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From
Well Being Journal Vol. 9, No. 1 ~ January/February
2000
Natural Solutions to Drug-Resistant
Infections
by CJ Puotinen
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When penicillin and other wonder
drugs revolutionized Western medicine in the 1940s
and '50s, it seemed as though every infectious
illness could be cured with a few pills or
injections. But half a century after it began, the
golden age of antibiotics is ending with the
alarming news that the drugs that were supposed to
save the world have instead spawned an epidemic that
may destroy it.
In 1988 in a New York City hospital, the first
strains of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE)
appeared, and between September 1989 and October
1991, 38 New York hospitals reported VRE infections,
98 percent of which were contracted during the
patient's hospital stay. Soon hospitals in New
Jersey, Connecticut and other states began reporting
VRE infections, and the problem quickly spread to
other countries. VRE infections are now a worldwide
problem.
Nearly all VRE infections are acquired in hospitals.
The longer the hospital stay, the greater the risk.
Although the risk is highest in intensive care
units, VRE infections in hospitals have been traced
to nearly every patient-occupied area. Individuals
previously treated with vancomycin or combination
antibiotic therapy have an increased risk of
developing VRE. Those with a serious disease or
suppressed immune system or who undergo abdominal
surgery are at increased risk. Most VRE infections
occur in patients 41 to 60 years old, but they can
affect people of any age. VRE infections are
virtually untreatable using conventional methods.
Even if combination antibiotics appear to be
effective, the patient soon has a relapse more
virulent than the original infection. A 1995 study
at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York
found that when VRE infections spread to the blood (bacteriemia),
the in-hospital death rate was 100 percent. VRE
infections are now the second leading cause of
infections acquired in hospitals.
But VRE infections are not the problem public health
officials fear most. In the August 2, 1998, New York
Times Magazine, reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg
described the world's first case of vancomycin
intermediate-resistant staphylococcus, or VISA,
which appeared in New York in March 1998. “In recent
years,” wrote Stolberg, “it has become fashionable
in the media to warn of the exotic new infectious
diseases percolating in other lands. The gruesome
Ebola virus, which swept through Zaire three years
ago, has captured the public imagination in books
and on film. But while Hollywood has been busy
making scary movies, infectious-disease experts know
that the bigger danger is in our own back yard:
garden variety germs that for decades have been so
easily felled by antibiotics that most people,
including some scientists, naively assumed they were
no longer a threat. For the past decade, however,
scientists at the Federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta and all over the
world have been sounding alarm bells about the
growth of antibiotic resistance, a problem that has
been fueled by patients who demand antibiotics for
every bout of the sniffles and by doctors who give
in to such demands. The list of dangerously virulent
drug-resistant microbes is growing all the time:
streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia,
childhood ear infections and meningitis;
mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB; and
neisseria gonorrhoea, which causes gonorrhea.”
Hospitals favor the development of harmful
pathogens, for they provide ideal conditions for
mutation. In an effort to prevent the growth of
germs, hospitals use chemical disinfectants on
floors and other surfaces, and drugs such as
antibiotics to kill bacteria in patients. Both
practices give microbes the constant exposure to
chemicals and drugs that they need to outsmart them,
and no environment inhabited by human beings is 100
percent sterile. Inevitably, a few microbes survive,
and some of them adapt and pass their adaptation to
their next generation. Having killed off whatever
natural enemies might keep these new microbes in
check, the hospital provides ideal breeding
conditions in the frail and fragile patients it
houses, and it spreads the new microbes to their new
hosts in various ways.
Hospitals are not the only breeding ground for new
versions of old pathogens. As the New York Times
explained on January 24, 1999, previously unknown
bacteria and viruses are blooming in the earth's
warming oceans, killing marine life and threatening
human health. At that week's national meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
researchers reported that dying coral, diseased
shellfish and ocean waters infected with human
viruses are symptoms of a rapidly growing global
problem. According to the organization, new studies
show that vast colonies of human viruses migrate
regularly into Florida's coastal waters from the
state's 1.6 million septic tanks, and many people
are becoming infected with viruses picked up while
swimming, windsurfing or boating in infected waters.
One study found that almost 25 percent of the people
using marine beaches developed ear infections, sore
throats, sore eyes, respiratory infections or
gastrointestinal disease. Some of the viruses
detected in coastal waters are linked to heart
disease, diabetes, meningitis and hepatitis. “Most
people who come in contact with these viruses do not
get ill,” said Joan B. Rose, a researcher at the
University of South Florida, “but of the 20 to 24
percent who do, about 1 percent become chronically
infected.” Rose's research team traced the migration
of viruses from septic tanks and found that
pathogens infect coastal waters within 24 hours of
being flushed down toilets. Storms that churn ocean
water speed the process. Many of the viruses that
infect humans directly or through the eating of
contaminated shellfish cannot be detected by the
routine monitoring of water pollution. Other
researchers at the meeting said that the increase in
pathogens in the world's oceans may be linked to a
1.8-degree rise in ocean surface temperatures
detected in many areas. Warmer water kills algae on
coral, weakening the coral and making it more
susceptible to infection.
