Application of Honey Dressing in the Management of Postoperative Wounds, Ulcers, and Burns: A Systematic Review

Honey has served as a therapeutic agent for wound treatment across diverse cultures throughout history. Despite its extensive application, the evidence substantiating the efficacy of honey in wound treatment remains unclear. The primary objective of this systematic review was to assess the existing evidence and discern the role of honey in modern wound care, specifically targeting burns, ulcers, and surgical wounds. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a literature search was performed across PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, identifying 22 randomized clinical trial studies deemed eligible for inclusion. Across all three categories of wounds, honey has been identified as a dressing that shortens wound healing. This effect was especially observed in burns. Furthermore, both surgical wounds and burns exhibit evidence of the antibacterial effect of honey. The anti-inflammatory effect is distinctly evident in the realm of surgical wounds. Beyond these effects, honey is acknowledged for its potential deodorizing, debridement, and, notably, wound pain-reducing properties. However, it is essential to note that the evidentiary support for these attributes is relatively limited. Burns emerge as the lesions where honey demonstrates its utmost effectiveness, likely related to a combination of antibacterial and healing-promoting properties. If confronted with escalating antibiotic resistance, the proactive utilization of honey to mitigate wound infections presents itself as a plausible and strategic option. A potential area of particular interest for future studies could be the exploration of the aesthetic effects of honey on surgical wounds.