A couple of weeks ago I was reading the forum and noticed a post about Manuka Honey. I went out and purchased a jar from a whole food store. My mother has been using it about a week and a half now. Well I must say her scar is disappearing and her skin is so soft.
It has also worked wonders on the blisters on her lips and tongue. She rubs it all over her neck and even in her mouth. All her blisters are healed and things are looking up.
Its a little expensive but surely worth every penny.
But round 2 of Chemo is on Monday and I hope its not to bad.
Heidi
Heidi thanks for sharing this information with us. I will look into this for my dad as he has a large incision on his chest due to a pec flap and the bilateral neck dissection.
There is a clinical trial going on with "Manuka honey dressings for local wound care" performed at Mt. Sinai with Dr. Joshua Rosenberg, otolaryncology. Attached is his research area, attachment to the clnical trial with more info.
http://www.mountsinai.org/patient-c...stic-and-reconstructive-surgery/researchhttp://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT02259491
PaulB
It's amazing how this Manuka Honey helped my moms surgery heal .
Look for a MGO > 500 for best results. It is "medical" grade. It comes in a smaller container because it doesn't require as much to do the same job if you take it by mouth. Too much honey isn't good if you are even borderline diabetic.
Wound dressings are available at CVS, now in 2 sizes.
I never used it after any of my surgeries. Funny this doctor was supposed to be my ENT after mine left in 2012, but I went to another hospital also.
My guard always goes up initially when on the topic of natural remedies but many do prove out to be effective. The more I read about Makuna honey the more validity it seems to carry, much like aloe vera plant. As Ed mentions, there are different grades, the medical grade being very expensive. I'd love to hear more stories about its use here.
There have been some studies done with manuka honey proving to be helpful in healing sores. Im sorry but I dont have the exact study info but it was maybe about 2 years ago.
Here is a good summary of Manuka honey from the NIH.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/
Thanks for posting these articles Paul and Uptown!
I noticed my moms incision after her "second surgery" it was healing kind of lumpy. My mom herself thought it looked ugly. The scar from her first surgery wasn't as bad. So I didn't want my mom to be anymore depressed with her looks than she already is. As I read hear about the Manuka Honey I went out and bought some. My mom is so happy . The lumps are gone and its smooth and has almost blended in with her skin. I cant wait for the Surgeon to see her scar on her next visit. Its Amazing .
It's amazing too inside her mouth - I know she's probably raw and it burns like a B^tch but I would put a teaspoon in my mouth let it melt swish for 1.5 minutes and swallow. It held off most of the bad side effects until the last three days of treatment when I finally broke down and had a pain med (I would get mouth sores and blisters but they wouldn't pop, so it was less painful.) I swear I used it from week three on. I stopped swishing probably the last week of treatment because it became crazy painful - then a week after treatment finished I thought I had a bit of thrush so I told my rads guy. He said the magic mouthwash will help it has nystatin in it... I had been using only that so I knew it wasn't helping so I started back on the manuka and in two days it was gone. after you swallow it numbs you. It's antibiotic, antibacterial, anti inflammatory. Love it. Plus it doesn't cause cavities becaus it is anti bacterial.
Be careful of fraudulent Manuka Honey that's been circulating the past few years. Happens to lots of products once they become popular. Here is one article, but not surely the only one. Gives you some identifiable marks to look or on the legitimate product.
http://barktime.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/manuka-honey-how-to-buy-a-real-deal-and-not-some-snake-oil/
Good article, Paul. There is no mention of MGO ratings of manuka honey. Like all good standards, there has to be another one. Here is some industry knowledge (propaganda).
http://nzmanukanatural.com/blog/difference-between-umf-active-mgo/