Treating Bad Wound Odour With Medical Grade Manuka Honey

It is unfortunate enough when you or someone you love has a wound in the first place. But when that wound is giving off a mal-odour it makes things that much harder.

Whether from pressure sores, leg ulcers, cuts that have become infected, or any other type of wound, strong odours from a wound are not only unpleasant, but can lead to social and physical isolation, putting extra mental pressure on the person. Foul smelling, wounds that take a long time to heal may actually be a bit more common than many people realise, as it is not something easily talked about, and they are more common among older people.

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There is some help through, with a treatment for malodour in wounds that also greatly helps the healing of the wound, and from a surprisingly natural source - honey.

We're not talking about the regular honey you get from your supermarket here though, but a special medical grade version of manuka honey.

First a little background. Did you know that the ancient Greeks, Eqyptians, Romans, and other cultures more recently used honey as a medicine, and as part of the for the healing of wounds? All honey contains an enzyme that generates hydrogen-peroxide, which has antiseptic properties. However the level of this varies greatly between different types of honey.

Multiple university research has shown that in some batches of manuka honey, a native product of New Zealand, there is a unique extra antibacterial property that is more stable, and provides several healing benefits on wounds, including reducing malodour. (plus really helping hard to heal wound to actually heal).

So while there is genuine evidence and proper research showing some amazing healing properties contained in some manuka honey, it is very important to note that this does not apply to all of it.

This is particularly important when it comes to using for wounds, whether cuts, burns, leg ulcers or other.

For example there are now clinical trials that have been done showing benefits in the healing of leg ulcers from using antibacterial manuka honey. Note that the studies used proper medical grade, sterilised manuka honey though.

Eg. Cooper RA, Jenkins L: A comparison between medical grade honey and table honeys in relation to antimicrobial efficacy. Wounds. 2009; Issue 2 February.

The appropriate medical manuka honey for wounds has gone through a much more thorough process with better filtration, checks on the potency of the honey, checks throughout the packing process, and has been sterilised.

Comvita ManukaCare, the very popular medical grade sterilised manuka honey product has gained greater recognition in achieving a medical devices license in the UK.

The unique antibacterial properties of this honey fight the bacteria that cause much of the bad odour in wounds, as well as any infection in it. Also by helping the wound to heal faster, and aiding new skin growth, it reduces the opportunity or length of time for malodour to exist.

Treating Bad Wound Odour With Medical Grade Manuka Honey

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