Honey Dressings in Chronic Wound Management: What the Literature Reveals

04/11/2025

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A recently updated systematic review and meta-analysis in Nutrients evaluated the efficacy and safety of honey dressings in the treatment of chronic wounds, incorporating global and Chinese randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published through March 2024.¹ Eight RCTs comprising 906 patients with chronic wounds (eg diabetic foot ulcers, venous ulcers, pressure ulcers, traumatic ulcers, and pilonidal cysts) were included. The studies compared honey-based dressings with various standard or conventional wound care modalities. Primary outcomes evaluated were wound healing time, complete healing rate, and adverse events. Secondary outcomes included wound healing percentage, pain (VAS scores), bacterial clearance time, and hospital stay duration.¹

The authors discussed several key findings from their review¹:

Accelerated Healing Time:
Honey dressings significantly reduced mean time to wound healing (MD −17.13 days; 95% CI −26.37 to −7.89; p = 0.0003).
Wound Healing Percentage:
A significant increase in percentage of wound healing was observed (MD 18.31%; 95% CI 8.86 to 27.76; p = 0.0001).
Complete Healing Rate:
Although honey dressings showed a trend toward higher complete healing rates, the difference was not statistically significant (RR 2.00; 95% CI 0.78–5.10; p = 0.15).
Pain and Adverse Events:
While honey reduced pain scores over time (e.g., VAS from 7 to 1 vs. 7 to 5 with control), it was associated with a higher incidence of discomfort during application (RR for pain = 2.5; 95% CI 1.5–4.2).
Antibacterial and Hospitalization Outcomes:
No significant differences were found in bacterial clearance time or length of stay.

The authors contend that honey dressings may offer a valuable adjunct to standard wound care, particularly for enhancing healing speed and wound area reduction. However, potential for pain and subjective discomfort should be managed proactively. They did also comment on the heterogeneity of the current evidence and possible biases to keep in mind. Overall, honey dressings are promising, especially in resource-limited settings, and clinicians would benefit from keeping an eye on future research and enhanced evidence.

References

1. Tang Y, Chen L, Ran X. Efficacy and Safety of Honey Dressings in the Management of Chronic Wounds: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2024 Jul 28;16(15):2455. doi: 10.3390/nu16152455. PMID: 39125335; PMCID: PMC11314015.