Rosacea sufferers will rejoice with the news New Zealand Kanuka honey helps to the reduce inflammation and discomfort associated with the skin condition.
Medical honey researcher, The Honey Lab, recently enlisted The Medical Research Institute of New Zealand to carry out a study on the effect of using Kanuka honey to treat rosacea, a skin condition affecting 5-10 per cent of adults nationwide.
Science director Dr Shaun Holt told Cosmetics Design-Asia he believes the results are promising, saying: “Improvements were seen within two weeks and this increased when the study ended after eight weeks. The results were statistically and clinically significant and at least as good, if not better, than those that have been achieved for standard prescription-only treatments.”
The results have given scientists a better understanding of the skin condition.
“It’s now thought that the underlying causes of rosacea are mites and associated bacteria living deep in the skin in the affected area, and the rosacea symptoms are an inflammatory reaction to these,” says Dr Holt.
The discovery opens up the potential for a whole new raft of treatments that could be offered
along with more traditional ones, like oral medications and laser.
