Medical Honey back in the health care game

Amid growing concern over drug-resistant super bugs and non-healing wounds that endanger diabetes patients, nature's original antibiotic honey, is making a comeback.

More than 4,000 years after Egyptians began applying honey to wounds, Derma Sciences Inc., a New Jersey based American company with branches in China and Toronto, that makes medicated and other advanced wound care products, began selling the first honey-based dressing this fall after it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

It is called Medihoney, it's made from a highly absorbent seaweed-based material, saturated with Manuka honey, a particularly potent type that experts say kills germs and speeds healing.

Also called Leptospermum honey, Manuka honey comes from hives of bees that collect nectar from manuka and jelly bushes in Australia and New Zealand.

Derma Sciences now sells two Medihoney dressings to hospitals, clinics and doctors in North and South America under a deal with supplier Comvita LP of New Zealand.Derma Sciences hopes to have its dressings in U.S. and Canadian drug stores in the next six months, followed by adhesive strips.

Comvita, which controls about 75 percent of the world's Manuka honey supply, sells similar products under its own name in Australia, New Zealand and Europe, where such products have been popular for over a decade.

"The reason that Medihoney is so exciting is that antibiotics are becoming ineffective at fighting pathogens," said Derma Sciences CEO Ed Quilty.

"Another big advantage is that the dressings' germ-fighting and fluid-absorbing effects last up to a week, making them convenient for patients being cared for at outpatient clinics or by visiting nurses."

"They also reduce inflammation and can eliminate the foul odors of infected wounds," he said.

Honey dressings and gels, as well as tubes of Manuka honey, have been gaining in popularity overseas, fueled by scientific reports on their medical benefits and occasional news accounts of the dramatic recovery of a patient with a longtime wound that suddenly healed.

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Sleep has great effect on behavior and weight of children

The length of sleep at night, can affect children's behavioral patterns and lead to changes in eating habits, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Children who slept for less than nine hours a night, were more likely to have behavioral problems and also to become overweight or obese, the study indicated.

"Short sleep duration was associated with a three-fold increased risk of the child being overweight or obese," said Ed Mitchell, the study's author in a release.
"Attention to sleep in childhood may be an important strategy to reduce the obesity epidemic."

The study examined the sleep patterns of 591 children using 'actigraphy' which is a method of charting movement in sleep without the use of invasive tools.

The children were assessed at birth, at one year, at 3½ and at seven years.

The researchers in New Zealand determined that the children spent on average 10.1 hours in bed per night.
This differed at different times of the week, in different seasons and in cases where the kids had brothers or sisters.

The researchers state that the recommended amount of sleep for children in preschool is 11-13 hours a night and 10-11 hours for children who are school age.

The study will be published in the January 1st issue of the Journal Sleep.

Source: CBC