wounds | Dr. Bill Haberman

Stress & Healing – Pt 3

by Bill Haberman | Nov 24, 2015 | Healing Post

Check former parts for important info

A Little Stress Goes A Long Ways.

Delay in healing was found to be also true of people with less stressful circumstances. Stress can still impede healing. Twenty-four healthy young men were evaluated for 21 days following a 4 mm punch biopsy was performed on their forearm.

In that study, the wound healing was evaluated using ultrasound biomicroscopy. The participants’ stress levels were measured with a self-report questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale. Higher perceived stress on the day of the biopsy foreshadowed slower wound healing. A basis of the correlation was found between perceived stress and healing progress between the days 7 and 21 post biopsy.

Pain, which is a body and mind stressor, effects also wound healing. In a study there was 2 mm wound created on the upper arm’s back of obese women. This was done prior to having elective gastric bypass surgery. The subjects that experienced greater pain immediately following surgery and had continuing pain for 4 weeks after surgery were found to have slower healing in the experimental wound. Pain causes, as this experiment results indicate, mental distress, and, when added to other stressors, can put a person at greater risk of slowed wound healing.

Scientific animal studies support this understanding of stress in wound healing in humans. Mice put under restraint, which causes stress, healed after receiving 3.5 mm punch biopsy wound on average healed 27% more slowly than the mice who were not restrained. Restraint stress was also associated with delayed wound healing in a tree lizard experiment.

Social stress factors also impaired wound healing. Mice healed from a punch wound more slowly when separated from their fellow mice, compared to when they were continuously involved with other mice.

Mucous membrane wounds’ healing is also affected by psychological stress. This was shown in a study using academic examination stress. Eleven dental students had a biopsy taken from their hard palate while they were on their summer vacation, and later another biopsy was taken 3 days before a major examination. The wounds received before the school testing healed on average 40% slower than the self same wounds happening during summer vacation. While there was some individual differences in rate of healing, the rate of healing was absolutely the same in that no student healed as rapidly during examinations as they did during their unstressed vacation.

Negative emotions cause stress. Therefore, it was not surprising to find that the impact of negative emotions on wound healing was the same in a larger study. Using 193 healthy undergraduate students who got a 3.5 mm biopsy on the hard palate, individuals who reported higher levels of depression like symptoms proved to be almost 3.6 times classified as slow healers, compared to less emotionally depressed students.

Honey as a Healer? Pt. 4

by Bill Haberman | Sep 11, 2015 | Healing Post, supplements

Check out the previous parts for into and other info

G. Treats Wounds And Burns

Honey is one of nature’s great antibiotic. This is true internally and externally. This is why it works good as a preserver of meats, like honey cured ham.

It is sometimes used in modern medicine as a conventional treatment for wounds and burns because it disinfects wounds and sores from bacteria such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A 2005 study which was published in the British Journal of Surgery it was reported that in all but one of patients who suffered from wounds and leg ulcers showed remarkable improvement after applying topically honey.
I saw this for myself with a man I knew. He had a sore on his leg that would not heal. The doctors had tried everything. You name it; I bet they tried it. He was finally told that if it got no better in two weeks they were going to cut off his leg.
When he told me, I said I was not giving medical advice, but what they were doing was not working. I asked if he would consider an alternative. I emphasis that I was only giving a historical natural treatment that had worked for centuries. His choice it was.
I did not know about the British Journal paper (it had not been published yet). I only knew about history and the use of honey on wounds.
He decided that a shot at saving his leg was better than just agreeing to amputation. It was something that had not been tried. We had two weeks.
Twice a day, I suggested that he wash the wound. Then he would pack it with honey and wrap it. And so he did.
At the next appointment the doctor saw improvement. He told him to come back in two weeks again. In two weeks, the doctor patted himself on the back thinking that his treatments were finally working.
At that time the doctor was informed that the man was using honey and not the doctor’s treatment. The doctor said that was wonderful. “Now you need to get back on the meds.” That’s right the meds that had not worked for this particular man.
The man stayed on the honey treatment and saved his leg with honey.
I told a veterinarian friend, and he said that was a good treatment for a open wound. He would, depending on the case, use honey or sugar as a first aid before applying the regular meds. He used it as an add on.

Conclusion

Honey is a natural answer to several problem. And sometimes works better and with less side effects than conventional medical treatment. Example, When I have a bad cut, I do not go for the antiseptic gels. If I am at home, I go for the honey.