Honey For Coughing
PA State University College Of Medicine conducted a study on children 2 to 18 years of age with upper respiratory infections and coughing.  30 minutes before bedtime, they were given one tea-spoon of buckwheat honey, no treatment, or honey-flavored dextromethorphan (DM), the latter is the most common OTC syrup.

Honey was found to be the only thing that reduced frequency and severity of cough and improved sleep.

Honey For Healing
Honey is also one of the most effective healing therapies for wounds, burns, surgical cuts, and lesions.  A research study in the U.K. recommended honey to treat surgical wounds. 

They also found that honey acted as a barrier against tumor implantation following lapraropscopic cancer surgery which, when the instruments are withdrawn leave a small hole that can spread cancerous tissue, a not-uncommon risk involving any type of cancer surgery. 

Current attempts to reduce this risk involve using various drugs or placing a barrier about the incision. It is just a matter of time before patented and therefore, expensive honey products will be used.

Honey vs Sugar
Got a sweet tooth?  Don’t worry about dental decay from honey.  Unlike sugar, you can use honey to sweeten tea or coffee because honey’s strong anti-bacterial properties help protect teeth against plaque and gums against gingivitis, both caused by bacterial growth. 

“Real Honey?” 
A word of caution here, whether for medicinal or health reasons, avoid any honey that doesn’t say something like “raw”, unfiltered, or pure on the label.  It may have been processed so it will go further and pour easier but that usually means sugar has been added to boost sweetness.  I know, trying to find truly natural anything can drive you nuts but real, unprocessed honey will be NOT be clear and golden.  It will be dark, “honey” colored and slightly cloudy. 

Honey For Allergies 
Local honey is always best, especially for allergies.  Like an allergy shot but much cheaper (!) honey harvested from local hives stimulates your immune system against allergy-causing pollens particular to your area.

HONEY BEE BLESSINGS, VINEGAR, WHELPING

Most dog owners and breeders become aware of effective “remedies” because of our dogs.  As I’ve often pointed out, there is no placebo effect in animals.  It either works or it doesn’t.  If a natural remedy helps your dog as effectively as a prescription at twice the price, and without adverse side effects, it is the remedy, not the power of suggestion.  And it will probably do the same for you!

A dog doesn’t understand that red raspberry tea leaves will insure an easy whelping, copious milk supply, and rapid clean out.  She doesn’t know or care but it’s been clinically proven in whelping rooms all over the world.  In the wild, the dam instinctively seeks out herbs, grasses, or roots to accomplish the same thing. 

 Does your dog know that buttermilk or yogurt will repopulate the good bacteria that antibiotics kill and diarrhea flushes from the intestinal tract?  Nah.  Did you know?  Ditto for goat’s milk.  Fresh is best but canned goat’s milk even stops “rapid transit” diarrhea in kittens and puppies.

 Apple cider vinegar – an ounce to a pint of water will usually clear cystitis, especially common puppy cystitis.  Try it for a few days instead of prescription acidifiers or antibiotics.  And do trim the little hairs on the sheath or vulva.  It is after all, an ascending infection…. Bark control too.  A 25% solution in a spray bottle with water, one squirt will stop barking.  No harm done, vinegar is good for them in drinking water, they just don't like diluted vinegar squirted in the face.

 My father proved that a burn could be miraculously healed by immediately saturating it with Clorox (i.e. liquid oxygen), then flushing with cold water and applying raw honey.  Did I mention that my father kept bees?  He was also a layman chemist, a silk spotter in the dry cleaning industry.  And it didn’t hurt that he was half Native American.  He “knew” things. Like warm bee’s wax eases an earache, cures infection, oh, and seasons a cast iron frying pan!

 Remember the terrible nightclub fire in Bali in 2003?  Over 400 people were burned and many died from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an antibiotic-resistant organism that infected their burns.  Had they been in India, their wounds could have been treated with honey because a study there found that unheated, raw honey was effective against several pathogenic organisms common in severe burns, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  None of the organisms survived a 30% concentration of honey!  None.

 In another study, the therapeutic effects of raw honey were compared to antibiotics on 28 different strains of multi-drug resistant bacteria found in burns.  Whereas only three of the strains were slowed down by the antibiotics, every strain was inhibited by a 25% concentration of honey.  Studies in India have shown that an incredible 91% of burn patients treated with raw honey were free of infection within seven days as compared to only 7% treated with standard therapy and additionally, scarring was dramatically reduced in those treated with raw honey! 

 This powerful topical antibiotic forms a barrier that prevents bacteria from penetrating and colonizing the wound while it stimulates re-growth of damaged tissue, capillaries, and collagen fibers.  Honey is actually a super-saturated sugar that sucks the water from microbial cells, thus destroying them.  It is also slightly acidic so like apple cider vinegar, it is unkind to bacteria. 

 Interestingly, honey also has the ability to produce hydrogen peroxide, something we’ve all used because it can kill pathogens on contact!  When honey is applied to the skin, the pH rises and the salts cause the sugar molecule in the honey to break down, producing the hydrogen peroxide. 

 Okay, you’re thinking honey would be messy on a coated dog, but then all ointments are.  The amazing difference is that unlike conventional burn protocol, honey can be covered and secured with gauze tape or ace bandage.  Change once a day unless it oozes a lot, in which case, gently cleanse and change the dressing more often.

 And surely you won’t ask if honey is safe for dogs!  My daddy would reply simply “Honey is bear’s treat, and treatment.”  He knew I knew that the dog is a direct descendent of the bear.

 Honey in warmed, diluted apple cider vinegar is a multi-faceted folk remedy, especially for sore throats, food poisoning, fluid retention, etc.  Use raw, unprocessed honey, the darker the better so that it retains the natural healing properties.  Raw, unsulphered Molasses is another potent healer, providing a boost in absorbable iron.

 A straight 5 percent solution of vinegar kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of viruses.  Laughably, vinegar cannot be labeled as a disinfectant because it isn’t registered as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but 48 Hours featured a The Good Housekeeping Institute report which substantiated the disinfectant power of vinegar.  It is decidedly unfriendly to the pests we call fleas … and of course, we know how it cleans coffee makers, windows, etc. 

 Since I became adult enough to appreciate childhood lessons, I’ve kept two spray bottles under the sink; one of 30% Clorox® solution, and one of 40% apple cider vinegar.  The vinegar solution is also a healthy and effective “squirt gun” to silence barking dogs!  While they will happily drink vinegar water, they don’t like being sprayed with it.

 Daddy kept bees because they provided what he called it bee blessings.  In addition to honey, bee pollen is used by athletes, and by some very smart handlers!  Many years ago, the #1 All Breeds Doberman received bee pollen just before Group or Best In Show.  Bee pollen provides a natural burst of energy in dogs, just as it does for race horses. 

 Most Herbalists, NDs, DCs, and DOs know that local bee pollen is especially effective against seasonal allergies.  Somewhat like Homeopathic remedies, which are after all, like vaccinations only safer, bee pollen desensitizes against pollen allergies.

 I have no medical training.  I only provide anecdotal advice.  Take it for what it’s worth, which may be nothing.  But note that most prescription drugs are chemicalized (patentable versions) of something growing in your backyard or in a mountain meadow.  They are those things we naturalists call herbs and drug companies call “discoveries.”

 If you open your mind to the newness of ancient remedies, you and your dogs can benefit greatly.  Be sure to keep all of the Bee Blessings and apple cider vinegar handy. 

 - Barbara (BJ) Andrews, excerpts from ShowSight Magazine, June 2004