Horse Wounds Treated with Manuka Honey

Wounds heal better with honey and many studies confirm this, from horses to dogs to people...

APreliminary Study on the Effect of Manuka Honey on Second-Intention Healing ofContaminated Wounds on the Distal Aspect of the Forelimbs of Horses

VeterinarySurgery, 20 Sept 2011

Objective

Todetermine the effect of manuka honey on second-intention healing ofcontaminated, full-thickness skin wounds in horses.

Methods

One woundwas created on the dorsomedial aspect of the third metacarpus in bothforelimbs, contaminated with feces, and bandaged for 24 hours. Bandages wereremoved and wounds rinsed with isotonic saline solution. Wounds on 1 limb hadmanuka honey applied daily (n = 8) whereas wounds on the contralateral limbreceived no treatment (n = 8). Bandages were replaced and changed daily for 12days, after which treatment stopped, bandages were removed, leaving wounds opento heal. Wound area was measured 24 hours after wound creation (day 1), thenweekly for 8 weeks. Overall time for healing was recorded. Wound area and rateof healing of treated and control wounds were compared statistically.

Results

Treatmentwith manuka honey decreased wound retraction and treated wounds remainedsignificantly smaller than control wounds until day 42; however, there was nodifference in overall healing time between treatment and control wounds.

Conclusions

Treatmentwith manuka honey reduced wound area by reducing retraction but did not affectoverall healing time of full-thickness distal limb wounds using thiswound-healing model.