Sweet were the Days of Cleopatra

During the days of Cleopatra there were no pharmacies, but mere sorcerers and healers. Even though they didn’t have the technology we have today, they were still able to figure out the magic healing properties of honey.

The ancient Egyptians used honey as an embalming material and treated cuts and burns with it. The Greek physician Hippocrates cured skin disorders with honey, and the Romans cleaned wounds with it. Even as recently as World War I, doctors treated wounds with honey. With the advent of antibiotics, honey fell out of use for its healing properties, but scientific research is now rediscovering honey's natural healing power.

Because of its high sugar, low protein composition, honey acts as a natural "antimicrobial" that limits the growth of bacteria by cutting off the supply of water and nitrogen. When honey is applied to a wound, it is diluted with fluids from the damaged tissue and combines with an enzyme added by the bee to form hydrogen peroxide, and gluconic acid. Honey releases its hydrogen peroxide slowly, so it is less damaging to skin tissue than the drugstore type, he said.  The naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide promotes healing and reduces scarring as it is slowly released into the wound.

Several studies show honey's effectiveness as a treatment for burns and other skin disorders. In a study of burn patients, doctors in India treated 52 patients with honey and 52 with silver sulfadiazine, a standard burn-treatment compound. Of those treated with honey, 87% improved within 15 days compared with 10% treated with the silver sulfadiazine. In Australia, honey has had the status of medicine since 1999 — medicinal honey is available in pharmacies as a wound dressing. Honey used for medicinal purposes has not been pasteurized or heated, unlike most commercial honey. 

* Glu•con'ic ac'id:  Pronunciation: (glOO-kon'ik), [key] a colorless, water-soluble, crystaline material, C₆H₁₂O₇, formed by the oxidation of glucose. Used commercially in a 50-percent solution for cleaning metals, and also used in pharmaceuticals. Also, glyconic acid, glycogenic acid. 

*    Silver sulfadiazine: Pronunciation: ( SILL-ver sul-fa-DYE-a-zeen) , a sulfa medicine, is used to prevent and treat bacterial or fungus infections. It works by killing the fungus or bacteria. Silver sulfadiazine cream is applied to the skin and/or burned area(s) to prevent and treat bacterial or fungus infections that may occur in burns.