The Survivalist Guide to Honey: It Kills Bacteria And Heals Wounds!

 

We are just discovering all the uses and benefits honey possesses.

As a cleansing agent, wound protector, even healing promoter, honey is helping medical staff worldwide fight some of the thornier health challenges they face.

If I had to choose only one medicine I could have in stock, I think it would be honey. These days, specialty wound-care centers might agree. Honey has become a staple for those hard-to-heal wounds, such as diabetic leg ulcers, burns, even wounds with gangrene. It kills bacteria resistant to other antibiotics and actually heals tissue, nursing the skin back to health. Not only that, but it can decrease the pain. But here’s the catch. Some types of honey work better than others. Before we get into that, let’s go over the basics, like …

How Honey Prevents Wound Infections
• It seals the wound from outside contaminants.
• It’s a mild acid. Most bacteria can’t grow well in that.
• It has a low water content. Bacteria don’t like that either.

How Honey Kills Bacteria
• It dries them up. The high sugar content dehydrates bacteria.
• It produces hydrogen peroxide. When diluted with, say, body fluids, enzymes in the honey create a small amount of hydrogen peroxide. Enough to kill bacteria.
• Its enzymes create antibacterial chemicals we’re just beginning to isolate. Some types of honey produce more of these chemicals than others. Some don’t produce much at all.

How Honey Heals
Honey has been shown to speed up the growth of various body tissues. It helps form new blood vessels, collagen, and the epithelial cells that cover the underlying tissue. The way it does this is:
• It seals in the good tissue fluid containing enzymes and proteins that promote healing.
• It provides nutrition to the tissue.
• It decreases inflammation and swelling in a yet unknown way.

Some studies have suggested honey even decreases scarring.

In many ways, we are still exploring and just discovering honey's versatility and many uses. Even doctors and emergency personnel are using it to treat infections and some wounds.

As we continue to research it, honey's potential is likely only to increase.

For the information above and even MORE interesting tid bits on honey and its uses, visit Common Sense Homesteading.

 


9 Comments

  1. Arctodus Simus said:

    I get those small packets of honey at fast food restaurants to keep in my first aid kits

  2. Tony Isgrig said:

    I keep a big bottle next to my peanut butter stash. Antiseptic and delicious.

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