MEDICAL GRADE HONEY
T
his article provides community
nurses with the information
required to make an informed
choice in using medical grade honey
as an effective wound management
option to achieve positive outcomes.
Advances in wound care
technology are continually progressing,
however, this ultimately leads to
more choice and can lead to more
confusion. In recent years there has
been resurgence in the use of honey as
a topical treatment for a wide range of
wounds (
Table 1
), resulting in it being
a first-line product in some health
organisations.This has led to a growing
body of literature promoting the use of
honey-based products in wound care.
These demonstrate honey’s efficacy,
cost-effectiveness and positive record
of safety in the community setting.
However, some authors argue that
the evidence available is of low quality
(Moore et al, 2001).This argument
could have occurred since the research
projects were based on small clinical
studies, as opposed to being a reflection
on the effectiveness of honey itself.
Overall, evidence of honey’s proven
effectiveness suggests that medical
grade honey products have a definite
place in the wound care tool box for
community nurses.
SOURCE OF MEDICAL
GRADE HONEY
In the UK, the most widely used
medical honeys are sourced from New
Zealand and Australia and are formed
by bees feeding on the
Leptospermum
scoparium
plant.This plant is a variety
of myrtle and is also known as Tea Tree,
Manuka, Goo Bush and Jelly Bush
(Thompson, 1989).The concentration
of honey can vary from wound
dressing product to product, which
can affect the dressing’s antibacterial
potency and efficacy.To ensure that it
best meets the desired clinical need,
community nurses should consider the
strength of the honey concentration
when choosing a honey dressing.
Honey for wound care is available
in a variety of forms such as liquids,
ointments and impregnated into tulles/
nets, hydrocolloids, foams, hydrogels,
alginates in order to ease application
for different wound types. Community
nurses need to be aware that not all
medical grade honeys are 100% honey,
as some are mixed with carriers and the
Julie Evans, tissue viability nurse, Abertawe Bro
Morgawwng University Health Board, Swansea;
Julie Scattergood, sister; Elena Strinati, staff nurse,
both at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Medical grade honey: an effective
dressing option for community settings
IN BRIEF
There is an array of medical grade honey-based wound products
available to community nurses.
Honey dressings have multifactorial actions, being described as 'all-
in-one' dressings for effective wound bed preparation.
Evidence and information needs to be made available to patients
and colleagues to inform choice and develop patient-centred care.
KEYWORDS:
Medical grade honey
Patient-centred care
Quality of life
Action of honey dressings
Evidence-based practice
Julie Evans, Julie Scattergood, Elena Strinati
Are you using honey as a
wound care dressing? If yes,
have you considered the
evidence underpinning the
use of honey and the range of
products available?
THE SCIENCE
Only medical grade honey is registered as a pharmaceutical or
medical device, and, therefore, can be used for the purposes of
wound management. Honey is a composition of water and sugars in
the form of glucose and fructose, protein, fatty acids, trace minerals and
vitamins (White, 1978). Medical grade honey will have been sterilised
by gamma irradiation, offering a standardised antibacterial activity.
Regulation ensures that medical grade honey is free from impurities,
synthetic pesticides and bacterial microbes. For example, the bacterial
spores
Clostridium botulinum
exist in the soil, air, dust and raw agricultural
products in which honey is produced. The sterilising process removes the
risk of
Clostridium botulinum
contaminating the final honey product and
making it detrimental to the patient’s health.
4 JCN supplement
2014,Vol 28, No 5
