Honey 1In case you get burnt the next time, don’t panic-just try some honey from your kitchen to treat your wounds. We know who doesn’t enjoy a sweet treatment? A new review claims that treating burns with kitchen honey may help your wounds heal much faster than a surgical dressing.

Honey, a sweet fluid produced by honey bees and derived from the nectar of flowers has been used since ancient days to treat a variety of ailments through topical application. The study, a systematic review by Cochrane researchers reveals that patients who have suffered a mild or moderate burn can use honey as an alternative to traditional dressings.

Lead researcher Dr Andrew Jull, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, reveals, “We’re treating these results with caution, but it looks like honey can help speed up healing in some burns. Health services should invest in treatments that have been shown to work. But, we will keep monitoring new research to try and establish the effect of honey.”

The scientists reviewed data gathered from 19 trials and involved more than 2,500 patients with varied wounds. In comparison to some gauze and film dressings, honey was found to be more effective in treating burns and also reducing the healing time. Damaged blood vessels and nerves healed up to 4 days faster when honey was applied.

Researchers are not quite clear how honey works, but it has been effective in fighting infections and removing dead tissues from the body. Scientists are additionally trying to find ways to use honey in destroying the super bug MRSA. Many tests have been conducted in the Belfast City Hospital and have revealed that honey does in fact kill bacteria in the lab. Researchers are now working clinical trials on patients.

Though honey was found to treat moderate burns and wounds, it didn’t show any clear benefits for the healing of grazes, lacerations, surgical wounds and leg ulcers.

The study is published in the Cochrane Library.