Mānuka honey has genuinely earned a place in modern wound care, and it's worth understanding why, and why that's a different thing entirely from spreading honey from your kitchen cupboard on a graze.

The reputation is real, in a specific form

When the Daily Mail ran a round-up of first-aid staples for minor cuts and burns, medical-grade Mānuka honey products featured prominently. Dr Kristina Semkova of the Cadogan Clinic explained why: "There is impressive scientific evidence to support the use of medical-grade Mānuka honey, which means it contains a high amount of naturally antibacterial methylglyoxal, to accelerate wound healing. Its acidic pH encourages the skin's damage-repairing fibroblast cells to multiply faster and rebuild tissue. Mānuka honey also absorbs moisture, which dehydrates bacteria and reduces infection rates."

Why "medical-grade" is the key phrase

This is the important distinction: the honey used in wound dressings is a specific, regulated product, sterilised and CE-marked for that exact purpose. It isn't the same as the raw, unpasteurised Mānuka honey you'd spoon into your tea, which is wonderful for eating but isn't sterile and isn't intended for use on open wounds. If you'd like the benefit of Mānuka honey in a wound-care context, look for a product specifically labelled and regulated as a medical-grade wound dressing, available from a pharmacy, rather than a jar from a food shelf.

What we can genuinely offer

Our own Wedderspoon Mānuka range is exactly what it says on the jar: raw, food-grade, independently tested honey, wonderful in tea, cooking, or on toast. For wound care specifically, we'd always point you toward a pharmacist for the right medical-grade product for the job.