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?
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