey was found to be better and controlling cough and promoting sleep in a controlled, university study. Incidentally, DM is also one of those over-the-counter drugs of abuse used by teenagers.

Honey has been also been promoted for hangovers, insomnia, weight loss, bad breath, sore throats, digestive problems, athlete's feet, facial scrubs, and dry skin, just to name a few. While honey may not be the miracle drug of the century, it does seem to have some proven beneficial effects. And, it is good on muffins.

So, here's to you, Raye. Love 'ya, Honey.

Related Topics:

• The World's Best Children's Cough Medicine
• Honey Sweetens Your Health

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