Honey; A Suitable Home Remedy For Minor Burns

Some years ago, I had a burn from the cup of tea I was drinking (I like making my tea very hot). That day, I was rushing my breakfast because I was running late to school. I got distracted and the cup slipped from my hand and that was it.

It spilled on my chest and it peeled my skin. It’s over 15years and I still have a little scar from it on my chest though the scar is very faint. I don’t know if you’ve had your own experience and what it feels like. 

In this post, I will talk about using honey as a home remedy for minor burns.

But before we take a look at the healing properties of honey, let us get a glimpse of the causes and characteristics of burns. The causes of burns include sun, heat, electricity and chemicals. 

There are different types of burns and they include; first degree burn which is a minor burn that is characterized by redness, swelling and pain.  Second degree burn which is identified by red, white or discoloured skin, swelling, pain and blisters. If the affected area in a second degree burn is not more than 7.6cm which is about 3 inches, it can be treated at home (but if it affects wider areas of the body, then you should seek medical help).

 Third degree burn affects all layers of the skin and underlying fat. Affected areas in a third degree burn may appear charred or white. 

In essence, first degree and small sized second degree burns are minor burns. And minor burns are usually taken care of through home remedies.

Honey: Since ancient times, honey has been known for its health benefits. It has been used for thousands of years for treating cuts and burns.

 It has anti-inflammatory property that helps to reduce swelling, pains and also helps to reduce scarring that might occur from wounds. It was even reported that the Russian and Chinese soldiers used it for treating wounds during World War 1. 

Honey works by providing a moist healing environment and also rapidly clearing infection.

A few clinical trials have attested to the healing benefits of honey. 

A study which was carried out among 104 patients with superficial burn injury showed that honey was more effective for treating minor burns than silver sulfadiazine (a topical antibiotic for burns). 

In the study, 52 patients were treated with honey while the other 52 were treated with silver sulfadiazine. Within 15 days, 86% percent of the wounds treated with honey were healed as against 10% of the wounds treated with silver sulfadiazine.

Despite the fact that there are other home remedies for minor burns, honey is a class on its own. 

Its antibacterial and antifungal properties separates it from the rest. 

A study which compared the efficacy of honey and boiled potato peels reported that 90% of the wound treated with honey were uninfected after seven days while those treated with boiled potato peels had constant infections. 

The study noted that 100% of the wounds treated with honey recovered after 15 days in contrast to 50% healed by boiled potato peels.

In spite of these health benefits of honey, it is good to note that not all the types of honey out there are suitable for minor burns. The recommended honey for treating minor burns is the manuka honey from New Zealand. 

This is because it has more antibacterial property and nutrients than other types. You can get manuka honey from your local health food store or online.

 However, there are a lot of adulterated manuka honey out there.

How to know a quality manuka honey

Apart from carrying out lab tests to check the contents of a manuka honey, there are no other readily available techniques for differentiating adulterated ones from the original. 

But there are a few pointers you can use to identify a good manuka honey from New Zealand. 

A quality manuka honey is called UMF manuka honey (Unique Manuka Factor Honey). “UMF” is a quality mark for identifying the purity and quality of manuka honey. 

Only licensed New Zealand companies carry this “UMF ®” trade mark.

An original UMF manuka honey will have the following:

1)    A UMF ® trade mark on the container.

2)    It will be from a New Zealand licensed company. Click here to see a list of licensed companies.

3)    It will have the company’s name and license number on the label.

4)    It will have a UMF grading number of 5 and above (I will advise to buy grading number of 10 and above). If the label is without a UMF grading number, then it’s not a quality manuka honey.

Alternative: UMF manuka honey can be expensive. But you can go for a raw, unfiltered honey which you can buy from local farmers around you or online.

How to Apply: 

Wash area with cool water (not cold water). Apply the honey and make sure the honey covers the affected areas and it’s thick. 

Cover with a non-stick clean gauze bandage. Change bandage daily. You don’t need to wash off the honey when changing the bandage since it’s antibacterial. 

Just apply more honey when changing the bandage. When changing the bandage, leave the area open for one or two hours so that air can touch it before putting on another bandage.

Important tips

·         First thing to do when you have a minor burn is to immerse affected area in cool water (not cold) for 10-15 minutes or run tap water (not cold ) on it for 10-15 minutes.

·         Don’t use ice.

·         You can use a clean towel to apply water on affected area.

·         Don’t rupture blisters. If blisters break, wash gently with mild soap.

·         For chemical burns wash off immediately and seek medical care.

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