الفهرس 
SKIN MICROBESOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background: Skin antisepsis is essential in every healthcare environment. Alcohol/ chlorhexidine use might disrupt skin microbiota and lead to antibiotic resistance. This study investigates honey (being natural product with many beneficial therapeutic effects) as topical skin anti-septic agent and compares it with alcohol, in terms of effectiveness and safety.
Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of honey, as a topical disinfectant agent, on apparently healthy skin, and the results will be compared with the results of topical application of 70% isopropyl alcohol.
Subjects and Methods: This study was carried out on 70 children aged 2 to 12 years . They were 32 females and 38 males, who were recruited from the pediatric outpatient clinic, Children’s Hospital, Ain Shams University, Egypt, during the period of 6 months .
Results: As disinfectants, the present study showed no statistically significant difference between isopropyl alcohol 70% and honey when applied topically on the skin. Therefore, based on the results of this study, honey can be used as a safe and non-expensive skin disinfectant before vascular access or minor skin surgeries. Furthermore, in contrast to alcohol, which is manufactured by man, honey is manufactured by bees and is readily available anywhere. Literature search did not find similar studies using honey as a skin disinfectant or comparing it with commercially available hand sanitizers. therefore, we recommend further studies on larger number of children to confirm the findings of our study.
Conclusion: In a group of children topical honey was comparable to 70% isopropyl alcohol as a skin disinfectant. We recommend further studies on larger number of children to confirm the findings of our study.