Survival conditions often require safe, effective, inexpensive, easy to use and non-toxic methods for the treatment of wounds and injuries that may become infected. A lack of resources or services to properly treat simple medical conditions could become a life-threatening situation to your survival. Quite often simple resources are overlooked when seeking a solution to problems that can affect your survival.
One of the simplest solutions to this problem is sugar. Sugar has been used to treat wounds for thousands of years by many different cultures. Sugar was used widely by early Egyptians to treat wounds and the infections that often occurred as a result. Sugar can be used to kill bacteria and germs in open and infected wounds almost as effectively as the best antibiotics available today.
Sugar will also help speed up the healing process of the damaged skin tissue and reduce any inflammation that may be present. This is in addition to its antimicrobial action which kills bacteria and germs. This is accomplished by the osmosis and capillary action of the sugar granules. Powdered forms of sugar will be somewhat less effective and will require more frequent treatment and changes of bandages to achieve similar results.
Simply clean the wound area thoroughly and sprinkle sugar over the cut or scrape until it is completely covered. This can be aided by using a cream (such as petroleum jelly) around the outside perimeter of the wound to keep the sugar granules in place. Then cover the wound with a clean bandage. Use gloves if possible or thoroughly clean your hands to keep conditions as sterile as possible when treating the cut, scrape or wound.
Most injuries will require the wound to be cleaned, re-treated with sugar granules and a clean bandage applied every 4 to 6 hours to obtain the maximum healing benefits. Make sure the wound is covered completely and evenly with sugar granules and covered with a clean, fresh dressing each time.
Caution: Sugar should never be applied to openly bleeding wounds as it may actually increase the blood flow and further complicate your condition.
Sugar can be used to sweeten your tea or coffee but it can also help you as a first aid 
treatment for infections in a survival situation.
treatment for infections in a survival situation. Disclaimer: This information is provided for informative purposes only and should not be considered medical advice of any kind. Always seek qualified professional medical help when needed.
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
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20 comments:
Good post and an obscure method too... in the ER's of the world there is also a product you could call "Medical Sugar" it is a compound made of sterile white sugar and Betadine solution... does wonders...
although I should also mention that when using suger for treating infection, that you must watch it too, when the sugar becomes wet from body fluids and puss you then need to wash it off and reaply as it only works in the dry state and once wet, it will actually increase bactiria growth... kinda like a petri dish.
Karl.
http://ranger-pathfinder-notes.blogspot.com/
Or honey.
Bob
III
I've read NOT to use powdered sugar,as it has stuff mixed in to prevent clumping during storage.In a pinch,I'm sure its better than nothing tho.I first heard of sugar being used to treat bedsores in nursing homes,some nurse's old family treatment.
Dean in az
Great tip. Flush, dry, apply and wrap.
Honey works also. In the hospital where I work, they use a product called Medihoney, which is made from purified honey.
I hadn't heard of using sugar, but I have heard of using honey. I'm glad others kno about it and commented accordingly.
To: Karl
The cleansing of the wound area and regular changes of bandages are a big part of treating any wound area...
You are right that once the area becomes saturated the wound will need to be cleansed, sugar re-applied and bandaged again.
Thanks Karl.
RW
To: idahobob
Honey works also but raw, natural honey works the best.
You can usually find raw honey at a local farmers market.
Thanks bob.
RW
To: Dean in AZ
The powdered kind will work in a pinch for minor cuts and scrapes but shouldn't be your first choice...the sugar granules work best.
Thanks Dean.
RW
BTW, I've been nice and I'm still waiting on that Hawaiian rub recipe.lol
To: Chief Instructor
It's simply one of those obscure home-type remedies that are often forgotten.
Thanks Chief.
RW
To: Hard Times
Agreed. Honey works and in some areas they also use cane sugar for medicinal purposes as well.
Thanks.
RW
To: John
I think the use of honey is more widely known but it's important to remember that granulated sugar works also to treat infections.
Thanks John.
RW
My grandmother put brown sugar on my uncles foot he had nearly cut in two with an axe. While the doctor was sent for she held his foot up in the air to slow the bleeding. This was, of course, a looong time ago, in the 30's when you still had to send for a dr. as there were no phones and not many automobiles where they lived.
To: tjbbpgobIII
It really hasn't been that long since grandma was "expected" to cure most any ailment that popped up.
Many home remedies came about as a result of having to rely on your own knowledge, skills and abilities to solve your problems.
Thanks.
RW
Nice post!
I recently attended a medical corp course and sugar was mentioned there as a great way to prevent infections in trying times.
Thanks for passing it on.
Joe
To: Joe Webb
It's been used for a long time to help treat infections, especially where adequate medical care or supplies are limited or in short supply.
Sugar is just another one of those "multi-use" items we fail to recognize as such.
Thanks Joe.
RW
Still works up to know. I learned it from my mom.
Was checking the net for wound treatments and came to this great post!
The use of sugar makes total sense to me and I have the chance to try it now.
However it strikes me that sugar and honey are mentioned as if they are the same thing. However, there is a mayor difference: honey has anti-bacterial agents in it whereas sugar has not.
Therefor honey also kills healthy cells of the body.
But where the sugar touches the healthy tissue, it becomes moist and creates a healthy environment for the cells (but also for germs so it needs to be washed off twice a day) but a barrier for germs.
In short my two cents is that honey is best applied to dead or very infected tissue and can be left longer and sugar is best used on fairly clean healthy tissue.
Any thoughts on that?
To: Chris
One of the antibacterial properties of honey includes the creation of low levels of hydrogen peroxide which makes honey very useful in treating infections. Although the levels of hydrogen peroxide in honey are very low, it is still effective as an antimicrobial agent.
Substantial amounts of honey need to be applied to a wound to achieve proper treatment levels. It’s important that sufficient honey is applied to a wound and it is kept in place in order for proper healing to take place. While honey is fairly thick at room temperature, normal body temperature will cause it to thin out rapidly.
To achieve best results the honey should be applied to an absorbent dressing prior to application. If honey is applied directly to the wound, the honey will have a tendency to “run off “before a secondary dressing can be applied to hold the honey in place.
Since honey does not soak readily into absorbent dressings, soaking a dressing with honey is easier if the honey is warmed to body temperature first. It can also be diluted slightly with warm water.
Honey can also be applied to wound cavities because it is biodegradable and washes out easily with water.
Thanks Chris.
RW
Thanks for explaining the terms which helps to treat the wounds in a better way to reduce it soon, Really good..
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