Manuka Honey

Manuka honey comes from bees foraging on the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium, native to New Zealand and parts of Australia. What sets it apart from ordinary honey is methylglyoxal, or MGO, which forms from dihydroxyacetone present in manuka nectar. Most honey gets its antibacterial activity from hydrogen peroxide, which is fragile and broken down by enzymes in wound fluid. MGO is not — it gives manuka what is called non-peroxide activity, meaning it keeps working in a wound where ordinary honey would stop.

Of everything in this batch of entries, this is the one with the strongest clinical footing, and it is worth saying clearly why: the evidence is for topical use on wounds. The evidence for feeding it is much weaker.

How It Works on a Wound

• Osmotic action. Honey is a concentrated sugar solution, so it draws fluid out of tissue and out of bacteria. That dehydrates microbes and helps lift debris from the wound surface, a gentle form of debridement.

• Low pH. Honey sits around pH 3.5 to 4.5, which is hostile to many wound pathogens and favourable for the enzymes involved in healing.

• Methylglyoxal. Directly antibacterial, and active in laboratory testing against organisms including methicillin-resistant staphylococci — which is a meaningful point, since resistant staph is a real problem in veterinary wound care.

• A moist wound environment, which modern wound management favours over letting a wound dry and scab.

Honey dressings are established practice in veterinary wound management, not a fringe remedy. They are used in general practice and referral hospitals, particularly for contaminated wounds, wounds healing by second intention, and the distal limb wounds in horses that are notoriously slow and prone to excessive granulation tissue.

Understanding UMF and MGO Grades

The numbers on a manuka jar are not marketing decoration, and this is where most buyers get lost.

UMF grade · Approximate MGO · Use

• UMF 5+ — MGO 83+ — Table honey, not for wounds

• UMF 10+ — MGO 263+ — Practical minimum for wound use

• UMF 15+ — MGO 514+ — Commonly used therapeutic range

• UMF 20+ — MGO 829+ — High activity, expensive

UMF, or Unique Manuka Factor, is a licensed grading system that tests for several markers of authenticity as well as activity. MGO ratings state methylglyoxal content in milligrams per kilogram. For wound use, look for UMF 10+ or MGO 250+ as a floor. Higher grades cost substantially more, and there is no evidence that going to the top of the range heals a wound faster than the middle. A jar with no UMF or MGO number at all, sold simply as "manuka", may contain very little of what you are paying for.

How to Use It on a Wound

Clean the wound first with sterile saline — honey is not a cleaning agent. Apply a layer roughly a few millimetres thick directly to the wound bed, or spread it on a non-adherent dressing pad and apply that. Cover with a dressing and bandage. Change it daily at first, since honey draws fluid and the dressing will become saturated; you can extend the interval as discharge reduces.

The practical problem is that animals lick. Honey is delicious and a dog will remove your dressing within minutes if it can. Proper bandaging, and usually an e-collar, is not optional.

Medical-Grade Honey Versus a Jar From the Shop

There is a difference between manuka sold to eat and manuka made for wounds. Honey naturally carries pollen and microorganisms from the bees’ gut, most notably Clostridium botulinum spores. For that reason, a review in IVC Journal on medical-grade honey in veterinary medicine recommends a medical-grade, filtered, gamma-irradiated product for wound treatment. Irradiation sterilises the honey without the heat of pasteurisation, which would destroy the active compounds you are paying for.

Medical-grade honey also comes in easier forms than a jar: gels, pastes and ointments, and dressings already impregnated with honey — gauze, foams, hydrogel sheets and calcium alginate. These stay in place better and are simpler to change.

The practical rule: for any wound your vet is managing, ask for a medical-grade honey dressing or gel. Keep graded culinary manuka for the small oral uses below.

What It Is Not For

This matters more than the technique. Do not put honey on:

• Deep puncture wounds, including bites. These need exploration and drainage; sealing the surface of a puncture traps infection in exactly the wrong place.

• Wounds that need surgical closure — anything gaping, or a degloving injury.

• Anything involving a joint, tendon sheath or body cavity, which is a surgical emergency.

• Wounds you have not had assessed, if you cannot see the bottom of them.

Manuka honey is a good dressing for a wound a vet has told you to manage at home. It is not a way to avoid the vet.

Feeding It: Smaller Claims

Given by mouth, manuka is used in small amounts to soothe a raw throat during kennel cough, and for general gut support. The demulcent logic is sound and the same as slippery elm. What it is not is a systemic antibacterial — the MGO that works in a wound does not survive digestion and circulate. Treat oral use as a soothing agent.

Animal · Oral amount

• Dog under 20 lbs — 1/4 teaspoon, up to twice daily

• Dog 20 to 50 lbs — 1/2 teaspoon, up to twice daily

• Dog over 50 lbs — 1 teaspoon, up to twice daily

• Cats — A few drops; most refuse it

Plain Honey, Local Honey and Allergies

Most people asking whether dogs can have honey mean ordinary honey from the cupboard. The answer is the same: yes, in small amounts for a healthy adult dog — as a treat, not a medicine. PetMD suggests these amounts, once or twice a week:

• 2 to 10 lbs — 1/8 teaspoon

• 11 to 20 lbs — 1/4 teaspoon

• 21 to 50 lbs — 1/2 to 1 teaspoon

• 51 to 90 lbs — 2 teaspoons

• Over 90 lbs — 1 tablespoon

Keep treats of any kind within about 10 percent of daily calories. And check honey-flavoured products — peanut butters, bars, baked goods — for xylitol, which the ASPCA warns can cause low blood sugar and liver damage in dogs.

