Honey Kills Bacteria That Cause Sinusitis

Can Honey Help Sinuses?
Preliminary study finds it kills communities of bacteria
Canadian Press, 9/23/2008

TORONTO — Could honey some day become a sweet solution for people suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis?

Researchers at the University of Ottawa have conducted a study that found honey can kill biofilms, small communities of bacteria that adhere to mucus in the nose and that are resistant to antibiotics.

Preliminary findings were presented Tuesday in Chicago at a meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. So far, work has only been done in the lab, and the next step is animal tests.

"It's cheap, it's cheaper than any antibiotic. It doesn't cause side-effects," Dr. Talal Alandejani, who led the study, said from Chicago about the potential of a honey-and-water solution to irrigate the nasal passages.

"The nice thing about it, if you don't like it, you can just irrigate it out with water."

The research involved Manuka honey from New Zealand and Sidr honey from Yemen. Clover and buckwheat honeys from Canada were dropped from the study when they had no effect against the biofilms…