This may be a minority report.

Of course, the first and best remedy is to not need a remedy. In other words, avoid lacerations.

Second, hominids have been getting lacerated and healing for a very, very long time without any particular intervention. My father, a Harvard trained vascular surgeon who served stateside during Korea in various surgical posts, insisted the best thing for a small cut was to rub clean dirt into it. He always said this was part of his medical training; the dirt stopped excessive leakage, blocked outside contamination, and stimulated the immune system. [Take a moment and imagine my childhood.]

Third, if the laceration involved the cut getting contaminated with something you are worried about, then the rinsing / laving / washing with any clean, water-based solution seems in order.

Fourth, if the cleaned laceration gapes open, then it invites contamination and should be covered if small and both closed and covered if big. Coverings and closures should be as clean as circumstances allow.

Fifth, if a laceration becomes infected, then it should be easy to uncover and open to wash out the bad stuff. If you see a medical type, they almost always like to re-open a significant laceration as part of their treatment. Covering and sealing technology that makes it a pain to uncover or open the laceration would seem counter-indicated.

Sixth, unless you know what you are doing and are up on the latest knowledge, dosing a laceration with any substance, "natural" or commercial, is questionable. It is good if it invokes a placebo effect and does provide something for your first professional care-giver to enjoy washing out while watching your reaction to see if your pain receptors have been compromised.

The last studies I looked at found the antibiotic effect of honey to be minimal or non-existent, but you should check for yourself.


Edited by dweste (05/08/11 11:05 PM)