How to Heal Wounds With Sugar

Get step-by-step instructions for treating open wounds with sugar

The best way to heal any open wound—including burns, lacerations, scrapes, bedsores, and diabetic ulcers—is with sugar dressings.

When sugar is packed in a wound, it creates a highly concentrated medium where bacteria cannot survive. Sugar also reduces swelling, encourages the removal of dead tissue, and promotes the formation of connective tissue and new blood vessels. The net result is rapid healing with minimal scarring.

To use a sugar dressing to treat a wound, follow these steps:

1. Mix a couple of tablespoons of white sugar with enough glycerin to form a peanut butter-like consistency. (Glycerin, also called glycerol, simply helps the sugar stay in place. It’s sold in drugstores or may be ordered in bulk online.)
2. Take a 4" x 4" piece of gauze and pull it into a long strip.
3. Coat the gauze with petroleum jelly (Vaseline).
4. Place the gauze around the outside of the wound. (It will act as a dam to contain the sugar.)
5. Put a thick layer of the sugar/glycerin paste over the wound and cover with a sponge gauze.
6. Secure with a cling dressing that holds the sugar in place but does not constrict.
7. Change the sugar dressing every two to four days by removing the gauze, rinsing the wound with water, saline, or hydrogen peroxide, drying it, and applying fresh sugar/glycerin.

Note: Honey (without glycerin) may be used in place of sugar, but I prefer sugar because it’s less expensive. Sugar and honey are perfectly safe to use on diabetic wounds because they do not enter the bloodstream. They will not work on abscesses or pustules that are covered with skin. Also, do not use these dressings on a bleeding wound, as sugar promotes bleeding.

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