MANAGEMENT OF DIABETIC FOOT BY NATURAL HONEY
Abstract
Background: Many studies have demonstrated that honey has antibacterial activity in vitro, and asmall number of clinical case studies have shown that application of honey to severely infected
cutaneous wounds is capable of clearing infection from the wound and improving tissue healing.
Research has also indicated that honey may possess anti-inflammatory activity and stimulate
immune responses within a wound. The overall effect is to reduce infection and to enhance wound
healing in burns, ulcers, and other cutaneous wounds. The objective of the study was to find out the
results of topical wound dressings in diabetic wounds with natural honey. Methods: The study was
conducted at department of Orthopaedics, Unit-1, Liaquat University of Medical and Health
Sciences, Jamshoro from July 2006 to June 2007. Study design was experimental. The inclusion
criteria were patients of either gender with any age group having diabetic foot Wagner type I, II, III
and IV. The exclusion criteria were patients not willing for studies and who needed urgent
amputation due to deteriorating illness. Initially all wounds were washed thoroughly and necrotic
tissues removed and dressings with honey were applied and continued up to healing of wounds.
Results: Total number of patients was 12 (14 feet). There were 8 males (66.67%) and 4 females
(33.33%), 2 cases (16.67%) were presented with bilateral diabetic feet. The age range was 35 to 65
years (46±9.07 years). Amputations of big toe in 3 patients (25%), second and third toe ray in 2
patients (16.67%) and of fourth and fifth toes at the level of metatarsophalengeal joints were done in
3 patients (25%). One patient (8.33%) had below knee amputation. Conclusion: In our study we
observed excellent results in treating diabetic wounds with dressings soaked with natural honey. The
disability of diabetic foot patients was minimized by decreasing the rate of leg or foot amputations
and thus enhancing the quality and productivity of individual life.
Keywords: Diabetic Foot, Diabetic Foot Ulcer, Natural Honey
References
Lusby PE, Coombes A, Wilkinson JM. Honey: A Potent
Agent for Wound Healing. J Wound Ostomy Continence
Nurs 2002;29(6):295-300.
Ransome HM. The sacred bee in ancient times and folklore.
London: George Allen and Unwin; 1937.
Beck BF, Smedley D. Honey and Your Health. 2nd Ed. New
York: McBride;1944.
Mjno G. The Healing Hand. Man and wound in the ancient
world. Cambridge. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press;
Forrest RD. Early history of wound treatment. J R Soc Med
;75:198-205.
Al-Bukhari M. Sahih Al-Bukhari. Third, Revised ed.
Chicago; Kazi Publications; 1976.
Bowler PG. Wound pathophysiology, infection and
therapeutic options. Ann Med 2002;34(6):419-27.
Brem H, Tomic-Canic M. Cellular and molecular basis of
wound healing in diabetes. J Clin Invest 2007;117:1219-22.
Bowler PG, Duerden BI, Armstrong DG. Wound
Microbiology and Associated Approaches to Wound
Management. Clin Microbiol Rev 2001;14:244-69.
Molan PC. A brief review of honey as clinical dressing.
Primary Intention 1998;6(4):148-58.
Molan PC. The role of honey in the management of wounds.
J Wound Care 1999;8(8):423-6.
Blomfield R. Honey for decubitus ulcers. JAMA
;224:905.
Lucke H. [Wundbehandlung mit honing und Lebertran.
Deutche Medizinische Wochenschrift 1935;61(41):1638-40.]
Farouk A, Hassan T, Kashif H, Khalid SA, Mutawali I, Wadi
M. Studies on sudaniese Bee Honey: laboratory and clinical
evaluation. Int J Crude Drug Res 1988;26(3):161-8.
Tovey F I. Honey & healing. J R Soc Med 1991;84:447.
Wood B, Rademaker M, Molan PC. Manuka. Honey, a low
cost leg ulcer dressing. NZ Med J 1997;110:107.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.
USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.