P L A I N L A N G U A G E S U M M A R Y
Honey as a topical treatment for acute and chronic wounds
We reviewed the evidence about the effects of applying honey on the healing of any kind of wound. We found 26 studies involving
3011 people with many different kinds of wounds. Honey was compared with many different treatments in the included studies.
The differences in wound types and comparators make it impossible to draw overall conclusions about the effects of honey on wound
healing. The evidence for most comparisons is low or very low quality. This was largely because we thought that problems with the
design of some of the studies made their results unreliable and for many outcomes there was only a small amount of information
available. In some cases the results of the studies varied considerably.
There is high quality evidence that honey heals partial thickness burns around 4 to 5 days more quickly than conventional dressings.
There is moderate quality evidence that honey is more effective than antiseptic followed by gauze for healing wounds infected after
surgical operations.
It is not clear if honey is better or worse than other treatments for burns, mixed acute and chronic wounds, pressure ulcers, Fournier’s
gangrene, venous leg ulcers, minor acute wounds, diabetic foot ulcers and Leishmaniasis as most of the evidence that exists is of low or
very low quality.
This evidence is current up to October 2014.
Honey as