Diabetes Blog | Diabetes Type, Treatment, & Recipes

Jennifer Eddy of UW Health’s Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic, who treated her borderline diabetic patient Catrina Hurlburt with honey therapy, said that Hurlburt’s case is a good example of the ‘potential health care savings’.

“Unsuccessful conventional care for ulcers can cost thousands of dollars. Therapy with honey may only cost a few hundred,” Eddy said.

Experts believe that treating wounds with honey has tremendous potential for the approximately 200 million people in the world with diabetes, 15 percent of whom will develop an ulcer, usually because of impaired sensation in their feet.

Diabetics typically have poor circulation and decreased ability to fight infection. Diabetic ulcers treated with long courses of systemic antibiotics can become colonized with drug-resistant organisms- so-called “superbugs” such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Since honey fights bacteria in numerous ways, it is essentially immune to resistance. Honey’s acidic pH, low water content (which effectively dehydrates bacteria), and the hydrogen peroxide secreted by its naturally-occurring enzymes make it ideal for combating organisms that have developed resistance to standard antibiotics.

“This is a tremendously important issue for public health,” explained Eddy, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have identified bacterial resistance as one of the most important medical problems of our day.

Patients in the clinical trial will receive ulcer care and treatment by an expert podiatrist. Half will be randomly assigned to receive honey, while the other half will receive a wound-care gel that has been compounded with inert components to give it the flavor and color of honey. The ulcers will be measured to see how quickly they heal, to evaluate whether honey or the standard wound gel is better for healing.

If honey proves the more effective method, Eddy cautions patients against using it at home without a physician’s involvement.

“Unfortunately, diabetic ulcers are very complicated, and honey would only be part of the solution,” she says. Successful care also requires off-loading-avoiding walking and putting weight on the sore-and the sterile removal of dead skin and bacteria from the wound.”If we can prove that honey promotes healing in diabetic ulcers, we can offer new hope for many patients,” said Eddy.