Honey dressing versus boiled potato peel in the treatment of burns: a prospective randomized study

Abstract

Honey dressing was compared with boiled potato peel dressings as a cover for fresh partial-thickness burns in two groups of 50 randomly allocated patients. In the 50 patients treated with honey, 90 per cent of wounds were rendered sterile within 7 days. In the 50 patients treated with boiled potato peel dressings, persistent infection was noted within 7 days. Of the wounds treated with honey, 100 per cent healed within 15 days as against 50 per cent in the wounds treated with boiled potato peel dressings (mean 10.4 vs. 16.2 days).