Local honey for seasonal allergies is a popular idea: feed a little local pollen and the dog becomes desensitised. Purina calls it “not a reliable method”, because there is no way to measure the dose of allergen you are feeding. We agree — an itchy seasonal dog needs a vet’s allergy plan. Our article on allergies in dogs covers the options.

Dogs, Cats and Horses

Horses are arguably the best use case in this entry. Wounds on the lower limb of a horse heal badly — poor blood supply, constant movement, high contamination, and a strong tendency to form proud flesh. Honey dressings are widely used in equine practice for exactly these wounds. Our equine range and equine research cover the hemp side of equine care.

Cats can have it applied topically on veterinary advice, but they lack functional sweet taste receptors, so honey is not the treat to them that it is to a dog. Most cats decline it, which at least reduces the dressing-removal problem.

Side Effects and Cautions

• It is sugar. Roughly 20 calories per teaspoon. That matters for weight and it matters a great deal more in a diabetic animal, where oral honey can disrupt glucose control. Topical use on a small wound is a different proposition, but still worth mentioning to your vet.

• Botulism spores. Honey can contain Clostridium botulinum spores. This is the reason honey is not given to human infants, and the same caution applies to very young puppies, kittens and foals, and to immunocompromised animals. Avoid oral honey in animals under about a year old.

• Dressing removal, covered above. An unprotected honey dressing is a snack.

• Weight gain and dental considerations with regular oral use.

• Cost. Genuine graded manuka is expensive, and the market has a real counterfeiting problem.

When to Talk to Your Veterinarian

Before treating any wound at home, so that someone who can see it decides whether it needs closure, drainage, imaging or antibiotics. Immediately if a wound is deep, bleeding heavily, gaping, from a bite, over a joint, smells bad, or if your animal is lame, feverish or unwell. Also before using honey orally in a diabetic animal or one under a year old.

How It Fits With Hemp

These are complementary rather than overlapping. Manuka works at the wound surface; hemp is used for the discomfort and restlessness that come with healing, and for animals who will not settle in a bandage. One straightforward practical point: do not mix hemp oil into honey you are using as a wound dressing. Keep the dressing to what belongs in a wound, and give the hemp by mouth as usual — our serving guide has amounts by weight. For an oil you can use topically on dry or irritated skin around a healing wound, coconut oil is the more appropriate carrier, and our coconut oil range uses the same full-spectrum hemp extract as everything else we make.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I put manuka honey on my dog's wound? Yes, for a superficial wound your vet has cleared for home management. Clean it with saline first, apply a few millimetres of UMF 10+ or MGO 250+ honey, and cover it with a dressing your dog cannot remove.

What UMF or MGO grade do I need? UMF 10+ or MGO 250+ as a minimum for wound use. Higher grades cost far more with no evidence of faster healing. Honey with no grading number at all is not worth buying for this.

Can dogs eat manuka honey? In small amounts, a quarter to one teaspoon depending on size, it is safe for most adult dogs and soothes an irritated throat. Avoid it in diabetics and in animals under a year old because of botulism spore risk.

Is regular honey as good as manuka? Not on a wound. Ordinary honey relies on hydrogen peroxide, which enzymes in wound fluid break down. Manuka's methylglyoxal keeps working in that environment.

Can I use manuka honey on a deep or puncture wound? No. Punctures and bites need exploration and drainage, and sealing the surface traps infection. Those are veterinary wounds.

Is manuka honey good for horses? It is one of its best-supported uses. Lower limb wounds in horses heal slowly and form proud flesh readily, and honey dressings are established equine practice.

For the underlying science, see this review of honey as a topical antibacterial agent for wound treatment. For what the grading numbers actually certify, the UMF Honey Association publishes its testing standards.

Can dogs have regular honey?

Yes, in small amounts for healthy adult dogs — roughly 1/4 teaspoon for a small dog up to a tablespoon for a very large one, once or twice a week. Avoid it in puppies under a year, diabetic dogs and overweight dogs.

Does local honey help dogs with allergies?

There is no good evidence it does. You cannot measure how much pollen a spoonful contains, so it is not a reliable way to desensitise a dog.

Is honey a natural antibiotic for dogs?

Only at the wound surface. Manuka’s methylglyoxal is antibacterial on a wound, but eaten honey does not act as a systemic antibiotic. Infections need your vet.

Can dogs be allergic to honey?

It is uncommon, but animals with a bee product allergy should avoid it. Stop and call your vet if you see itching, swelling, vomiting or diarrhoea after giving it.

Should I use supermarket manuka on a wound?

For a wound your vet is managing, a medical-grade, gamma-irradiated honey gel or dressing is the better choice, because it is sterilised against the bacterial spores honey can carry.