Manuka Honey Can Help Treat Chronic Rhinosinusitis, MRSA

Chronic Rhinosinusitis, MRSA, Biofilms and Manuka Honey
Vincent Giuliano, Aging Sciences, 4/11/2012

…Manuka honey can dissolve biofilms created by S. aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa and kill those microbes, including MRSA. It might be the basis for a topical irrigation treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis.

My first reaction when I heard about honey treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis was “This sounds like another new-age treatment and shady marketing pitch.” But I found an impressive amount of research which backs up the above statements. I will lay that research out here. The studies are all by otolaryngology physicians and researchers situated in Western hospital and university research institutions, many in Canada and Australia.

The antimicrobial properties of manuka honey are attributed to the nature of the nectar obtained by the bees from manuka flowers which grows on manuka bushes, a scrub species that grows only in New Zeeland. The Maori natives of New Zeeland used parts of the plant as natural medicine(ref). It is also known as the Tea Tree….