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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Improvised First Aid Trick: Use honey to treat mild burns

Photo credit: Jason Schwartz/Rocky Mountain Bushcraft

A honey-impregnated gauze pad is an effective improvised covering for mild burns. It has the ability to reduce infection and promotes healing of the wound. According to Wikipedia, "A review in the Cochrane Library suggests honey could reduce the time it takes for a mild burn to heal — up to four days sooner in some cases. The review included 19 studies with 2,554 participants."

Additional Reference:

A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine, 3rd Edition by Eric A. Weiss M.D.

About the author
Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

2 comments:

  1. Honey has also been proved to treat Ulcerations and infected cuts, as it will fight the infection and aid healing. Historically they used to treat most sores with it to great success. I can also say from experience that it works wonders for treating infections. I had a nasty infected knife wound that I dressed with a Buff and honey, still scarred but cleared up the infection and healed it quickly.

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