A spoonful of honey may be all the medicine required

From the Calgary Herald:
It's the height of the season for the common cold. Parents of young children scramble to find a quick fix to take away the aches, sniffles and lack of sleep for both their kids and themselves.

Late last year, drug companies pulled liquid cold medicines for babies and toddlers, citing overdosing dangers by parents. At the same time, the United States Food and Drug Administration suggested that parents refrain from using the liquids for kids under six, partly due to reported deaths and the overall ineffectiveness of the elixirs.

This created a practical and philosophical dilemma for parents who rely on the formulas. ...more

Honey - nature's infection-fighter - making a medical comeback

From the Canadian Press:
Amid growing concern over drug-resistant superbugs and nonhealing wounds that endanger diabetes patients, nature's original antibiotic - honey - is making a comeback.

More than 4,000 years after Egyptians began applying honey to wounds, Derma Sciences Inc., a New Jersey company that makes medicated and other advanced wound-care products, began selling the first honey-based dressing this fall after it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Called Medihoney, it is made from a highly absorbent seaweed-based material, saturated with manuka honey, a particularly potent type that experts say kills germs and speeds healing. Also called Leptospermum honey, manuka honey comes from hives of bees that collect nectar from manuka and jelly bushes in Australia and New Zealand.

Derma Sciences now sells two Medihoney dressings to hospitals, clinics and doctors in North and South America under a deal with supplier Comvita LP of New Zealand. Derma Sciences hopes to have its dressings in U.S. drug stores in the next six months, followed by adhesive strips. ...more