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Immune System Health - A Best Offense Is a Good Defense
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MRSA - Why is it spreading? How can you protect yourself?
Unfortunately, the tragedy of people dying from MRSA (methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and other antibiotic-resistant microbes is becoming more and more common. What is MRSA? Where has it come from, and what can you do to protect yourself?
RSA is a form of Staph infection that is resistant to standard antibiotics, especially of the penicillin family. Resistant strains of Staph were first noticed in 1943, only two years after the introduction of penicillin. Like all bacteria, Staph has the ability to mutate quickly to become resistant to antibiotics, and this particular strain is proving to be VERY serious indeed.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, in 2007 there were more than 94,000 serious cases of MRSA in hospitals (about 5% of all hospital patients), out of which 18,640 people (about 1% of all hospital patients) died.
The above chart are the results of a study
on Young Living Thieves oil blend as reported
in the “Journal of Essential Oil Research,” September, 2001
The numbers of cases in hospitals and nursing homes have been rising at an alarming rate over the past ten years. One epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control said last year that in some places MRSA is “epidemic.” In the past few years, MRSA has spread out into the community. It has stricken people who frequent gyms, fitness clubs, locker rooms… and now it is spreading in our schools. The antibiotics that are used to fight MRSA are very powerful, which means they take their own toll on the stricken person, and often are not effective.
MRSA can sit on the skin, waiting to enter the body through a cut or abrasion, which is why is tends to spread in lockers rooms and gyms. It also likes warm, moist areas, the inside of the nose, the armpits and groin. It may first appear as a rash, pimples or boils that quickly spread and/or become more serious infections, often accompanied by a fever. It can even turn in to meningitis and pneumonia.
How did we get here? Health authorities have been warning us for years of the negative consequences of widespread antibiotic use for minor illnesses, in livestock and poultry farming and in hand cleaners and other household cleaners. They have been predicting the emergence of mutating “super bugs,” and now super bugs are here. Antibiotic use has been so widespread that traces of these products are now found in remote mountain streams!
What can we do to protect ourselves? In our micro-environment, wash our hands often and well for 20-30 seconds with regular soap, cleaning under the fingernails and between the fingers; we can be careful not to share towels and other personal care items with others in gyms and other public places; take steps to support our immune system, and consult with a trained alternative medicine professional to learn about natural remedies that can be helpful.
For the macro-environment we all share, we can take steps to reduce the use of antibiotics. We can decide not take antiobiotics unless it is absolutely necessary. If we must take them, it is best to take them all, on time, as prescribed. Otherwise, we allow the more resistant bugs more of a chance to survive. Reducing consumption of animal foods (including dairy products) that have been treated with antibiotics is a big step, as animal feedlots are a MAJOR source of antibiotics that have moved into the larger environment. Organically produced foods can be chosen instead.
Unfortunately, the tragedy of people dying from MRSA (methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and other antibiotic-resistant microbes is becoming more and more common. What is MRSA? Where has it come from, and what can you do to protect yourself?
RSA is a form of Staph infection that is resistant to standard antibiotics, especially of the penicillin family. Resistant strains of Staph were first noticed in 1943, only two years after the introduction of penicillin. Like all bacteria, Staph has the ability to mutate quickly to become resistant to antibiotics, and this particular strain is proving to be VERY serious indeed.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, in 2007 there were more than 94,000 serious cases of MRSA in hospitals (about 5% of all hospital patients), out of which 18,640 people (about 1% of all hospital patients) died.
The above chart are the results of a study
on Young Living Thieves oil blend as reported
in the “Journal of Essential Oil Research,” September, 2001
The numbers of cases in hospitals and nursing homes have been rising at an alarming rate over the past ten years. One epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control said last year that in some places MRSA is “epidemic.” In the past few years, MRSA has spread out into the community. It has stricken people who frequent gyms, fitness clubs, locker rooms… and now it is spreading in our schools. The antibiotics that are used to fight MRSA are very powerful, which means they take their own toll on the stricken person, and often are not effective.
MRSA can sit on the skin, waiting to enter the body through a cut or abrasion, which is why is tends to spread in lockers rooms and gyms. It also likes warm, moist areas, the inside of the nose, the armpits and groin. It may first appear as a rash, pimples or boils that quickly spread and/or become more serious infections, often accompanied by a fever. It can even turn in to meningitis and pneumonia.
How did we get here? Health authorities have been warning us for years of the negative consequences of widespread antibiotic use for minor illnesses, in livestock and poultry farming and in hand cleaners and other household cleaners. They have been predicting the emergence of mutating “super bugs,” and now super bugs are here. Antibiotic use has been so widespread that traces of these products are now found in remote mountain streams!
What can we do to protect ourselves? In our micro-environment, wash our hands often and well for 20-30 seconds with regular soap, cleaning under the fingernails and between the fingers; we can be careful not to share towels and other personal care items with others in gyms and other public places; take steps to support our immune system, and consult with a trained alternative medicine professional to learn about natural remedies that can be helpful.
For the macro-environment we all share, we can take steps to reduce the use of antibiotics. We can decide not take antiobiotics unless it is absolutely necessary. If we must take them, it is best to take them all, on time, as prescribed. Otherwise, we allow the more resistant bugs more of a chance to survive. Reducing consumption of animal foods (including dairy products) that have been treated with antibiotics is a big step, as animal feedlots are a MAJOR source of antibiotics that have moved into the larger environment. Organically produced foods can be chosen instead.