[Retired Tech]

Spreading honey on a diabetic ulcer could prevent the need to amputate an infected foot, researchers say.

A doctor at the University of Wisconsin who helped about half a dozen of her diabetic patients avoid amputation has launched a controlled trial to promote the widespread use of honey therapy.

The therapy involves squeezing a thick layer of honey onto the wound after dead skin and bacteria have been removed.

The honey kills bacteria because it is acidic and avoids the complication of bacterial resistance found with standard antibiotics, Jennifer Eddy, a professor at the University's School of Medicine and Public Health, told AFP.

An amputation is performed every 30 seconds somewhere in the world, Eddy said.

http://uk.news.yahoo...ce-96993ab.html

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We've got a serious problem in the United States. Our honeybees, which we depend on for pollination, are dying mysteriously and the numbers are staggering.
Honeybee Death
There is an expectant percentage of bees that don't survive the winter, but these bees are usually found near the hive. There are no bees in this dead hive, just a queen, and no way to regenerate the population. And no one really knows why? I heard a report today that cell phones are responsible, but so far AP hasn't confirmed anything.
Johanna

[Johanna]

We've got a serious problem in the United States. Our honeybees, which we depend on for pollination, are dying mysteriously and the numbers are staggering.
Honeybee Death
There is an expectant percentage of bees that don't survive the winter, but these bees are usually found near the hive. There are no bees in this dead hive, just a queen, and no way to regenerate the population. And no one really knows why? I heard a report today that cell phones are responsible, but so far AP hasn't confirmed anything.
Johanna

[frantique]

I've been reading quite a bit about this. Some pretty convincing tests have been done on the effects of the cellphones and as well they think GM crops may have an effect. The amazing thing is they have absolutely no idea where the bees are going to - like they're not finding any dead bees. One of the studies was carried out in Germany in 2003 and was to ascertain the effect of radiation from cell phones - they used honey bees as their test subjects and none of the bees returned to the hive which was left with only the Queen and a few immature bees. This is pretty serious stuff - one of the reports I have read says as many as two thirds of the bee population of the US have disappeared.

[**Brian**]

We've got a serious problem in the United States. Our honeybees, which we depend on for pollination, are dying mysteriously and the numbers are staggering.
Honeybee Death
There is an expectant percentage of bees that don't survive the winter, but these bees are usually found near the hive. There are no bees in this dead hive, just a queen, and no way to regenerate the population. And no one really knows why? I heard a report today that cell phones are responsible, but so far AP hasn't confirmed anything.
Johanna

Johanna:

Lets just hope that the KILLER BEES are not what the honeybee population will be replaced with - Bees are good for flowers and provide us honey and thats good - but the killer bees are bad, and I hope that they can find out what is killing them off before honey becomes so expensive that we cannot afford it anymore

Brian

[james_8970]

honey is already expensive, canada is shipping it all down south :'(
O well, we have a bee farm on my grandpa's land so we get all we need.
I don't think the situation is quite as grave here in Canada but it's pretty bad none the less. Lets cross our fingers that this problem will fix itself or else we may find ourselves in serious trouble.
James

Edited by james_8970, 08 May 2007 - 02:51 PM.

[dsenette]

i used to work in orthopedic rehab and we'd see amputations due to diabetes all the time...the worst part about it is that these people are generally not in the best health to begin with....hence the diabetes for most of them (the ones not born with or genetically predisposed to diabetes)...it's a very sad site to see someone who just got their foot removed due to diabetes that can't control their eating habits even with the threat of losing another foot looming over their heads....very disheartening...and extremely easy to be come cynical...

i've been listening here and there to this bee deal on NPR and other places...it's weird....the bees are just...gone...even places that have had bee colonies for YEARS...the bees just leave and presumably die somewhere

[james_8970]

We've got a serious problem in the United States. Our honeybees, which we depend on for pollination, are dying mysteriously and the numbers are staggering.
Honeybee Death
There is an expectant percentage of bees that don't survive the winter, but these bees are usually found near the hive. There are no bees in this dead hive, just a queen, and no way to regenerate the population. And no one really knows why? I heard a report today that cell phones are responsible, but so far AP hasn't confirmed anything.
Johanna

Johanna:

Lets just hope that the KILLER BEES are not what the honeybee population will be replaced with - Bees are good for flowers and provide us honey and thats good - but the killer bees are bad, and I hope that they can find out what is killing them off before honey becomes so expensive that we cannot afford it anymore

Brian

Honey isn't the only concern here though, 80% of our food is pollinated by bee's. If the bee's all die, we won't have many fruits if any, most of our diet will be grains such as wheat but many other grains such as canola, sunflowers and corn rely on bee's as well. We are going to need a huge increase in huming birds people!

Agreed Dsnette diabetes's is something very difficult to live with, but puts a strain on the whole family as well. Just recently my grandpa was given a descision to either get his leg amputated or risk death from blood clots. He has so far refused the amputation making us worried, but on the plus side it has forced him to begin to live a very active lifestyle and be now walks 1 mile a day. Not bad for a 80 year old grandfather.

James

[dsenette]

Honey isn't the only concern here though, 80% of our food is pollinated by bee's. If the bee's all die, we won't have many fruits if any, most of our diet will be grains such as wheat but many other grains such as canola, sunflowers and corn rely on bee's as well. We are going to need a huge increase in huming birds people!

indeed....they're trying to declare tennessee in a state of disaster (yeah...the whole state) because of the freeze last month...it wiped out nearly 90% of all the fruit, nut, and grain crops in the state....and now the bees are "leaving" so anything that did survive isn't getting pollenated

[warriorscot]

Its strange how all the old medicine comes back around, honey was one of the most common things to apply to a wound, honey and vinegar was a common field dressing for hundreds of years for all sorts of flesh wounds and now its coming back round.

[james_8970]

Honey isn't the only concern here though, 80% of our food is pollinated by bee's. If the bee's all die, we won't have many fruits if any, most of our diet will be grains such as wheat but many other grains such as canola, sunflowers and corn rely on bee's as well. We are going to need a huge increase in huming birds people!

indeed....they're trying to declare tennessee in a state of disaster (yeah...the whole state) because of the freeze last month...it wiped out nearly 90% of all the fruit, nut, and grain crops in the state....and now the bees are "leaving" so anything that did survive isn't getting pollenated

That's pretty much a worst case scenario, hopefully the farmers can make it through what already appears will be a rough year.

@warriorscot : Yeah it is funny, it's actually used as a marketing point in Canada. Though I don't think many people would actually do it, I wonder how effective it really is.......

James

[warriorscot]

Good enough to work for several thousand years minus the last 50 or so.

[james_8970]

Yes, but compared to modern medicine.
James

[Johanna]

Wikipedia

For at least 2700 years, honey has been used to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, though it was not until modern times that the cause of infection was understood. Now, it is understood that the folk remedy of using honey to treat wounds has a scientific explanation: it acts as an antiseptic/antibacterial agent. As an antimicrobial agent honey has potential for treating a variety of ailments, including MRSA. Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide effect,and high acidity.

The bees have been working for free, and no one is sure how to duplicate their pollination artificially in a cost effective manner. The missing bees are going to cause serious implications for the agricultural industry and the nation's food supplies.
Johanna