Doctor's Column: Can honey be used to treat wounds?

Dear doctor, is it true that I can use honey on my wound which has lasted six months? I have tried dressing and antibiotics from hospitals, a witch doctor’s saliva and I’m even contemplating using a pregnant woman’s urine.
Musafiri Odongo

Dear Musafiri, traditionally, cow’s urine was used to treat wounds and had limited success. The urine being sterile can help mechanically stave off germs and allow minor wounds to heal. Saliva, because of its antibacterial properties has been used by dogs to heal their wounds but I wonder whether this unconventional wound treatment could be prescribed in the 21st century except in extreme scarcity of conventional medical services.

Honey, however, may be useful as it has been used to dress diabetic wounds and is a good first aid for skin burns. Honey being composed of strong sugars withdraws water from the wound hence inhibiting growth of germs. Honey also produces hydrogen peroxide when water from the wound dilutes it. The peroxide kills germs, especially the bacteria which do not like oxygen conditions (anaerobic bacteria).

Use of honey should however only compliment conventional treatments but should not be used in isolation. It looks like your wound has turned chronic either because it was too large requiring skin grafting which you cannot do on your own, has a cause which has not been addressed (diabetes,cancer) or has now been complicated by say bone infection or is simply not healing because your body’s healing properties have been compromised.

I know chronic conditions make one desperate but still visit a nearby health facility for help.

Dear doctor, there is a belief that when the skin shakes it tells a lot about the future. In Runyakitara this is called ekicuro. I have had this for some time now. Is it a bad omen?
Sylvia Karungi

Dear Sylvia, the uncontrollable or involuntary twitches (fasciculation) can happen to any muscle. When they happen in muscles just under the skin, they may be felt or even seen. These fasciculation have happened to almost every one of us and though it is largely harmless, it usually carry lots of superstitious significance, especially when it affect areas surrounding the eyes. The myth is that when this involves the upper eyelid, then one will see something nice. The lower eyelid, one is likely to encounter something nasty accompanied by crying.

Fasciculation is usually due to an irritation of a small nerve and may be seen on animal carcasses immediately after slaughter when the skin is removed. That said, most fasciculations are temporary without a serious cause but can still be annoying. If they occur often, however, they should be investigated though most times too much caffeine or deficiency of a mineral magnessium, drugs for asthma, stress and depression could be to blame. It is also common to experience a fasciculation following a rest after exercising. More serious causes include conditions such as rabies and nerve problems.

One need not do anything about fasciculations unless they affect many areas and are persistent. Trying out magnesium supplements, however, can be of some help depending on the cause.

Dear doctor, I wish to thank you for the good work. These days I always wake up feeling tired. What is the cause?
James Bond Balaaga

Dear James, it is usual for each one of us to wake up weak but regain our energies soon afterwards when we become active. This is because we are changing from the stage of inactivity where most of our systems are sleeping, to being active.

In the last stage of our sleep before we wake up, we are in a type of sleep called REM, or rapid eye movement sleep (where dreaming occurs).This is a time when we have a dramatic increase of brain and nerve activity (the autonomic nervous system).The activity may even be more than that when we are awake, making us exhausted when we wake up. Dreams in many cases can also exhaust.

Though waking up tired may be explainable and harmless in most circumstances, if one wakes up unusually tired and on many occasions, a night lifestyle of overindulgence in alcohol, smoking, sex, missing dinner, lack of sleep, use of sleeping pills, allergies, hypertension or diabetes drugs, anaemia and stress, among others may be to blame.

Dear doctor, I get malaria and a blocked and running nose when it is cold or if it is dusty. I have used ginger, aloe vera and honey to no avail. What should I do?
Israel Mutenyo

Dear Israel, a nasal reaction to breathing in cold or dusty air seems to be the problem. The reaction to coldness is usually non allergic (vasomotor rhinitis) and to dust allergic though both reactions can coexist. The cold and dust in the air you breath may lead to swelling of the nasal membrane which may also produce copious and watery mucus making your nose become stuffy and runny.