Does Manuka Honey Stop Itching (Complete Guide)

Manuka honey has been used for hundreds of years for skin issues in Australia and New Zealand and is also now used worldwide for eczema, psoriasis and wound healing.

Here Is How Manuka Honey Helps With Itching:

Manuka honey has unique ingredients including methylglyoxal that other honey’s don’t have. Studies have shown that Manuka honey can reduce infections and help infected and inflamed skin.

Throughout this article we will discuss whether Manuka honey will help with itching, what skin issues does itching affect, whether Manuka honey is good for allergies, and how you can apply Manuka honey on the skin.

Does Manuka Honey Stop Itching?

Manuka honey can be used for treating conditions including skin itching, psoriasis, and eczema (dermatitis), as it forms a part of alternative treatment for the conditions.

Certain research results point out that Manuka honey can reduce infections and help in healing the damaged, infected, and inflamed skin tissues.

More than 300 types of varieties of honey are available today, and these are obtained from the nectar of different kinds of flowers.

Manuka honey is obtained from the tea tree or Manuka tree and has been used for centuries in Australia and New Zealand as an alternative form of treatment for skin conditions and allergies.

Apart from Manuka, other kinds of honey varieties also contain ingredients that make them an effective antimicrobial treatment for pathogens.

However, Manuka honey contains a substance called non-hydrogen peroxide, which has even stronger anti-pathogenic and antibacterial properties.

The honey is used for skin itching, eczema, and other microbial infections, and can also heal the tissues better due to its unique composition.

What Skin Issues Does Itching Affect?

Skin itching can occur due to eczema (dermatitis), psoriasis, and other medical conditions. However, eczema as a medical term is also characterized by inflammation in the skin tissues and soreness, apart from skin itching.

Eczema may result in discoloration and inflamed skin, swelling, crusting, and the presence of dry and sensitive skin. Apart from eczema or dermatitis, other skin conditions that may result in itchy skin include parasites, scabies, psoriasis, hives. insect bites, and dry skin (xerosis) among others.

Certain irritants and allergens include soaps. chemicals, wool, cosmetics, and medications among others can cause irritation or an allergic reaction as well, which may result in skin itching.

Itching on the entire body can also be caused by certain severe conditions including lymphoma, thyroid problems, diabetes, anemia, kidney disease, and liver disease among others.

Manuka honey has a unique combination of ingredients that bring to it anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties.

Application of the honey may also stimulate the production of macrophages, which are types of WBCs (White Blood Corpuscles) that can kill harmful microorganisms and remove the dead skin cells.

Skin thickness may be caused by the presence of harmful pathogens including bacteria, and Manuka honey can provide effective treatment in such scenarios.

Manuka honey can create a natural protective skin barrier and prevent any further damage to the skin cells.

Because the skin barrier created by Manuka honey does not allow further ingress and infiltration of external pathogens and allergens in the skin, it provides adequate protection against the harmful environment and provides for faster healing from the condition of skin itching, allergy, and eczema.

Is Manuka Honey Good For A Skin Allergy?

Manuka honey is known to contain unique and important ingredients that provide natural treatment for conditions including skin itching and skin allergy. These important natural constituents of Manuka honey include:

Methylglyoxal- is a natural ingredient that can provide for good antimicrobial activity. The ingredient is also useful in treating the mucus that a person may gather in his/her nose or chest region when he or she suffering from an allergy.

Dihydroxyacetone- during the honey-making process, the ingredient dihydroxyacetone is converted to methylglyoxal.

Manuka honey also has other characteristics and ingredients that provide for the effective treatment of skin itching and allergies. It has an acidic pH and exerts the hyper-osmolality effect that can destroy pathogens.

Manuka and other honey varieties including Gelam and Tualang are also known to contain important polyphenols and flavonoids including epigenin, chrysin, quercetin, and kaempferol.

These compounds are phytochemicals that possess medicinal properties including antimicrobial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antiparasitic, anticancer, and anti-allergic properties.

How Long Does It Take For Raw Manuka Honey To Help With Allergies?

Manuka honey can provide relief from skin itching and allergies when it is applied approximately two or three times every day for or approximately one or two weeks. You can also make overnight applications.

It is a natural remedy and is devoid of any harsh chemicals. It will exert its beneficial effects and will remove the pathogens while also healing the skin tissues, slowly and steadily.

You can see witness visible results within a maximum period of one to two weeks. However, for the best results, you should only be using medical-grade raw Manuka honey and should be applying it multiple times a day.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium that has been a leading cause of skin itching. Raw and natural Manuka honey that is grown in New Zealand and Australia by the pollinating bees in the Manuka bushes have been found to be effective against this particular bacterium.

However, you should not expect instant results as you expect in the case of allopathic medicines, as treatment through alternative methods may take a longer time.

Please note: If you are trying Manuka honey on your skin for the first time, it is always best to do a patch test on your skin, leave for 5-10 minutes. If there is any irritation remove with luke warm water and discontinue usage and see a doctor.

How Do You Apply Manuka Honey On The Skin?

Manuka honey can be an effective treatment for skin allergies, eczema, and skin itching, and can also be useful in other conditions including mild burns and wounds.

However, the cost may be a limiting factor as the honey comes a bit expensive. Medical grade Manuka honey has MGO mark. For treatment of skin itching, you should choose a product having a MGO of at least 100 MGO.

The best way for using Manuka honey for treating eczema and skin itching is to use the medical-grade version of the honey. You can use the quality Manuka honey cream or raw Manuka honey for topical and skin application. This particular variety and grade of money Manuka honey is free of contaminants and is filtered.

Manuka honey is an alternative treatment and is used in the form of topical ointments for treating burns and surface wounds as well.

It is a known substance to accelerate wound healing and provides for faster relief from skin conditions including allergy and eczema. Below is a step-by-step approach to applying Manuka honey on skin suffering from conditions including itching, allergy, and/or eczema.

● Wash your hands properly and then apply a thin layer of Manuka honey to the affected skin areas.

● Cover the entire affected area by using a gauge or a bandage.

● Keep the skin region covered with the bandage and the dressing overnight.

● The next morning, remove the dressing and the bandage and clean the area