Thank you for your interesting article on using honey as a last resort for treating an awful wound (BCMJ 2007;49[2]:64-67) [10]. What is most interesting is the conclusion of the article, stating “there is justification to use honey when more conventional treatments have failed.” If this were a new drug, there would be a lot more interest in using this as a more first-line treatment since its success was so astounding. It is inexpensive, not likely toxic, perhaps kind of sticky, and instead of waiting as a last line could save a lot of money, time, and grief. Perhaps we should be looking more at our own biases and looking at honey or other “nonconventional treatments” more objectively for their real effects.

—Barbara Fehlau, MD
Comox