Olaitan Peter B, Adeleke Olufemi E, Ola Iyabo O
Department of Surgery, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Osun state, Nigeria.
Afr Health Sci. 2007 Sep;7(3):159-65. doi: 10.5555/afhs.2007.7.3.159.
Honey is an ancient remedy for the treatment of infected wounds, which has recently been 'rediscovered' by the medical profession. The use to which honey is put in medical care is increasing daily with many authors pointing out its importance and role in wound care. There have been reports that honey contains many microorganisms including bacteria and fungi.
The aim of this paper is to highlight the various uses, organisms commonly found in honey, how the organisms arrived in the honey and their effects on wounds and wound care. Would the presence of these organisms not constitute a limiting factor to the use of honey in wound management? This is what this review aims to answer.
A literature search was done on honey using pubmed, google, local books and journals. Relevant journals were extracted and discussed with emphasis on the antimicrobial properties as well as microbial content of honey and the implications of these.
The production of honey as well as the storing process account for the presence of microorganisims. Most of these organisms are said to be in inactive forms as they can hardly survive in honey because of its several properties including hygroscopicity, hyperosmolarity, acidity, peroxide content, antibiotic activities etc. However there is a need for caution in the use of honey in wound management.
We suggest that wounds to be treated with honey should be investigated i.e with a swab for the microorganisms present on the wound and their sensitivity to the honey before commencing honey treatment. This will help in carefully selecting wounds that might do well with honey treatment not withstanding other properties of honey that aid wound healing.
蜂蜜是治疗感染伤口的一种古老疗法,最近被医学界“重新发现”。随着许多作者指出蜂蜜在伤口护理中的重要性和作用,其在医疗保健中的应用日益增加。有报道称蜂蜜含有包括细菌和真菌在内的许多微生物。
本文旨在强调蜂蜜的各种用途、蜂蜜中常见的微生物、这些微生物如何进入蜂蜜以及它们对伤口和伤口护理的影响。这些微生物的存在是否会成为蜂蜜用于伤口处理的限制因素?这就是本综述旨在回答的问题。
使用PubMed、谷歌、当地书籍和期刊对蜂蜜进行文献检索。提取相关期刊并进行讨论,重点关注蜂蜜的抗菌特性、微生物含量及其影响。
蜂蜜的生产以及储存过程导致了微生物的存在。据说这些微生物大多处于非活性形式,因为由于蜂蜜的多种特性,包括吸湿性、高渗性、酸度、过氧化物含量、抗生素活性等,它们很难在蜂蜜中存活。然而,在伤口处理中使用蜂蜜时需要谨慎。
我们建议在用蜂蜜治疗伤口之前,应对伤口进行检查,即通过拭子检查伤口上存在的微生物及其对蜂蜜的敏感性。这将有助于谨慎选择可能适合蜂蜜治疗的伤口,尽管蜂蜜还有其他有助于伤口愈合的特性。