Pharmacy Cold Sore Trial

A number of pharmacies around New Zealand are participating in a national clinical trial of “medical grade Kanuka honey” for the treatment of cold sores.  Patients presenting with herpes simplex virus are blindly allocated either the standard treatment or the honey, and will also be compensated NZ$25 at the end of the trial which aims to enlist 950 patients nationally.

Pharmacies also receive a payment for each patient enlisted.  Study lead Dr Alex Semprini said earlier small scale trials had shown a positive response for the honey, which must be applied to the cold sore five times per day over a 14 day period.

Source: pharmacydaily.com.au, Monday 20 March 2017