what is Manuka Honey for???

[Ponders]

I bought some today in Aldi because it was only £3.99, & I saw it in Tesco for £9.99 last week, so I couldn't resist

But now I've got it I have no idea what to do with it

Do you just eat it? Or what?

Isn't it good for putting on wounds or something?

is it???? goodness

(thank you )

It is meant to be good on wounds, abscesses, etc.

However, it is very tasty too: I spread it on toast; I put it in plain yoghurt...

It is meant to be very good for you.

I put it on toast and stir into lemon honey. It's very very tasty. Supposedly it has some healing property. They are very expensive here, but quite cheap back home.

It is amazing on wounds particularly ulcers, but is best used in specialist dressings that have been soaked in medical grade manuka. some people swear by a teaspoonful per day.

Fab for sore throats and ridding tickly coughs. Supposed to help boost your immune system too.

It's for anything really, when you have a cold, a cut on the knee or for everyday health like taking multivitamins,
Thanks for finding it cheaper

I'm a bit at the idea of putting it on wounds (esp if the finger applying it goes back in the jar for a bit more...)

But sore throats, tickly coughs & toast sound perfect

oooh, thanks, all - all round

We can have a real-time experiment as this thread has prompted me to apply some on a scab I have just above my lips.

It was probably only a day or two from being completely healed but if the manuka honey can speed up the process, I am all for it!

\link{http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/tesco-price-comparison/jam_and_spreads/rowse_active_10_clear_manuka_honey_340g.html\in fact it's normally £11.99, everywhere, not £9.99}

The Aldi one is a smaller jar I think - not that much smaller though

good idea, Rat - please report back

(but don't put your finger back in the jar please)

I got a tiny bit out with a knife! No, I would not stick my finger in the jar

I've seen it work miracles on a bedsore, when nothing used medically seemed to have any effect.

Honey is a natural product which has a lot of goodness in it.

The specific health benefits attributed to Manuka honey goes back to a v old study which has since been criticised by the scientific community (although there are still plenty of advocates).

The "Manuka" label is not particularly well regulated like, for example "organic" is, so your jar may have differing levels of "Manuka"-ness.

A (nurse) friend of mine used high strength manuka on her son's leg recently, when he had an infection that didn't respond to two lots of antibiotics - they did give him a third course, which probably played a part, but large dollops of manuka with bandages over, left on for 24 hours plus at a time, seemed to work wonders.

She got the tip off from a diabetic nurse friend of hers, who said they were now using manuka in trials on difficult-to-treat sores.

Lower strengths, ie 5+ or 10+ probably don't do much. Too high strengths (35+) can cause a skin reaction, apparently so she used 25+

My mum takes it for her digestive system and her throat, she puts a spoonful in her tea.

Right... I am reporting back on the effect of manuka honey on my scab.

I am not sure if it is speeding up the healing or not. There is no adverse skin reaction at least. A little bit of scabby crust came off today. A bit more to go and then I am just hoping that the red skin underneath will recover quickly because it looks as if I have a Hitler-like moustache at the moment.

The strength of my manuka honey is only 10 though. I have another pot with a 15 strength but I did not want to have two pots on the go, even for the sake of this experiment!

My friend's son dabbed it on his acne. Apparently worked better than any other lotion or potion he had tried.

Post-dabbing, it looked as if I had snot above my top lip though. I was glad to be able to spend most of the day at home.

oh poor Rat! at the Hitleresque tache though. The jar I have is 10+ (like the supermarket ones), is that not really strong enough to do any good?

it is amazing hearing all these different uses, a spoonful in tea (or even coffee presumably?) sounds like a simple way to get the benefit

We've been told we are getting it in for ladies with infected CS wounds. Have been told excellent things about it.

Will buy some myself at that price thumbs up

Well, it is not doing me any harm anyway. Difficult to say if something else would have done the trick quicker.

Definitely, try it in plain yoghurt: it gives it a lovely flavour, not quite toffee-like but very tasty. Not like normal honey at all!

If I have a sore throat developing, I eat it by the spoonful, (while holding my nose) and drink it mixed with hot water and lemon juice. It seems to sort me out and chase the nasties away, we swear by it in my house.

Ponders, I did not want to leave you on a cliff-hanger just before the weekend...

So... I still have a tiny bit of crust but the skin underneath has gone much paler. Much improvement, and I think I may be back to normal tomorrow.

My conclusion is that it did not do my any harm and probably worked as effectively as Savlon or Germolene would do. Having said that, I am wondering if the healing might have been as quick if I had not put anything on my scab .