Another factor in the development of new viruses and
bacteria is America's drinking water. Municipal
water contamination became a national concern when
chemical pesticides, fertilizers, industrial
solvents, road salt, bacteria, parasites and heavy
metals found their way into kitchen faucets. Now
pharmaceutical drugs, including antibiotics,
hormones, pain killers, tranquilizers and
chemotherapy chemicals, have been measured in
surface water, ground water and drinking water. The
first recorded study that detected drugs in sewage
took place in Kansas City in 1976. In 1992, German
researchers discovered clofibric acid, a drug that
is related to the weed killer 2,4-D and is used to
reduce blood cholesterol levels, in water supplies.
One of the most common water pollutants in North
America is the female sex hormone estradiol.
An estimated 30 percent of the drugs manufactured
between 1992 and 1995 dissolve in fat but not in
water. Once they are excreted into the environment,
they move through the food chain. Because many drugs
are designed to retain their chemical structure
without breaking down, they remain unchanged in
ground water for years or even decades. When a drug
is ingested by a human patient or farm animal,
between 50 to 90 percent of the drug is excreted
unchanged. The remainder is excreted as metabolites,
which are byproducts of the body's interaction with
the drug. Some metabolites dissolve in fat but not
water and, according to researchers, they can be
more persistent than the original drugs from which
they were derived. The routine use of antibiotics
and other drugs on farm animals has made America's
farms potential hotbeds of genetic mutation. Because
of the drug residues that contaminate our food
supply and water supply, most children, adults, and
household pets ingest trace amounts of antibiotics
and other prescription drugs on a daily basis. The
quantities may be small, but researchers blame this
constant exposure for the increasing drug resistance
of common bacteria.
Of all the drug-resistant bacteria, none are so
frightening to medical experts as vancomycin
intermediate-resistant staphylococcus, or VISA.
Until 1997 and 1998, when the first four cases of
VISA were documented, this bacterium was
theoretically possible but not yet a problem. Now
it's real. Staphylococcus lives harmlessly on the
skin and nostrils of healthy people, where it is
held in check by other bacteria. If it gains access
to the body through cuts, scrapes, surgical
incisions, burns or other skin injuries, staph
causes infections, some of which can be serious.
Medical researchers are alarmed because if VISA
strains of staph become common, every staph
infection will be so potentially fatal that any
scraped knee or minor cut could be fatal. As Sheryl
Stolberg wrote, “The emergence of an untreatable
strain of staph would put virtually any healthy
person at risk and could turn a bad situation into a
disastrous one.”
GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACT
There are many herbs and essential oils that kill
enterococcus, staphylococcus and other bacteria as
well as viruses, which antibiotics are unable to
treat. One of the most popular is grapefruit seed
extract, or GSE, made from the seeds and connecting
tissue of citrus fruit. In the October 1996 edition
of his Alternatives newsletter (Mountain Home
Publishing, 1201 Seven Locks Road, Rockville, MD
20854), David G. Williams, D.C., described an
elderly woman with VRE who was successfully treated
for five days with a product that contains 100 mg
grapefruit seed extract, 200 mg Artemisia annua
(annual wormwood or sweet Annie) and 200 mg
Echinacea angustifolia, 1 capsule 3 times daily.
After repeated cultures showed her to be free of the
VRE infection, two other VRE patients received the
same treatment. Because conventional medicine has
nothing to offer VRE patients, this is exciting
news—but, as Williams explained, it isn't news
you're likely to read outside of his publication,
for the physicians using this unapproved,
unconventional therapy have no interest in creating
a medical controversy by reporting their results.
“If you have any upcoming surgery or hospital stays,
or if you work in a hospital setting,” he wrote, “I
would suggest keeping some of this [type of] product
around. I would also consider pre-dosing 3 or 4 days
prior to any surgery, as well as taking the product
for a week or so following the procedure.”
Although pathogens have a more difficult time
adapting to natural products, which have a more
complex molecular structure than pharmaceutical
chemicals, daily exposure might eventually allow
some microbes to survive, mutate and become
resistant to grapefruit seed extract, just as they
are resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics.
