Thursday, October 14, 2010

Honey Helps Treat Rhinoconjunctivitis

Honey as a Treatment Option for Rhinoconjunctivitis
Journal of ApiProduct & ApiMedical Science, Vol. 2 (4) pp. 145 - 148

Treatment with honey is one of many unconventional methods for the treatment of rhinoconjunctivitis. A recent study reported the inefficacy of honey treatment despite earlier reports on the efficacy of oral desensitization with honey in children.

We asked beekeepers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to hand out a questionnaire to their customers who bought honey for the treatment of rhinoconjunctivitis, which assessed the modalities of honey administration, efficacy of honey treatment (using the German version of the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire from Juniper) and the patient-rated success of treatment.

Twenty-nine questionnaires were received. Twenty three were evaluable for response.

The study showed that the majority of participants (91.3%) considered the use of honey in this respect to be a reasonable or very reasonable approach. Comparison of quality of life before and after honey treatment also showed significant improvements in most cases.

In spite of the limitation of this study due to its design, we were able to provide evidence that the use of honey could help to improve symptom control in patients with rhinoconjunctivitis.

No comments: