Nature really does give us everything we need - MRSA cured by Irish wildflower

[Holly_Hobby]

16 November 2007

MRSA faces defeat from wild flower

By Ailín Quinlan
A WILD flower growing in West Cork could hold the key to wiping out the deadly superbug MRSA, it has emerged.


Researchers at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) have revealed the bright yellow flower known as inula helenium kills the lethal bug, which is resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics on the market.

Inula helenium is a tall plant which grows wild in west Cork and blossoms in late summer. It’s one of two herbs involved in a €35,000 research project carried out at CIT. The other, pulsatilla vulgaris, also proved highly effective against the potentially fatal MRSA bug.

...

http://www.examiner.ie/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg%3Direland-qqqm%3Direland-qqqa%3Direland-qqqid%3D48105-qqqx%3D1.asp

[AngryAmish]

1. so does bleach

Doesn't mean I want to injest bleach...

[Holly_Hobby]

5. Maybe it's topical - article doesn't say n/t

[Warpy]

6. The herbal stuff usually is topical

What we need are new systemic antibiotics that will fight it for MRSA pneumonia and post surgical infections.

[kestrel91316]

7. Probably works about like triple antibiotic ointment. Really great stuff,

but not for internal use......

[Cha]

73. Nature does give

us everything to cure and heal and "bleach" has nothing fucking to do with it. But, yeah, you be sure and not ingest bleach..cause we wouldn't want you to kill yourself.

[Richard Steele]

2. K&R

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Yes. Our native, Peruvian guide pointed out numerous plants and flowers that the Incas, and later,

the people of Peru, used to treat many illnesses and conditions. He even had his own homemade sun screen.

[aquart]

4. Nifty.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. Great.

All they have to do is identify the active compound, extract it, characterize it, synthesize it and then test it.

We should know sometime within the next twenty years that no, no it's not going to work.

[MADem]

9. Good thing the FDA ain't running this study!!! nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. Huh?

If it ever comes to the US, they'll need FDA approval, just like any other medicine.

[MADem]

17. Not if it's an HERBAL concoction, they won't. Here, have some echinacea!!! nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Not if people plan on treating MRSA they won't.

If people want to consume the flower as a supplement for it's nutritional value, or because it realigns their seasonal affective chakras, or some such bullshit, then sure.

But if people are going to use it as a drug then the FDA will treat it like any other drug.

[MADem]

25. Well, I know lots of folk who treat many spices and herbs like drugs.

And lots of them work like drugs, too. Pissed off? Wound up? Take some passionflower! Works like a charm! Skin problem? Kitchen burn? Aloe vera plant will handle that. There are tons of herbs that do the trick--the turmeric mentioned on this thread was a common home remedy in Iran for cuts and scrapes. It does work.

People don't go into the herbal section of their grocery or pharmacy, or go buy sacks of ground spices, to realign chakras. They do it because they are looking for treatments for conditions that are an alternative to harsh synthetic pharmaceuticals.

I am not in the "all drugs are bad" club. But I do think if you can get the same result with a plant, go for that first.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

27. Yeah, and it's probably people like that...

that we need new antibiotics in the first place.

[MADem]

33. ???

My great great grandmother was an herbalist, and she didn't cause anyone to 'need new antibiotics.'

She lived to over a hundred, didn't get sick till the day she died, treated many of her friends and neighbors as there was no doctor in the area, and her daughter almost made it that far, too.

Whatever.

You're obliquely suggesting that people who use herbs are 'unclean' or cause disease, or something, so I guess there's no point in continuing this little back-n-forth.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

39. She certainly didn't live to be one hundred with MRSA.

And it's because of quacks, herb using and otherwise, that we've got a problem with drug resistance bacteria now.

[Hoof Hearted]

54. Uh, no actually. You're wrong.

It's the historical over-prescribing of existing antibiotics for everything from the sniffles to Johnny's scraped knee coupled with the widespread failure of patients to complete the course of treatment. Some quit taking their pills when their symptoms disappear because they don't think they need it anymore and others deliberately hoard the last few pills to "save for emergencies". The end result either way is resistant bacteria. Lather, rinse and repeat with a new drug.

Doesn't have shit to do with people who use herbal compounds for therapeutic purposes.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

59. That's my point.

"historical over-prescribing of existing antibiotics for everything from the sniffles to Johnny's scraped knee coupled with the widespread failure of patients to complete the course of treatment."

Exactly. Quacks and woos.

[MADem]

64. So why lay that shit on my great grandmother, who never took an antibiotic in her life?

Your argument failed.

[diane in sf]

68. And dosing feed animals with large amounts of antibiotics.

[MADem]

63. I don't think we "have a problem" with people using HERBS. It's people using ANTIBIOTICS

for a fucking head cold that are causing the problem.

[Quantess]

83. Abso-frickin-lutely.

The way they have been overused, Antibiotics are doing more harm than good.

I haven't taken any antibiotic for 12 years, even though medical professionals have tried to get me to take them. Because of my severe allergy to penicillin and several other antibiotics, I have refused. As it turned out, I didn't need them anyway, because I haven't developed any infections. And better yet, my immune system is now stronger than the wimpified immune system of someone who has been taking antibiotics for evey little sniffle and scrape.

[KittyWampus]

77. So you're calling the allopathic doctors who prescribe antibiotics for head colds quacks and woos.

We finally agree on something.

Oh, and now would be a great time to point out the many people who use antibiotics and do NOT take the full course.

Allopathic medicine works best in the labratory where everything is controlled. But in the real world, it's the cause of MAJOR blowback.

[LeftishBrit]

31. These are drugs! - just because it's from a plant doesn't make it not a drug.

Many medical drugs are currently or formerly derived from plant substances: quinine and its derivatives; aspirin; digitalis; atropine; morphine; the anti-cancer drug Taxol; and no doubt many others.

As regards what are usually called 'herbal medicines', there is evidence that St Johns Wort is fairly effective in treating mild, but not severe, depression; and, while evidence is conflicting, some studies suggest that Echinacea may have a limited effect on colds (of course, there is no known drug that has *more* than a limited effect on colds). But, like any other medicine, these medicines have side-effects.

Conventional medicine does recognize the power of plants; but not *all* plant substances are effective; and there is no effective medication which can't also be dangerous under some circumstances.

[MADem]

35. I know that they have the same properties as drugs, but if they were drugs, you'd pay through the

nose for them. Here, in the US, they are "herbal supplements" because if they were anything else, you'd be standing in line at the pharmacy counter and forking over your co-pay, IF you have prescription drug insurance, that is.

Otherwise, you'd pay through the nose to have someone in a white coat count out a few pills for you.

[LeftishBrit]

65. First of all, you should NOT be paying through the nose, and in Europe you wouldn't be

Secondly, the 'person in a white coat' helps to ensure your safety. With any drug, wherever it comes from, it's desirable and often essential to have someone who can diagnose your needs in the first place; tailor the drug and dosage to your needs; monitor symptoms and side effects; and alter the drug or dosage if it doesn't work.

Universal health care is IMO the way to go - not saving money by turning medicine into a DIY activity, or, still worse, putting it into the hands of unregulated private businesspeople. 'Small Pharma' is just as much of a racket for the individuals who practice it as 'Big Pharma', and is less regulated.

[MADem]

66. I personally don't pay through the nose; military pharmacies give me what I need for free.

But many Americans do. And yeah, health care for all would be nice.

Some people, for their own reasons, prefer to go herbal first. I tend to agree with them. If the herbal solution doesn't give you relief, or you're terribly ill, go for the big guns. But often as not, a skin irritation that could be solved with aloe vera is treated by Corporate Medicine/Big Pharma with a steroid creme. That kind of 'cannon ball to swat a fly' approach is just unneccessary IMO. YMMV.

Some of those white coats are better than others. Some hand out the wrong shit--you see stories about that all the time.

Of course, the FDA is thinking about turning those white coats into MINI doctors-- see here:

http://www.ksn.com/news/health/11317981.html

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 14, 2007 (NBC) -- A plan debated Wednesday at the FDA would let patients go straight to their pharmacists for many drugs now available by prescription only.

