A Comparative Study between Honey and Alcohol as Topical Skin Disinfectant

Abstract Background Skin antisepsis is essential in every healthcare environment. Alcohol/ chlorhexidine use might disrupt skin microbiota and lead to antibiotic resistance. Objective To evaluate the efficacy of honey on reduction of skin microbes, on apparently healthy skin, and to compare the results with those of topical application of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Subjects and Methods This study was carried out on 70 children aged 2 to 12 years. Males represented 54.2% of the sample. Patients were recruited from the pediatric outpatient clinic, Children’s Hospital, Ain Shams University, Egypt, during the period from July 2022 to February 2023. A swab was taken from the skin of the dorsum of both hands for culture of skin microbes. Types and number of organisms were documented. Separately, honey and alcohol were applied alternatively on the dorsum of right and left hands. A skin swab was taken for microbiological examination before and 20 seconds after application of honey and alcohol. Results mean age of enrolled children is 7.34 (in years). Both honey and alcohol made significant reduction in the number of organisms on the dorsum of the hand (p = <0.001), and this effect was comparable between honey and alcohol with no statistically significant difference (p = 0.874). Before honey application, the median number of organisms is 65 colony forming unit (CFU), while 10 (CFU) is the median number of orgamisms after honey application. Before alcohol application, the median number of organisms is 80 (CFU), while 10 (CFU) is the median number of organisms after alcohol application. Percentage of reduction of organisms on dorsum of the hand after honey application is 62.5%, while 65% after alcohol application (p = 0.370). Staph coagulase negative, staph aureus, E-coli are most three common organisms were detected by swab. Conclusion Honey showed to be as effective as alcohol in reduction of skin microbes. We recommend further studies involving following up the rate of infection after minor surgical procedures to confirm the findings of our study.