Manuka honey as a desloughing agent for venous leg ulcers

• a specific type of honey, namely Manuka honey (MH) from the Leptospermum scoparium bush found throughout New Zealand and Australia, is gaining recognition as a wound management agent
  • it is claimed that MH is a desloughing agent that can be used in the management of venous leg ulcer (VSU) (1)
• MH may deslough wounds through a combination of pathways
  • the honey exerts an osmotic effect within the wound bed as it draws fluid from the deeper wound tissue to the surface
    • process aids cleansing and removal of devitalised tissue
  • second, honey maintains a moist wound environment
    • facilitates autolysis
  • MH may also deslough by lowering wound pH
• in a study involving patients with venous leg ulcers, Manuka honey did not significantly reduce wound slough at 4 weeks but did improve would healing at 12 weeks (2)

Reference:

• 1) Gethin G , Gowman S.Case series of use of Manuka honey in leg ulceration. International Wound Journal 2005;2: 10-15.
• 2) Gethin G, Cowman S.Manuka honey vs. hydrogel--a prospective, open label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial to compare desloughing efficacy and healing outcomes in venous ulcers.J Clin Nurs. 2009 Feb;18(3):466-74