Posted on 02/15/2013 10:03:49 AM PST by Freeport
A nurse is researching whether an old family remedy using sugar to heal wounds does actually work.
Moses Murandu, from Zimbabwe, grew up watching his father use granulated sugar to treat wounds.
Sugar is thought to draw water away from wounds and prevent bacteria from multiplying.
Early results from a trial on 35 hospital patients in Birmingham are encouraging, but more research is needed.
One of the patients who received sugar treatment on a wound was 62-year-old Alan Bayliss from Birmingham.
He had undergone an above-the knee amputation on his right leg at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and, as part of the surgery, a vein was removed from his left leg leaving a wound which would not heal properly.
Murandu, who is studying for a doctorate at Birmingham University, was contacted and asked to treat the wound with sugar.
Fast recovery
Mr Bayliss said: "It has been revolutionary. The actual wound was very deep - it was almost as big as my finger.
"When Moses first did the dressing he almost used the whole pot of sugar, but two weeks later he only needed to use four or five teaspoons.
"I am very pleased indeed. I feel that it has speeded up my recovery a lot, and it has been a positive step forward. I was a little sceptical at first but once I saw the sugar in operation and how much it was drawing the wound out, I was impressed."
The randomised control trial at three West Midlands hospitals is only half way through. So far 35 patients have been treated with sugar treatment.
Murandu, a senior lecturer in adult nursing at the University of Wolverhampton, said he was very pleased by the results.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Better to be 'sceptical' than septicemic...........
Makes sense. I once worked for a company that makes a popular citrus drink, and the only line they did not clean out with a chlorine solution was the “sugar”, which probably was corn syrup. It was explained to me that bacteria couldn’t survive in the dense sugar. It would explode due to osmosis.
My grandmother told me that ages ago.
If this treatment turns out to be effective, it will not be long before other substances will be tried.
I read once that honey has been used for centuries for wounds, so who knows what will come of this.
No big secret that sugar has antibacterial and antifungal qualities. That’s why cookies will keep on the counter, while bread will mold.
I remember from microbiology that no bacteria grows on sugar.
(not a microbiologist, but that’s what I remember)
That was the first thing I thought of too.
I suppose the use of sugar as a food preservative will have to wait for someone from Zimbabwe to "invent" it as well.
Mr. niteowl77
In a related story, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has banned the use of sugar for any purpose within the limits of New York City.
bttt
If you don’t have Quick-clot or Celox to staunch a non-arterial bleed, pack as much sugar as you have into the wound and hit it with a pressure bandage. It works......saw it on an episode of Burn Notice (then confirmed by an Army medic).
Honey has been used as an anti-bacterial for bandaging wounds since ancient times.
I don't know if they figured out why it worked, but it did seem to reduce infections and the scars were less noticeable, but that may because of the type of wounds sugar was being used on. In my case it was mid-thickness burns.
I use this sometimes. I live in Sentani, Papua, Indonesia and drugs aren’t always available. Sugar does help.
Basically, take granulated sugar and pack it into the wound as much as possible. Cover with bandage. Change the bandage after 6 hours, using sugar with each change.
I don’t know the mechanics of action, but it does help. Honey does an adequate job, but sugar is better.
Horsemen have used sugar to pack wounds for years. We also mix sugar and iodine to pack in hooves that have infections.
Sugar? Possibly.
Pre-WW2, they used glycerin rinse for oral wounds as it killed the germs. Glycerin is a sweetener.
“If this treatment turns out to be effective, it will not be long before...”
...the FDA comes after the perps using the treatment...gotta protect the profits of the big drug companies, you know...
Bacteria does not grow on honey either. Think about it. It is made by germ infested bees.
Bacteria does not grow on honey either. Think about it. It is made by germ infested bees.
jemian, when repacking, do you have to rinse out the wound with anything or just open old bandage, throw in more sugar and apply fresh bandages?
Uh, I believe that Sugar was also used to treat wounds in the Napoleonic Wars.
As someone else pointed out, sugar naturally is not supportive of bacteria. Jam, cookies, cake, jelly, doughnuts stuff like that just don’t spoil. Ever wonder why? Sugar of course and no bacteria.
