Q. You recently wrote about sugar for wound healing. I have been in veterinary medicine for 15 years. Several years ago we had a case of a dog that had been attacked by another dog. After initial surgery to repair wounds, the tissue over the largest area died and sloughed off, leaving nothing to sew back together.
We used sugar for healing. It took daily bandage changes initially and nearly six months of wound care. However, our tough little patient healed beautifully. The sugar did not allow the wound to become infected and it also drew out extra moisture, which helped the wound to heal.
One thing we discovered was using a handheld showerhead to rinse off the sugar and gently remove the dead tissue, revealing healthy tissue underneath. After the rinse, pat dry with clean towels, pour sugar onto the wound and sprinkle to the edges of the margins. Apply non-stick pads and wrap appropriately.
A. Thank you for your story. It is always fascinating to hear from a health professional who has had success with an alternative healing approach.
Sugar has been used to heal wounds for many years. An orthopedic surgeon, encouraged by a nurse who knew of this old remedy, started experimenting with it in 1976 and reported his results almost 30 years ago (Southern Medical Journal, Nov. 1981).
A study that compared sugar to honey for wound healing found that honey was somewhat more effective (Journal of Wound Care, July 2007). A more recent study comparing honey to standard wound care suggested that medicinal honey might be better (Journal of Advanced Nursing, March 2009).
