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I'm doing this, I was having a weird kind of pain between the eyes above the nose, and I thought to try and put honey in there, so I used q-tips dipped in honey, inserted them in the nose (1cm) and after the honey melts and goes up my nose cuz I'm in bed with nose towards the ceiling

and it burns like hell, especially the first time, felt lines above the head, tears out of the eyes, but I think it helped,

I got my honey from the beekeeper, so it's raw, hasn't been heated or filtered.

I was wondering if this is a known, common, method or am I the first one ?

maybe not relevant, but want to mention that I had septum deviation surgery 2 times

UPDATE: the most sinus pain was gone after the first time I did this, and the more I was doing this the less painful it was to do it

after the first 2 days I stopped using q-tips, instead I was using a syringe (without the needle) to put honey in my nose, the honey was going through my nose and pouring into my mouth; I also have been drinking a teaspoon of turmeric powder with water once per day, and in the end (about 1 week) my problem was solved completely

I actually did this long time ago also, but I used Manuka doctor 6+ honey, before that I was avoiding bright screens for about 10 years ( keeping brightness on my monitor to 10%) and was amazed when this helped and noticed that bright light doesn't hurt my eyes anymore, didn't think that regular raw honey works as well, but it did.

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    I have no idea if it's a common practice somewhere, but I've never heard of it before. Doesn't sound like a good idea and I doubt it's going to cure a sinus infection.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    Dec 12 '16 at 15:51
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    A piece of personal experience... It works on open wounds, but I don't know how well it will work on a sinus infection. I peeled a portion of my tongue off a few years ago, applying honey to that definitely seemed to heal it faster. I have heard that when honey comes into contact with blood it forms a very small amount of H2O2.
    – L.B.
    Jan 4 '17 at 18:37
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Actually I claim being the first one - about 30 years ago when I was a teenager I had the idea to cure my sinus infection by honey. Tried once, had similar burning result as you did, and an allergic reaction on top of it (heard of pollen allergy? - thats what honey is full of). Concluded as a failed experiment.

From evolutionary perspective I do not see how honey could ever get into the noses of our ancestors so it probably should not go into yours either. Saline solution of about 10g/liter (physiological concentration ) is much better option.

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  • I never got an allergic reaction from honey, I actually grew up next to beekeeper neighbour (uncle) and got stung quite a few times; I've updated my question, it helped, already 2nd time
    – Omu
    Jan 4 '17 at 17:48
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    @Omu You can be allergic to pollen but not honey or bee stings. An allergy to pollen could be what is causing the burning.
    – L.B.
    Jan 4 '17 at 18:39
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    @L.B. the more I used honey in my nose the less it hurt, so I think the burning was when the honey was touching the wound/infected area ( from the surgery done years ago maybe)
    – Omu
    Jan 4 '17 at 19:22
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For nasty sinus infections, which are generally bacterial, "fighting the bacteria with lots of sugar" seems like a very bad idea to me.

Viral sinusitis generally resolves within a few days - it's very difficult to demonstrate that any home remedy speeds up healing in such a short window.

That said, honey has been demonstrated to be somewhat anesthetizing vs. a sore throat, so I believe you when you say you feel better after using it.

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  • actually after googling "sugar for wounds", I found quite a few articles saying that sugar helps heal wounds faster; but anyway I used raw honey not pure sugar
    – Omu
    Jan 4 '17 at 19:24
  • Interesting! That is a topic I can't speak on with any authority. Sinus infections and open wounds are rather different.
    – ancientcampus
    Jan 4 '17 at 19:27
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    Honey is naturally antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal when used for healing purposes. That along with the fact that it is sticky means that a wound covered in honey can not only heal quicker but the honey can prevent infection in a wound.
    – Caters
    Nov 6 '17 at 2:44
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I know this topic is old but there have been discoveries that using honey in a neti pot(1 tsp for 1 batch..don't use salt or baking soda) will break up a sinus infection. Most sinus infections are "biofilms" which are a conglomeration of bacteria, viruses, etc. that together raise the antibiotic resistance by 1000 fold but semi-recent studies have shown that honey is effective at breaking up biofilms, and some more studies have shown it works on sinus infections too. I'd normally turn my nose up at such claims but I had a sinus infection that wouldn't go away for almost a year and was so painful that when I'd sneeze I 100% considered suicide. Two flushes with a honey/water neti pot and it was gone in under a week. A friend who tests the scientific efficacy of natural remedies and lectures on it to medical students at the local university actually backed this up as a legit remedy.

All that said, do some research and verify what I've asserted. You'll actually be surprised.

Found info for supporting this medically: https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/diabetes/a-staph-infection-that-wont-heal/

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    "do some research" I'm afraid that this site doesn't work that way. You're supposed to do the research and prove that you're right, Also, I'm a bit suspicious about the effectivity of such a treatment.
    – Narusan
    Feb 5 '18 at 20:32
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    Welcome to HealthSE, Eric! There are many statements in your answer that are unreferenced claims. Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to use linked and reliable references, to include the essential parts of the answer here. "Studies have shown": it is your task to show us these studies, cite, link them and draw your conclusions from them.
    – LаngLаngС
    Feb 5 '18 at 21:39

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