Bee honey in treatment of resistant corneal ulcers

Eighteen cases of corneal ulcers and keratitis resistant to the conventional treatment up to more than 3 months were treated with pure bee honey in the form of topical eye drops 4 times daily. At the time of presentation, conjunctival and lesional swabs were taken for laboratory bacterial detection. Scrappings from the base of the lesion were subjected to laboratory fungal detection. For cases showing bacterial or fungal growth, the antibacterial and antifungal effects of honey were tested in comparison to those of some antibiotics and antimycotics in common use. Dramatic response was obtained in 2 - 3 weeks in 14 patients with fainter corneal opacification. The remaining 4 cases showed a good response to pure bee honey drops regardless the underlying offending micro-organism