By Vanessa Chalmers Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 10:39 BST, 27 May 2019 | Updated: 10:40 BST, 27 May 2019
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It's already used as a topping on breakfast.
But scientists say honey may also be able to fight cold sores.
Notoriously difficult get rid of, cold sores are normally treated with anti-viral creams bought over the counter.
But honey derived from a tree in New Zealand has been found to be just as effective at healing the blistering sore in a trial.
Medicinal honey could treat cold sores and is just as effective as anti-viral creams, a New Zealand study has found
Participants in a trial used either cream or honey, both of which cleared the pain and wound within nine days.
The substance, produced by bumble bees, has a long history of therapeutic use with some studies showing it has antibacterial properties.
The trial of 952 participants was led by researchers at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand (MRINZ).
They compared treating cold sores with honey to anti-viral aciclovir cream, branded as Zovirax and Viraben.
The honey was derived from the native kānuka tree in New Zealand, before being sterilised and boosted with extra antimicrobial ingredients.
Herpes viruses cause cold sores, which most commonly appear on the lips or genitals.
Around seven in 10 people in the UK are infected with the viruses.
However, only around one in three experience symptoms.
In the US, around half of young adults are infected with the virus that causes cold sores around the mouth.
One in eight have the virus behind genital herpes.
Cold sores on the lips most commonly get passed on by being kissed by someone with an active cold sore.
They begin as a small red patch that blisters before bursting, leaving a raw area that scabs.
Cold sores that appear on the face are most commonly caused by the herpes simplex type 1 virus.
Type 2 mainly affects the genitals.
It is rare for cold sores to spread away from the site they first appeared in.
And they