How Manuka Honey Can Help Your Eczema (Plus, an Organic Manuka Honey Cream Review!)

Manuka honey is loaded with healing benefits that can help your eczema. When used topically and internally, it can be very beneficial.

So what is Manuka honey?

It’s a honey that comes from New Zealand and it’s made by bees that pollinate the Manuka bush.

Since Manuka honey has a considerably higher level of enzymes than regular honey (as discovered by researchers at the New Zealand University of Waikato in 1981), it’s enzymes also create a natural hydrogen peroxide that is antibacterial. [1]

Different antibacterial strengths of Manuka honey are characterized by a rating called the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF). [1] The UMF is a guarantee that the honey is of medicinal quality.

Check out my video below or keep reading for more info on Manuka honey.

UMF ratings:

A UMF rating of 5 is the minimum amount; however, it’s generally not considered beneficial unless it caries a UMF 10+ rating.

As a general rule with these products, you get what you pay for. Manuka honey contains nutrients, including amino acids, B vitamins, calcium, zinc and potassium.

UMF 10-15 is useful; however, if you want to treat something, a UMF of 16-20+ is generally of superior quality and much more effective.

Here’s a quick breakdown of UMF rating for manuka honey:

UMF 0-4 Non-therapeutic

UMF 4-9 Maintenance level with general honey benefits

UMF 10-14 Antibacterial components to support healing and bacterial balance

UMF 15+ Superior levels of phenols that are highly therapeutic (but don’t exceed 1 tbsp at a time) – especially if you are sensitive to honey/sugars

This is the brand that I use. Check out the reviews on Amazon – they’re amazing!

Manuka Honey Benefits:

Manuka honey is incredibly beneficial for:

• SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
• Eliminating allergies
• Acne and eczema
• Healing wounds and infections
• Drawing impurities from the skin
• Digestive illnesses
• Soothing irritation
• Ulcers

Please note that you should consume manuka honey in moderation (or if you are extremely sensitive to sugars, I would avoid it altogether or start small. When I had my flare up, my body was so sensitive that I couldn’t take sugar. I would tingle even if I ate a small amount of sugar).

But if you are consuming it, I would suggest you to take no more than 1 tablespoon at a time or 1 teaspoon twice a day.

Using Manuka Honey Topically:

• Manuka Honey
• Tea tree oil
• Shea Butter (to help lock in the moisture)

You can also try a manuka honey mask on your face. I’ve used it on my face before and I find that it makes it very soft afterwards, but when the honey first dries on my face, it makes it really tight, itchy and hot (so just some caution). The feeling dies down after the mask has been on my face for a while, though. However, everyone is different and you may not feel the same way.

Another Great (& Less Sticky!) Option: Organic Manuka Honey Cream

I want to introduce you to a great cream – an Organic Manuka Honey Cream from The Eczema Company.

Unlike just using manuka honey on it’s own, this is mixed into a cream made with a short clean list of ingredients including olive oil, grapeseed oil, beeswax and manuka honey. In fact, it’s The Eczema Company’s top selling product.

Both manuka honey and manuka oil are known for their healing, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. This formula really lets these two ingredients shine; manuka oil is extracted from the leaves of the manuka bush – and it’s 10 times more potent than tea tree oil! Unlike the medicinal odor of tea tree oil, you’ll notice there’s not much fragrance to the product either.

Aside from the benefits of manuka honey, I also found that this cream was a really rich balm that really helped to seal in the moisture and create a barrier on the skin (which ultimately helps reduce inflammation).

The great thing is that it will also help fight bacteria. It also doesn’t burn or sting the skin – so it’s useful for healing open wounds and soothing flare ups.

Did you know that Manuka honey also contains 1,000 times more methylglyoxal than other forms of honey? Methylglyoxal is what gives honey it’s antibacterial properties and makes it beneficial for eczema. In fact, a 2012 study by The Ithree Institute, University of Technology in Syndey Australia stated that Manuka honey…”shows promise as a topical antibacterial agent and effective chronic wound dressing,” and “treatment with manuka honey resulted in a significant decrease in the bacterial cell growth rate.” [2]

Studies to back up Manuka Honey

Although honey is one of the oldest foods known for treating infections, it’s still not quite a mainstream treatment method in conventional medicine. Despite this, many studies still report the benefits of honey, specifically when applied topically to wounds and skin conditions.

For instance, manuka honey reduced wound size, decreased pH of wounds [3] and displayed powerful anti-inflammatory effects in wound healing [4]. And 8 out of 10 patients with dermatitis showed significant improvement after 2 weeks of applying a mixture of honey, olive oil and beeswax mixture (all found in Manuka Honey Skin Cream). 5 out of 8 patients with psoriasis showed a significant response to this honey mixture as well [5]. Honey also is antibacterial and fights against topical infections such as staph [6].

Try the Manuka Honey Skin Cream today and let me know what you think!

Ever used manuka honey to soothe your eczema? If so, share in the comments below!

References

1.  http://draxe.com/manuka-honey-benefits-uses
2. http://itchylittleworld.com/2014/11/20/manuka-honey-benefits-heals-eczema-naturally
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18494624
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24623989
5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15022655
6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15941774

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Check out my latest Healing Eczema: Why Dieting Is Not Enough eBook and my Personal Eczema Treatment Plan Guide. Click here for more information or check out my resource page for a full list of Products I Love!