New book on background behind Manuka honey

Manuka - the biography of an extraordinary honey - is the title of a new book with a behind the scenes look at this now internationally famous honey.

Authored by Cliff Van Eaton, who has spend over 30 years as a beekeeping consultant and advisor in New Zealand, and has also assisted in other countries.

His 'insider' knowledge from the beekeepers perspective enables him to tell the story of how Manuka honey has progressed from the first scientific discoveries that showed the potential of its unique properties.

For a fuller summary and review, have a read of this Manuka book review page here.

This book is due to be release in November, and should be available on amazon and through other bookstores from then.

Comvita Manukacare replaced by Medihoney Medical Honey

For more than ten years one of our most popular products has been the specialist medical grade item Comvita Manukacare. It was also a product that had tremendous positive feedback for the help it provided people in healing hard-to-heal leg ulcers and all sorts of various wounds, on people and also on animals. Different to the jars of manuka honey, Manukacare was a tube of medical grade manuka honey that had been sterilised and made suitable for external use on wounds.

However the Manukacare name has always been somewhat unique to the UK and Europe market (they weren't able to use the original 'Woundcare' name on packaging in this market.

In recent years Comvita has been transitioning most of its specialist medical products for wound use to their Medihoney brand name. The actual honey still comes from the same place, with Comvita have a specialist apiary (beekeeping unit) producing their medical grade honey.

Globally most of the Medihoney branded products are now distributed under license by a company called Derma Sciences, who have the knowledge and expertise when it comes to things such as getting regulatory approvals of products for medical use markets.

Thus products such as the Apinate Dressings that had previously come under Comvita's own name, a few years ago changed to the Medihoney brand, and with Derma Science's name also shown on the packaging.

There has now been a similar change to the Manukacare product. Manukacare itself has now been 'stopped'. i.e no longer being produced or packaged under that name.

The equivalent product to the Comvita Manukacare is now the Medihoney Antibacterial Medical Honey. It is still a 50g tube of medical grade honey, that has been sterilised. Although that sterilisation process may now occur in Canada, the honey still originates from New Zealand.

So for all your external wound care uses, whether on leg ulcers or other wound types, the tube of honey you should now be purchasing is the Medihoney Antibacterial Medical Honey product, here.

We no longer have any stock of tube that had been packaged under the Manukacare name. For a little while now what we have had is all fresh stock of under the Medihoney packaging.

Spring cleaning without the chemicals

As we're now into March, it's time for spring to start entering your thoughts, even if the weather outside today isn't very spring like.

For those who go through a house spring cleaning ritual, then this year pause for a moment about your use of chemicals in your home and how you can reduce them.

When it comes to polishing, nourishing and protecting your favourite furniture, whether wood or leather, then the Beeplenish natural beeswax polishes are a wonderful way to do that without harmful chemicals. Whether part of spring cleaning, or at any time of year - here is a review post about them by Emily of Pocketful Of Rye:
http://www.pocketfulofrye.co.uk/domestic-central/beeplenish

You'll find interesting recipes and all sorts of other posts on her blog too.

You can find further details of each of the Beeplenish beeswax polishes here.

Using Manuka Honey On Animals

We get quite a number of questions about using Manuka Honey with animals.

Well the same unique healing properties that are good for people, are also beneficial on animals. Though it should be pointed out that the majority of research around this honey has focused on humans, and so it tends to be anecdotal evidence and customer stories that support its use for your pets or other animals.

The most common enquiries are for using it on animal wounds, whether horses, dogs, cats, even rabbits.

Helping heal wounds is a particular strength of manuka honey, in all types of animals as well as people. Just like with people though, it must be emphasised that we are referring to correctly produced medical grade manuka honey here. There are products available containing medical grade honey that has been sterilised, whether in tubes ready to use, or in dressing format.

Genuine Manuka's special additional antibacterial property helps against any bacterial infection in the wound. The honey keeps it moist, which aids in healing and helps to reduce scarring, and as skin tries to re-grow over an area and can 'feed' from the nutrients in the honey. Its use also provides a kind of barrier to help stop new infections from entering the wound too.

The downside is really one of a practical nature, mainly that being honey it is sticky. So it is often suggested where possible to dress the area after application, especially with an animal in the home.

Depending on just where the wound is located, many animals may try to lick the honey off. This is not an issue in itself - but if it has been licked off then it is no longer on the wound to help with the healing. Where this is likely, then using a covering dressing is again suggested.

Here is an example of a dog who has recently had a wound healed with the help of a tube of Medical Manuka Honey.

View our range of genuine Manuka honey and medical grade products here.