HOW HONEY FOUND ITS WAY TO TOSAMA
OUR STORY
In Tosama, we decided more than a decade ago that our work, development, and operations would be characterized by the word natural. Therefore, we included sustainable and environmental goals in our work processes and adjusted everything to our primary commitment: that our products, in addition to their basic function, should also help users maintain or even improve their health. That is why our sanitary pads and tampons are made from organic cotton, all our plasters are sterile, and our wound dressings are made with honey.
Our wound dressings are excellent proof that we managed to steer the whole story in the right direction. Since the company traditionally produces sanitary products, wounds and wound care have always been one of our main focuses and we have been continuously gaining new knowledge on the topic. The discovery from the 1960s that wounds heal faster and more effectively in a moist environment has long puzzled us, but we came across the solution – as is usually the case – by chance.
For us at Tosama, the stories of our users motivate us to try and find new solutions and even more effective and useful products with honey.In 2007, while looking for ideas for new products, Jasna Cerlini and Stane Tomažič from the development department of Tosama also talked about honey. Stane has been a beekeeper for many years, and the health benefits of honey have long been known.
Jasna immediately started researching and she soon realised that the “liquid gold” from beehives has been used for thousands of years as an effective aid in wound healing. The idea of developing a wound dressing with honey was then quickly given a name: Vivamel.
Vivamel is the first modern wound dressing made in Slovenia. Through clinical studies as well as practical use we have proven that a medical device with medical chestnut honey is suitable and above all effective in healing a wide range of wounds, acute and chronic, in all stages of healing. With its use, we have already prevented several amputations.
Today, Vivamel is well-known all over Europe and is on the list of prescription medical devices. In Slovenia, it is being used in hospitals and other healthcare institutions. It has also become an indispensable part of home first-aid kits.
The results of treatment with sterile medical chestnut honey speak for themselves, therefore, an increasing number of doctors and patients put their trust in this 100% natural aid in wound healing.
For us at Tosama, the stories of our users motivate us to try and find new solutions and even more effective and useful products with honey.
Jasmina Anžlovar, Mojca Šimnic Šolinc, Tina Kuhar, Nataša Ivančič in Mojca Kregar, EWMA 2019
SHE KEPT HER LEG THANKS TO VIVAMEL
In the fall of 2018, a gentleman entered our store in Maribor. He wanted to buy bandages and medical supplies to treat an ulcer on his wife’s lower leg. He told Ana, our professional colleague, that for the last two years, his wife had been battling the wound caused by a venous disease unsuccessfully. The wound would not heal, and the disease had already progressed so far that her doctor had suggested an amputation, he explained desperately. The surgery had already been scheduled – she was about to lose her leg in ten days.
Ana was well familiar with the results wound treatment with Vivamel, so she advised the gentleman to give wound dressings with honey a try before the surgery. He went home with a single Vivamel dressing but returned after only three days. Since he and his wife immediately noticed positive changes in the wound, they decided to continue the treatment with Vivamel. After three weeks, the wound size was reduced by 30 percent, epithelization (growth of the covering tissue) was noticeable, and the exudate was almost gone. They continued the treatment until the wound healed completely and the amputation was no longer required.
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