Although GSE is believed to be free of adverse side
effects, large doses over time may disrupt the
body's balance of beneficial bacteria. Two
healthcare professionals of my acquaintance have
mentioned seeing this disruption in people who have
taken large doses of grapefruit seed extract for a
month or more. Any herb that is used on a daily
basis may become less effective when needed.
Alternating grapefruit seed extract with other
antiseptic herbs is an effective strategy. So is
taking these herbs in “courses,” in which a product
is taken for several days and then stopped for a day
or two before being resumed (five days on and two
days off is a popular regimen), for no more than a
month or six weeks before being replaced by another
herb.
NONI
Also known as the Indian mulberry, noni (Morinda
citrifolia) is a small Polynesian evergreen that
grows in tropical climates. Because of research in
Japan showing that noni fruit inhibits the growth of
cells known to be precursors of certain cancers,
noni products have become popular supplements for
human and animal cancer patients. Noni is reported
to be an analgesic pain reliever and an antiseptic
effective against harmful viruses, bacteria
including E. coli, fungi and internal parasites,
making it an appropriate “immunization” herb. It can
be applied to cuts and other wounds to help them
heal without scarring. Noni is available as a
pasteurized juice diluted with other juices to
improve its flavor, and in capsules containing
powder made by drying noni juice at low temperature
or freeze-drying.
Unfortunately, the multilevel marketing of any
product may result in the widespread publication of
unverifiable anecdotal stories, wildly enthusiastic
claims, high-pressure sales tactics, and the
denigration of competing products. It is difficult
to separate fact from fiction in the early years of
a supplement's widespread promotion, and these are
the early years of noni's mass marketing. Because of
its long history of medicinal use in tropical
cultures and its lack of documented toxicity, noni
is probably as safe as its promoters claim. Health
food stores carry noni products from a number of
national brands.
OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT
Derived from the leathery green leaves of the
familiar olive tree Olea Europaea, olive leaf
extract is a broad-spectrum infection fighter. The
olive leaf has a long medical history, dating back
to ancient Egypt and popular in folk medicine for
centuries. In the 1850s, it was used to cure malaria
with a strong decoction made by boiling a handful of
leaves in a quart of water until half the water
evaporated. Early in the twentieth century, the
bitter compound oleuropein was isolated and
determined to be a disease-resistant ingredient. In
the early 1960s, Dutch researchers discovered
elenolic acid, a chemical agent within oleuropein
that has a powerful antibacterial effect and that
may be its most potent chemical ingredient. American
pharmaceutical researchers in the late 1960s showed
that calcium elenolate, a salt of elenolic acid,
inhibited the growth of every virus against which it
was tested, without any harmful influence on host
cell mechanisms. However, because the compound
rapidly binds to proteins in the blood, which
renders it ineffective, attempts to develop calcium
elenolate as a pharmaceutical drug failed.
Olive leaves remained an interesting topic of
research but of limited commercial value until the
development by East Park Research of a manufacturing
method that solved the problem of protein binding.
In his book Olive Leaf Extract (New York: Kensington
Books, 1997), medical journalist Morton Walker
reports that olive leaf extract has been shown to be
effective against over a hundred diseases caused by
bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. In addition
to fighting infection, it improves circulatory
health and may help prevent heart attacks by
improving the pumping action of the heart muscle,
lowering high blood pressure, eliminating atrial
fibrillation and preventing LDL cholesterol from
oxidizing. The extract has been used to heal peptic
ulcers, hiatal hernias, psoriasis, fibromyalgia,
rheumatoid arthritis and a host of other illnesses.
Any herb that kills fungi and parasites can cause
“die-off,” a side effect lasting a week to ten days
during which fatigue, excessive perspiration,
headache, diarrhea and other symptoms of
detoxification overwhelm the patient. This reaction
is caused by the sudden death of pathogens and
resulting demands made on the body's organs of
elimination as they remove dead yeast cells,
parasites and other waste products. Reducing the
dosage reduces the symptoms, although this gentler
strategy lengthens treatment time.
TEA TREE OIL
The essential oil of the leaves and branches of the
Australian tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, is
advertised as “a medicine kit in a bottle,” and the
description fits. Tea tree oil is used externally to
treat skin lesions, insect bites, rashes, burns,
abscesses, cuts, abrasions, infected wounds, and
fungal infections. Like eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil
is a specific for the respiratory system as well as
an all-purpose disinfectant. Australian and British
research conducted in the 1930s showed that a 15
percent tea tree oil solution is as effective as the
full-strength oil in killing yeast cells, mold,
bacteria and viruses. More recent laboratory tests
have shown that concentrations as low as 1 percent
are effective against streptococcus and other
gram-positive bacteria, E. coli and other
gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi.
