U.S. Pharmacies to Stock Honey-Laced Bandages Next Year

Sweet Health News About Honey
By Jordan Lite, NY Daily News (USA), 12/27/2007

If you've got a bad cut or think you've come down with a drug-resistant superbug, instead of going to a drugstore, you may just want to say, "Pass the honey, honey."

Used for thousands of years to treat wounds, honey is finding new credibility as a health aid from government regulators and scientists who have rediscovered its healing properties.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration allowed a Princeton, N.J.-based company to promote the first honey-based wound dressing.

Honey can ease children's coughs, a recent study found. And it may even reduce the risk of anemia and infection in cancer patients getting chemotherapy, 2006 research shows.

"Where's the money in honey?" asked Derma Sciences Vice President Barry Wolfenson, who sells the new wound dressing, Medihoney, in the U.S. and Canada.

"There is a business to be made here," he predicted yesterday. "It will be a big market."

Since the FDA green-lighted Medihoney on Nov. 7, Derma Sciences (DSCI.ob) has sold about $150,000 worth to North American doctors and wound-care facilities, Wolfenson said.

The company plans to roll out honey-laced adhesive bandages and gels at pharmacies next year…