Honey is an effective healer!
The ancient Egyptians used honey as an embalming agent and treated cuts and burns with it. The Greek physician, Hippocrates, cured skin disorders with honey, and the Romans cleaned wounds with it. Even as recently as World War 1, doctors treated wounds with honey. With the advent of antibiotics, honey fell out if use for it's healing properties, but scientific research is now rediscovering honey's natural healing power.
Because of it's high sugar, low protein composition, honey acts as a natural "antimicrobial" that limits the growth of bacteria by cutting off the supply of water and nitrogen. When honey is applied to a wound, it is diluted with fluids from the damaged tissue and combines with an enzyme added by the honey bee to form Hydrogen peroxide, the same disinfectant found in pharmacies. The naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide promotes healing and reduces scarring as it is slowly released into the wound.
Honey 1 - Superbugs 0
Researchers in New Zealand have found that honey actually killed a number of highly contagious antibiotic resistant viruses ("superbugs") such as multiple resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). The team showed that, "honey killed 100 different strains of methicillin-resistant MRSA..."
While this looks extremely promising for New Zealand scientists, healthcare and hospital workers, the New Zealand team has not yet identified the powerful antimicrobial agent they believe to be in honey.