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Garlic May Be the Natural Cure For MRSA
June 12, 2008 05:08 PM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
A study conducted at the University of East London shows that garlic pills and creams may clear MRSA infections after 8–12 weeks of treatment.
30-Second Summary
So far, more than 250 people who tested positive for MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) have been successfully treated with garlic, the study shows. The results for the first 52 patients will be published in the journal Advances In Therapy later this year, The Sun reports.
Many of the patients had wounds that refused to heal, despite extended treatment with antibiotics. “We have had patients on the trial who were due to have surgery to remove infected tissue, but after using the garlic preparation their wounds healed," Dr. Ron Cutler, who headed the study, said.
The first cases of MRSA infection occurred in hospitals. But increasingly the so-called "super-bug" is making its way into the community at large.
The group most vulnerable to MRSA is people with weakened immune systems, who are more commonly found in the hospital environments where the bug developed. But MRSA infections are now afflicting young healthy individuals.
Many professional athletes, including NBA star Grant Hill, have been stricken with this bacterium, and some have suffered severe consequences.
More studies may prove that garlic can cure MRSA infections where antibiotics have been ineffective. Garlic has been used throughout the centuries as a natural cure. It was reportedly used by medics in World War I as well as in the World War II, when it was known as “Russian penicillin" and used when antibiotics were not available.
Many of the patients had wounds that refused to heal, despite extended treatment with antibiotics. “We have had patients on the trial who were due to have surgery to remove infected tissue, but after using the garlic preparation their wounds healed," Dr. Ron Cutler, who headed the study, said.
The first cases of MRSA infection occurred in hospitals. But increasingly the so-called "super-bug" is making its way into the community at large.
The group most vulnerable to MRSA is people with weakened immune systems, who are more commonly found in the hospital environments where the bug developed. But MRSA infections are now afflicting young healthy individuals.
Many professional athletes, including NBA star Grant Hill, have been stricken with this bacterium, and some have suffered severe consequences.
More studies may prove that garlic can cure MRSA infections where antibiotics have been ineffective. Garlic has been used throughout the centuries as a natural cure. It was reportedly used by medics in World War I as well as in the World War II, when it was known as “Russian penicillin" and used when antibiotics were not available.
Headline Link: Garlic may be natural cure for MRSA
According to The Sun, garlic’s healing properties are due to a compound called allicin, which is created when the clove is damaged and two compounds within the plant come together.
Source: The Sun
Background: MRSA on the rise
In October 2007, a study from The Journal of American Medical Association found that more Americans are killed each year by MRSA-related infections than by AIDS.
Source: The Dallas Morning News
After two children, an 11-year-old in New Hampshire and a 4-year-old in Mississippi, in addition to Ashton Bonds of Virgina, died from MRSA infections in Ocotober 2007, doctors grew concerned about MRSA infections becoming more common outside hospitals. “We don't know why this organism began to mutate in this way in the community ... This community onset is by far the concern for us," said Dr. Jaime Fergie, director of the pediatric infectious diseases unit at Driscoll Children's Hospital.
Source: ABC
Joe Jurevicius recently became the sixth player from the Cleveland Browns to contract a staph infection in the last four years. In each case, the infected player had recently had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. Many, but not all, staph infections are caused by MRSA.
Source: findingDulcinea
In March, new research showed that universal screening for MRSA is no better than standard infection control at reducing the rate of hospital-acquired infections in surgical patients.
Source: Forbes
Several athletes including NBA star, Grant Hill, NFL player Junior Seau, have become stricken with MRSA after surgery, according to a March 2007 ESPN story. Yet, more athletes are contracting Community-Acquired MRSA in gyms and during practices. Mike Gansey, a former West Virginia Guard, had expected to be drafted in the NBA until he contracted MRSA; he was bedridden in the hospitals for two weeks. "You can't physically move. It feels like you got hit by a truck and you don't even know it," Gansey said.
Source: ESPN
Historical Context: Prevalence of antibiotics
Since the 1940s, when penicillin was first invented, over 150 different types of antibiotics have been created. Yet the prevalence of antibiotics has also meant the creation of “super-bugs,” which appear when an antibiotic fails to kill every bacteria it is formed to kill. Mayo Clinic explains that these superbugs can even exchange survival information with other bacteria—even different species—allowing additional drug-resistant organisms to emerge.
Source: Mayo Clinic
Reference: MRSA facts and prevention
To minimize the chance of acquiring MRSA, The Mayo Clinic recommends that people avoid sharing personal items such as towels and razors, keep wounds covered, sanitize linens, wash hands thoroughly and to request a MRSA test if one has a skin infection that requires treatment. To avoid MRSA while in the hospital, ask all hospital staff to wash their hands before touching the patient and make sure that all intravenous tubes are inserted and removed in sterile conditions.
Source: Mayo Clinic
Keep Kids Healthy suggests that athletes shower and wash with soap after all competitions and practices as MRSA can spread with indirect contact through workout areas and even clothes.
Source: Keep Kids Healthy
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides information on staph and MRSA infections on its Web site. “Staph” or Staphylococcus aureus is a form of bacteria carried on the skin and the most common type of skin infection. Between 25-30 percent of Americans are colonized (when bacteria are present, but not causing an infection) in the nose with staph bacteria. MRSA is a type of “staph” bacteria that is resistant to methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin.
Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Related Topic: Garlic's healing powers
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine provides information about the medicinal uses of garlic on its Web site. According to the site, garlic is most commonly used as a dietary supplement to treat high cholesterol, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Source: The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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