Honey a naturally effective treatment for diabetic foot ulcers, study shows

• Honey is one of the oldest medicines.
• Sumerian tablets and Egyptian papyri mention its healing properties.
• Hippocrates - the father or medicine - wrote that honey "cleans sores and ulcers."
• The antibacterial properties of honey have been proved in studies that report the healing of infected wounds, burns and ulcers that were not responding to antibiotic treatment.
• Can honey really help to heal ulcers in people with diabetes?
• A recent study published in the Journal of Family Practice reports the case of a 79-year-old man with type 2 diabetes who developed foot ulcers.
• After 14 months of care costing $390,000---a cost that included 5 hospitalizations and 4 surgeries---the ulcers measured 8 x 5 cm and 3 x 3 cm and were resistant to the effect of the best antibiotics.
• During this time the patient lost 2 toes but refused below-the-knee amputation, despite being informed by 2 different surgical teams that without it he would likely die.
• The patient was eventually discharged to his home at his request.
• He lost a third toe before consenting to a trial of topical honey.
• Once-daily, thick applications of ordinary honey purchased at a supermarket were smeared on gauze and placed on the wounds, which were then wrapped.
• Since the patient's family purchased and applied the honey, the cost of this therapy was merely that of the dressings.
• Dressing changes were painless and the serum glucose remained in excellent control.
• New tissue appeared within 2 weeks; in 6 to 12 months the ulcers were completely healed and two years later, the ulcers have not recurred; the patient ambulates with a walker and reports improved quality-of-life.
• Researchers state that as rates of diabetes increase, it is important to identify effective strategies to reduce amputation rates, both to improve quality of life and to decrease cost.