Honey, I Helped Our Pet! - Benefits of Honey for Your Pets

When you think of honey, you probably picture bees, honeycomb, flowers, putting it in tea, or on a slice of toast. Honey is much more than those things– it can also be used to benefit your pet’s health! 

With an abundance of bioactive properties, honey can support your pets skin health, serve as a wound remedy, and even help their gut. Honey offers a wide range of benefits for your furry friend!

What exactly is honey?

So what actually makes honey so beneficial?

Honey is produced by bees using nectar and various plant secretions collected during pollination. Bees store plant nectar in their “honey stomachs” to safely transport it back to the hive. In the “honey stomach”, through enzymatic activity, the compound sucrose gets broken down into slightly simpler sugars like glucose. Once back at the hive, many bees will work together to transport and deposit the nectar into the honeycomb. The nectar needs to evaporate and lose some of its water content, to do this some bees will flap their wings and fan the honey. Once the water content is about 20% or lower, the honey reaches the right consistency. At that point, the bees seal the honeycomb with a wax cap. The honey is ready!

Besides sugars, honey contains more than 200 bioactive compounds. These compounds can vary widely depending on the environment, weather, and types of flowers the bees visit; meaning no two honeys are exactly the same.

Inside honey, you’ll find:

• Vitamins and minerals - support overall health
• Plant-derived nutrients - carried over from pollination 
• Enzymes - contribute to biological activity
• Phenolic compounds - known for their antioxidant properties (the darker the honey the higher the concentration of phenolic compounds)

This combination is what gives honey its unique ability to support healing, fight harmful microbes, and protect tissue.

History of Honey

Honey’s use isn’t anything new! In fact, honey harvesting has been found in Spanish cave paintings that trace back over 7000 years ago to the neolithic era. Over 4,000 years ago, honey was used in ancient Egypt to treat wounds, burns, and infections. Some of the world's first bee keepers were in Ancient Egypt! 

Modern research is supporting what traditional medicine has long observed: certain types of honey can play a meaningful role in wound care and skin health, even in veterinary settings! However, it’s important to understand that not all honey offers the same benefits. The source of the honey and how it’s processed influence its effectiveness. 

Main types of Honey

Honey is generally categorized into two main types, based on where bees collect their nectar:

Benefits on Mānuka Honey: 

Among the honey varieties, Mānuka honey stands out as one of the most researched and widely used in medical and veterinary applications. It comes from the Mānuka plant, a flowering shrub or small tree native to New Zealand and southeastern Australia.

Mānuka honey has been used for centuries to treat wounds and burns. It works by controlling inflammation, supporting healing, and helping to balance the skin microbiome. Compounds in Mānuka honey, such as plant-derived flavonoids, exhibit antioxidant activity that can suppress inflammatory responses that may hinder wound healing. These properties also activate immune signals that are helpful in the healing process overall reducing swelling and irritation while stimulating the growth of new tissue.

Mānuka Honey also has antibacterial properties from compounds like methylglyoxal, or MGO for short, which is found in significantly higher levels in Mānuka honey compared to other kinds of honey. Other anti microbial properties like a low pH and high osmotic pressure, basically it’s acidic and has a thick texture. The high osmotic pressure, as a result from the high sugar concentration, draws water out of bacterial cells around the wound or burns, dehydrating and killing them. This pressure also directs water and nutrients to the cells of the affected area. The low pH, high osmotic pressure, along with other naturally occurring enzymes allow for the clearing of dead cells in the wound area and the stimulation of cell growth factors so new healthy tissue can grow. 

The most common bacterial strain that causes hot spots is Staphylococcus pseudintermedius which studies have found to be effectively inhibited with the application of Mānuka honey. Even when applied in small amounts or a low concentration this benefit is still shown. Research suggests that many bacteria are unable to develop resistance to Mānuka honey, as they cannot survive after exposure.

Try Silver Honey: 

So how does this translate into something you can actually use at home?

This is where products like Silver Honey come in. Made by W. F. Young, a family-owned company since 1892! Silver Honey products can be used on your pets for wound care, skin and coat health, and ear care. Their products are also safe for equine use. Silver Honey supports your pet’s skin microbiome while helping to manage issues like allergies, hot spots, and external ear infections.

Skin is the largest organ on the body and it’s colonized by a very diverse set of bacteria. Keeping this microbiome at a balance is just as important as keeping the gut microbiome in balance. The role of the skin microbiome is to maintain healthy skin and protect against infection. Keeping your pet’s skin microbiome in balance with beneficial bacteria is important. Skin infections like hotspots are a sign that your dog’s skin microbiome is out of balance and may need a little bit of TLC from Silver Honey. Of course, more mild cases of hotspots and external ear infections can be effectively treated with silver honey. It is always a good idea to contact your vet to get their opinion and determine if antibiotics are needed. 

I bet that by now you’re wondering why it’s called Silver Honey. That's because Silver Honey is made using 100% New Zealand derived Mānuka honey as well as a medical grade silver product called MicroSilver BG. MicroSilver BG has been extensively tested and approved for use in cosmetic, human, and veterinary wound care applications. It works by releasing silver ions in a controlled manner adding to the Mānuka honey’s anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects. This works because the silver ions damage the wall of bacterial cells and disrupt the growth of microbial species. Most bacteria are also not resistant to silver ions just like the Mānuka honey. With the combined benefits of Mānuka Honey and MicroSilver BG Silver Honey works double duty on your pets skin.

These benefits aren’t theoretical, Silver Honey has also been evaluated in clinical case studies in veterinary settings. In these cases, the product was used to support healing in a range of conditions, including wounds, burns, and superficial skin infections like hot spots. For example, one case followed a dog with a delayed healing surgical wound that showed significant improvement over time with consistent application, while another involved a cat with a burn that developed healthy tissue and reduced in size after just a few days of treatment. Across these cases, Silver Honey demonstrated effectiveness against common bacteria associated with skin infections and, in some instances, helped reduce the need for antibiotics, making it a valuable option for managing minor skin concerns.

If you’ve ever dealt with hot spots or skin irritation for your pet, this is definitely a product worth exploring!

Shop Silver Honey Products at Rumford: Shop Here!

Beyond Skin Care

Honey’s benefits don’t stop at the surface. The natural sugars in honey can serve as a prebiotic, which is food for the beneficial bacteria in the gut. Additionally, those antimicrobial effects work in the gut too; inhibiting the non-beneficial bacteria in the gut. It also has anti-inflammatory properties that can support gut health when used appropriately in pet-safe products. 

You’ll even find honey featured in some of our favorite treats, like:

• Honey Coated Chews - Honey I’m Home
• Honey-infused biscuits - The Honest Kitchen

Bringing it all together:

From ancient remedies to modern veterinary applications, honey has proven to be more than a simple sweetener made by bees. In particular, Mānuka honey stands out for its unique antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties that make it especially effective in supporting skin health and wound healing. Products like Silver Honey harness the power of Mānuka honey to help you pets live healthier lives. If you’re looking for a natural, science-backed option to support your pet’s health, Silver Honey is the right fit!