NETANYA, ISRAEL โ As Jewish families around the world prepare to dip apples in honey for Rosh Hashanah, the traditional symbol of hopes for a sweet New Year is also finding a place far beyond the holiday table.
In modern wound care, specially prepared medical-grade honey is used in dressings and other clinical products for complex, difficult-to-heal wounds.
At Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health organization, wound-care specialists treat patients with complex wounds associated with diabetes, pressure injuries, and other chronic medical conditions.
Alona Benjamin, a wound specialist nurse with Clalit’s Sharon-Shomron District, has highlighted the growing medical interest in honey as researchers and clinicians examine how a substance used for thousands of years in traditional medicine can be incorporated into modern treatment.
The distinction, however, is critical. Medically used honey is not the same product found in a kitchen cupboard.
An Ancient Remedy Enters Modern Medicine
Honey has been used as a traditional wound treatment for centuries. Modern medicine has allowed researchers to study some of its properties more systematically and incorporate them into standardized wound-care products.
Medical-grade honey is specifically prepared for clinical use and sterilized to reduce the risk of microbial contamination. Depending on the product, it may be incorporated directly into dressings or other wound-care materials.
Research has examined several properties that may make medical-grade honey useful in selected wounds, including its antimicrobial activity and its ability to maintain a moist wound environment.
Its high sugar concentration creates an osmotic effect, drawing water from the surrounding environment and making conditions less favourable for the growth of some microorganisms.
Honey is also naturally acidic. Some varieties contain additional compounds associated with antibacterial activity.
These characteristics have made medical-grade honey an area of continuing interest for clinicians treating wounds that can be particularly challenging to manage.
Benjamin is listed by Clalit as a specialist in difficult-to-heal wounds at its specialist medicine centre in Netanya. Her professional work has included wound, stoma and continence care, as well as advising patients and healthcare professionals.
Complex Wounds Can Be Difficult To Treat
Chronic wounds are a significant healthcare challenge, particularly among people with diabetes, impaired circulation, limited mobility and other underlying medical conditions.
Unlike a minor cut that normally heals through the body’s natural repair process, chronic wounds can remain open for extended periods and may be vulnerable to infection and tissue damage.
Pressure injuries, diabetic foot ulcers and some surgical or vascular wounds are among the conditions that can require specialized management.
Successful treatment depends on far more than applying a dressing.
Clinicians may need to evaluate blood flow, infection, pressure on the affected area, dead or damaged tissue, diabetes control, nutrition, and the patient’s overall medical condition.
Medical-grade honey can be one component of that broader treatment strategy.
Research has found that honey-based wound products can assist with autolytic debridement, the body’s process of removing damaged or dead tissue, while supporting conditions conducive to healing.
Studies have also examined honey’s antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and tissue-regenerative properties.
However, the evidence is not uniform across every type of wound. Reviews of the scientific literature have found promising results for a range of applications, while also emphasizing that outcomes can vary by wound type and honey formulation.
Medical-grade honey is therefore a wound-care tool, not a universal cure.
Medical Honey Is Not Kitchen Honey
The distinction between medical-grade and food-grade honey is particularly important for patients.
Ordinary honey should not be applied to an open, chronic, or otherwise serious wound as a home treatment.
Honey sold for consumption is produced as food. It is not necessarily processed to the sterility and quality-control standards required for a product intended for an open wound.
Medical-grade honey products, by contrast, undergo controlled processing and sterilization and are manufactured specifically for clinical applications.
This distinction matters because ordinary honey can contain microorganisms or other contaminants that make it inappropriate for wound treatment.
Patients with chronic wounds also require assessment of the underlying reason the wound is failing to heal. Applying honey at home could delay diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Benjamin, writing about honey’s medical uses ahead of Rosh Hashanah, has similarly cautioned that honey is not a miracle medicine and that not every traditional claim about its health benefits is supported by scientific evidence.
Kitchen honey should not be placed on a fresh burn, an undiagnosed wound, or the eyes, she advised.
Research Continues Into Honey’s Medical Potential
Scientific interest in medical-grade honey has expanded alongside the broader challenge of treating chronic wounds and bacterial infections.
A 2024 review examining medical-grade honey in wound management for older patients described it as a potentially versatile wound-care product. Other research has examined its use in chronic wounds, burns and wounds containing bacterial colonization.
Researchers have also investigated honey-based products in the context of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, an increasingly important issue for healthcare systems worldwide.
Honey’s antimicrobial properties do not mean it can replace antibiotics whenever a bacterial infection is present. Serious infections require medical assessment, and systemic antibiotics may be necessary depending on the patient’s condition.
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