The application of honey in wound care of raw surface at spontaneous rupture submandibular abscess that extends to submental and right neck: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Honey has been reported to accelerate wound healing. The use of honey in wound care mostly uses medicated (Manuka) honey. There are still few who report using Nusantara honey, local honey from Indonesia, as a wound dressing. We report wound care using Nusantara honey in patients with a remarkably open wound due to a ruptured submandibular abscess extending to the submental and right neck. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 67 years old male patient came with a ruptured submandibular abscess that extends to the submental and right neck. On the right submandibular region, an ulcer extends to submental with a size of 10 × 4 × 3 cm, hyperemic, edema around the wound, fluctuating, with pus and tenderness. The isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus. The patient received combination antibiotic therapy, blood sugar management, necrotomy debridement, tooth extraction, and wound care using Nusantara honey on the sixth day after surgery. An improvement was seen on the 10th day after necrotomy. DISCUSSION: The use of honey for wound care is based on thousands of years of history. Honey can accelerate wound healing and show different effects depending on the phase of wound healing. In addition, honey also has antibacterial properties. CONCLUSION: Applying Nusantara honey to treat raw surfaces can help speed up wound healing and provide cost-efficiency. There were no allergic reactions or secondary bacterial infections after using honey in this patient.