Manuka Honey

Manuka honey comes from New Zealand bees feeding on the manuka bush. “Medical-grade” honeys, including the related kanuka honey, are sterilised and sold for wound care. Honey is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant in the lab. For eczema, the claim is that it suppresses Staphylococcus aureus and calms skin inflammation. In cell studies manuka honey reduced IL-4-driven CCL26 release from keratinocytes, a Th2 Immune Response signal, and inhibited mast-cell degranulation (Alangari 2017). Honey has a long history in wound dressing. Parents now meet it mostly through “medical honey” eczema products advertised as able to “kill staph”.

Manuka Honey [relates] Staphylococcus aureus Manuka Honey [relates] Th2 Immune Response Manuka Honey [part-of] Herbal and Home Remedies for Eczema

Evidence. A 2026 search (Park, Lio et al., J Clin Aesthet Dermatol) found only five clinical studies of topical honey in eczema. All were small, and none was double-blind. In Alangari 2017, 14 adults put manuka honey on lesions on one side of the body overnight for 7 days and left the other side untreated. Three Item Severity scores improved on the honey side, but skin staphylococci did not change, so the antibacterial claim was not borne out on skin. The only randomised trial against an active control cream was negative. Fingleton 2014 was a single-blind RCT in 15 adults, comparing medical-grade kanuka honey with Aqueous Cream on paired lesions nightly for 2 weeks. SCORAD lesion scores did not differ (−0.1, p=0.92), and neither did itch. One participant itched more with honey, and the trial was sponsored by a honey manufacturer. The only study in children was Al-Waili 2003 (21 children aged 5–16). It used a honey, beeswax and Olive Oil mixture, not honey alone, and was only partially controlled. No study has included toddlers.

Conflict: [Alangari et al., Immun Inflamm Dis 2017] and [Al-Waili 2003, via Park et al. 2026] report that topical honey improves eczema lesions. [Fingleton et al., JRSM Open 2014], the only RCT against an active control cream, found no difference from aqueous cream. Unresolved — add to open_questions.

Manuka Honey [relates] Aqueous Cream Manuka Honey [relates] SCORAD

Toddler safety: on the skin versus by mouth. The infant botulism warning is about eating honey. Honey can occasionally carry bacterial spores that produce toxins in a baby’s gut and cause Infant Botulism, so the NHS says not to give a child honey until they are over 1 year old (NHS). That rule is about food, not skin. But toddlers lick and suck their hands, and honey on the face or hands gets eaten. For a child under 12 months, honey on the skin can easily end up swallowed. The NHS also advises avoiding sugars, including honey, for children aged 4 and under because of tooth decay. None of the five clinical studies reported serious side effects of topical honey. All were tiny, and none looked at bee-product allergy or sensitisation through broken skin, which is unstudied. Honey is sticky and messy under clothes, and it is not a substitute for Emollient Therapy or Topical Corticosteroids during a flare.

Oral honey under 12 months

Do not give honey by mouth to babies under 1 year (risk of infant botulism, NHS). If you use honey on the skin of a baby under 1, keep it away from the mouth and hands. The topical evidence does not justify the risk at that age.

Manuka Honey [relates] Infant Botulism

What parents report (evidence: anecdotal). On r/eczema, parents ask whether advertised medical-honey products “trap and kill the staph aureus causing the flare ups”, and get no clear answers. One mother was advised by a Facebook “natural healing” group to give her 6-month-old manuka honey plus oil-of-oregano baths, or Apple Cider Vinegar baths. Posters who have tried honey say relief was only temporary. One adult names a shampoo containing manuka honey as a “holy grail” product. Usernames were removed from the saved sources.

Manuka Honey [relates] Apple Cider Vinegar

Connections

• Herbal and Home Remedies for Eczema — listed remedy; adult pilot only, source: Alangari 2017
• Staphylococcus aureus — claimed antistaphylococcal; no change in skin staph in vivo, source: Alangari 2017
• Aqueous Cream — comparator in negative kanuka-honey RCT, source: Fingleton 2014
• Infant Botulism — oral honey forbidden under 12 months, source: NHS
• Olive Oil — part of honey/beeswax/olive-oil mix in only paediatric study, source: Park et al. 2026
• Apple Cider Vinegar — co-promoted in “natural healing” parent groups, source: Reddit r/eczema (anecdotal)