Of course, we all know that nothing now can can be valid unless it is discovered by one from the cradle of all civilization... Zimbabwe.
I wish I had a black heritage too so I could be smart and discover s@#t and all kinda stuff like dat.
What a crock.
Uh, I believe that Sugar was also used to treat wounds in the Napoleonic Wars. It helps but if it was all that great the trials at Fort Sam would have made it a standard or it would have survived the wars and antibiotics would not have been invented. Don’t cite the profit motive. There was need for something better and it got invented.
As someone else pointed out, sugar naturally is not supportive of bacteria. Jam, cookies, cake, jelly, doughnuts stuff like that just don’t spoil. Ever wonder why? Sugar of course and no bacteria.
Of course, we all know that nothing now can can be valid unless it is discovered by one from the cradle of all civilization... Zimbabwe.
I wish I had a black heritage too so I could be smart and discover s@#t and all kinda stuff like dat.
What a crock.
Even if it does work, before long Moochelle will be forcing us to use Sweet N Low instead.
It works. The sugar causes the blood to clot.
Meat curing (ham, bacon, guanciale, etc...) uses salt and suger/honey to prevent harmful bacteria from forming. I just made my first apple smoked ham last Sunday. http://www.pelletsmoking.com/pellet-smoking-com-lounge-9/first-ham-attempt-mak-6019/
Makes sense to me that sugar is a way to treat certain wounds. Obviously it’s not practical for certain types of infections. You cant shove granulated sugar up your nose for a sinus infection.
Mama’s sugar when she kisses her toddler’s boo boo really does help.
Sugar and Iodine.....gonna remember that!
Thanks
I have been studying sugar cured hams for years; I wonder if this treatment has the potential to make one delicious as well as healthy.
Freegards
Could you give us a little more detail, maybe walk us through treating a single deep bad wound?
I remember the use of sugar and I think peroxide for bed ulcers back in the early and mid seventies. Used in nursing homes and some hospitals.
It’s that simple. I used it for my sting ray wound that didn’t heal for 5 months. After 3 days of dry granulated sugar sprinkled onto the wound on my foot it started healing. This after those high $$ wound treatments and surgery. The sugar worked. Sprinkle it in ( liberally) the wound, cover with a bandage and change frequently, oh every 8 hours or so.
Wine and honey is ancient treatment for wounds and honey is being sold as a healing agent even today.
Thanks, as someone who has to largely self treat, I like picking up a useful treatment for wounds.
I usually just repack as most, if not all, of the sugar is absorbed. Of course, if there is debrie that should be removed, that ought to be cleaned out. For that I use ivory soap, which I bring with me from the states, or hydrogen peroxide.
I first started using sugar years ago for an ant bite here, that had ulcerated. After a week the wound was as large as a dime and not healing. Sugar as a treatment was suggested and so I put about a fourth of a teaspoon on the wound. That night when I changed the bandage, the would was less red and a bit smaller. It took a few days but where there was no healing, it was now closed.
I do have a bit of a scar, though.
There really isn’t much more to tell. Clean the wound. Use a soap w/o perfumes or additives, just plain soap. Perhaps rinse the wound with hydrogen peroxide a few times. I suspect this doesn’t do more tham bring debrie close to the surface where it can be removed. Then sprinkle sugar in, not just one layer, but mound it in until the sugar is slightly higher than the surface of the skin. Cover with a bandage. Repeat every six hours or so until completely healed.
As was noted above, if this was a sovereign remedy, there would be no need for antibiotics to have been developed. However, as in the case of my ant bite, triple-biotic ointment didn’t help. So, I tried sugar and got better.
I’m going to try this. Have a chronic ulceration/lesion that changes and migrates somewhat, but has been around for 20 years. Biopses didn’t ever find an infection so who knows if it will work. I guess the worse that can happen is it will make more than the usual mess. Many times I considered using sugar and/or honey but didn’t ever actually do it.
That was a very good description, it gave me the picture that I was looking for, thanks.
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