Honey ‘can help heal burns’
Baku, September 7 (AZERTAC). Honey can help to heal burn wounds, according to an authoritative new review of scientific studies.
Centuries after it was first thought beneficial, scientists have concluded that it can reduce the healing time for mild to moderate burns.
Researchers believe that the honey could work by encouraging the body to get rid of old skin and grow new skin in its place.
Scientists at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, found that using honey was as good as treating burns with more traditional methods such as gauze and other dressings.
However, the study found that it had no benefit on healing grazes, lacerations, surgical wounds or leg ulcers, according to the findings, published by the Cochrane Library.
The researchers looked at 19 clinical trials involving 2,554 patients who were suffering from a range of different wounds.
"We`re treating these results with caution, but it looks like honey can help speed up healing in some burns," said Dr Andrew Jull, who led the research.
Honey has been used to treat wounds since the Romans, but scientists are still unsure of exactly how its healing properties work.
Dr Jull advised against using honey to treat other types of wounds.
"Health services should invest in treatments that have been shown to work," he said.
"But, we will keep monitoring new research to try and establish the effect of honey."
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