My mother-in-law winced in pain as she cautiously took the bandage off her leg.  Three weeks before, she had a large, deep skin cancer removed.  The surgical wound repeatedly been infected and was not healing well at all. Her surgeon had recommended all sorts of different ointments and topical treatments, but nothing was working.   Her next step was an appointment with a wound care specialty clinic.

What I saw underneath that bandage was a deep, raw, open wound… it looked like somebody had taken a tablespoon and scooped out a large chunk of her leg. There were a bunch of non-squeamish family members gathered around and everybody, including my mother in law, was shocked at what I said next. I told her that I wanted her to pack the wound with honey.

You’ve got to understand that this was like the ultimate “practice what you preach moment”  for me. Yes, I told my mother-in-law to pack a deep surgical wound with honey. It was also a major “leap of faith” for her –  do I trust my naturopathic physician son-in-law’s advice and fill up a hole in my leg with something I usually only drizzle over oatmeal or spread on toast?!

It should come as no surprise that this story has a happy ending. Mom took my advice and we treated the wound with a topical application of manuka honey.  It was apparent within 24 hours that there was progress. We could see granulation tissue developing within the base of the wound, which is evidence that new connective tissue cells and blood vessels are being formed.  Then gradually, as you would expect, the healing process continued until the wound healed over completely.  All that’s left now is a scar… and a pretty good story.

– Joshua Levitt