Bees Have Value in Medicine: Honey Helps Wounds Heal

Guardian Liberty Voice, 8/23/2014

Bees have value in medicine because their honey helps wounds heal. Honey is the thick liquid food bees make for themselves from flower nectar. At a time when drought, disease, parasites, pesticides, and Africanized swarms are killing off honey bees in large numbers around the world, it is important to consider the effects of bees beyond pollination.

Honey has antibacterial qualities and has been used in the practice of healing and medicine since ancient times. The Egyptians, Sumerians, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans all valued honey, and honey is mentioned in both the Bible and the Koran. While the healing powers of honey faded in comparison to the new antibiotics introduced in the 20th century, today’s antibiotic-resistant superbugs make any substance with bacteria-fighting properties worth a second look.

Honey is used effectively for wound care in hospitals and other medical settings around the world today. Derma Sciences, a Toronto-based company, manufactures a wound-care line called Medihoney, which includes honey from the blossoms of the manuka plant, Leptospermum scoparium, as an active ingredient in state-of-the-art wound dressings…