Several brands of superior-quality tea tree oil are
available. For best results, use a
therapeutic-quality oil that is 100 percent
Melaleuca alternifolia imported from Australia. Tea
tree oil can be applied full-strength to the skin of
most adults, but it should be diluted before use on
children, pets, and those with sensitive skin. For
most applications, a 10 percent solution works well.
Dilute 1 tablespoon full-strength tea tree oil in
1/2 cup olive oil (or another carrier oil) and mix
by shaking.
Because essential oils do not dissolve in water, an
intermediate step is needed to prepare water-based
disinfectant sprays and washes. Use this procedure
to dilute any essential oil in water, tea, aloe vera
gel or other nonfat liquids. To prepare a 7 percent
tea tree oil solution, which many aromatherapists
recommend for topical application and household use,
add 1 tablespoon full-strength tea tree oil to 2
ounces (4 tablespoons) vodka, other grain alcohol,
vegetable glycerine or sulfated castor oil. Shake or
stir well and let stand for 10 seconds. If a film of
oil floats to the top, add more liquid and shake
again. When no oil floats to the surface, pour the
solution into a measuring cup and add enough aloe
vera juice or gel, herbal tea such as comfrey or
calendula, pure water or any combination of aloe,
tea and water to fill the cup to the 6-ounce or
3/4-cup mark. At that point, your solution will be
approximately 7 percent tea tree oil. If the
solution separates after standing, shake well just
before using.
A 7 percent solution of tea tree oil in water can be
sprayed on kitchen and bathroom surfaces, into air
ducts or air-conditioning units, and on telephone
receivers and mildewed shower walls. It can be added
to laundry wash water or simply sprayed into the
air. Tea tree oil should not be used every day on
every surface, for immunologists report that regular
exposure may cause bacteria, viruses and other
agents of infection to become resistant to the oil's
effects. Instead of relying on a single disinfecting
agent, use several in rotation.
OIL OF OREGANO
Common oregano, the culinary herb Origanum vulgare,
which is a member of the mint family, is the “true”
oregano of the herb garden, and it enjoys an ancient
medical reputation, having long been used as a
remedy for digestive, respiratory and rheumatic
problems and as a treatment for stings and bites. In
The Complete Aromatherapy Handbook (New York:
Sterling Publishing, Inc., 1990), Susanne Fischer-Rizzi
writes, “Oregano is one of the most effective
antiseptic essential oils for all kinds of
infections. This antiviral remedy helps stimulate
the stomach and the appetite and helps treat hiccups
and dyspepsia. Oregano also loosens phlegm, calms
coughing spells and helps treat chronic bronchitis.
Topically oregano has been used to help treat
cellulite, eczema, psoriasis, and chronic skin
problems. Using oregano in a sitz bath or as a
massage oil may help relieve menstrual problems.
Dosage: Take orally 1 to 2 drops, diluted, one to
two times daily. Caution: Do not use during
pregnancy.” For external application, dilute oregano
essential oil in a large quantity of carrier oil,
such as 5 drops essential oil per teaspoon (15 drops
per tablespoon, or 30 drops per fluid ounce) of
olive oil. Caution: Stronger solutions can burn or
irritate the skin.
Dr. Cass Ingram, a physician and surgeon, promotes
this fragrant herb in his book The Cure Is in the
Cupboard: How to Use Oregano for Better Health
(Buffalo Grove, IL: Knowledge House, 1997),
recommending both the dried herb and its
well-diluted essential oil as a treatment for
abscesses, allergies, arthritis, asthma, athlete's
foot, back pain, bites, bronchitis, bruising,
candidiasis, canker sores, colds, cold sores,
colitis, congestion, diarrhea, earaches, eczema,
fatigue, flu, fungal infections, gastritis, hearing
loss, neuritis, parasites, poison ivy, prostatitis,
psoriasis, ringworm, rosacea, shoulder pain,
sinusitis, splinter wounds, scalp conditions, tooth
and gum infections, traveler's diarrhea, ulcers,
urinary infections, warts, wounds and several other
conditions in adults and children.
Ingram's book and media appearances have caused a
flurry of interest in Origanum vulgare. Few
aromatherapy companies carry this essential oil;
most sell Thymus capitatus (Spanish oregano) labeled
as Oregano-Origanum. Be sure your oregano essential
oil is correctly labeled, of therapeutic quality and
from a reputable dealer. The essential oil of
oregano can be diluted like tea tree oil, described
above, to make a water-based antiseptic solution. In
addition, you can grow Origanum vulgare and either
dry the herb for use in capsules or make an alcohol
or glycerine tincture. You can also find a
commercially available alcohol tincture of
organically grown Origanum vulgaris, which shares
many of the properties of the essential oil. |
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