A potential new class of behind-the-counter drugs could include birth control pills, cholesterol drugs, and migraine medicine....This system, now used in almost a dozen countries, would require that pharmacists play a bigger role in talking to patients about their needs and drug risks.

Pharmacists are on board with that.

"Increased access, increased appropriate use of medicines and at the end of the day better health outcomes is something that ultimately benefits consumers nation wide," says James Appleby, COO, American Pharmacists Association.

But many do worry about making drug decisions apart from doctors.

"You've got to be exact on that because if you tell them something else, then they give you another prescription thinking that they're following your diagnosis. That may not be too good," says pharmacy customer Andrew Mealy.

"How do you know what your cholesterol level is and if you need the drugs unless you've seen the doctor?" wonders Nanne Eliot, another customer...."I think a lot of consumer groups see both a gain and a real danger so it has to be done right," says Bill Vaughan of the Consumers Union.

[KittyWampus]

79. Funny thing, European countries do have universal health care but many people STILL go to herbs 1st

Why should someone in a white coat have to prescribe a synthesized drug to replace an herb that I already know will work for certain symptoms?

Because it validates YOUR world view?

[malaise]

40. Here in Jamaica we use way more plants and

herbs rather than their chemical extracts. Aloe vera is boss - we use it for everything related to the skin. We drink a cup of fresh rosemary and mint tea every night. If a baby has fever people rub it down with tamerind leaves. People drink tea from soursop leaves for stress and so on.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

42. Yeah, that turned out well for Bob Marley.

:shrug:

[Bongo Prophet]

50. You are just a joy to be around aren't you? Did the poster say herbs cured cancer?

No, of course not.

The use of herbs has eased much suffering over the centuries, before modern medicine.
Many modern medicines are synthesized improvements based on pretty old traditions, and I am glad that chemists have done this, rather than scoffed at them.
Of course you know this, but want to snark at people.
Watch out,they might have woo on them, which is vomit inducing to some.
Have at it, I guess.

I agree people overuse antibiotics,(or take for less than their run) - and doctors can over prescribe them.
I am not sure what that has to do with herbs.

I am also not sure if there is any medication for what you have.

[malaise]

52. There are some illnesses that require a doctor

Bob went to Germany for his treatment. That was the strangest cancer ever. Started with his toe. I've never come to terms with that.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

53. It started with a soccer injury.

He could have taken antibiotics. But no, he decided to try alternative medicine.

[malaise]

56. I know but there are loads of natural antibiotics n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

58. Yeah, like penicillin.

The good natural antibiotics get studied by scientists, made into proper drugs by pharmacists, and given by doctors, who know the difference between real medicine and quackery.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. You forgot the most important step

Spending millions of dollars to convice people that the wild flower itself, available for free, is flat-out dangerous and anyone who uses it will die a very horrible death. Only the very expensive synthetic version is in safe. :eyes:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. two problems, three counting the conspiracy theory stuff.

1. If people used the wildflower, it'd rather quickly wind up extinct.

2. Assuming, and it's a big assumption, but assuming if you were able to cultivate the flower and grow vast fields of it, enough for everybody's needs, then you'd still have the problem of resistance.

So synthesis is pretty much unavoidable.

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. Which is exactly what Big Pharma wants

Anything that might possibly cut into their profits must be fought tooth and nail.

I'm being horribly cynical again, aren't I? Sorry.

:hide:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Cynical?

I wouldn't even say lucid.

Why are you bringing up big pharma?

[TechBear_Seattle]

22. Someone is going to want to make a profit on this product

And history shows time and time again that whoever gets the patent for the next "miracle drug" will jack the price up as high as possible in order to maximize that profit. That people might die without the drug is completely irrelevant; witness the high price for vancomycin, one of the drugs-of-last-resort for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections: this page from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (part of the National Institutes of Health), dated 2004, gives an acquisition price of 9.01 USD for a single dose of the drug, with a total cost of 29 USD to 43 USD per dose when the cost of administration and oversight is included. When even this drug becomes less effective, do you really think Big Pharma is going to sell its replacement for a few cents a pill?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. Well sure.

However cures MRSA deserves a profit.

And is some company besides big pharma does it, that company is going to be big pharma after it makes all that money.

[TZ]

43. Umm you do know that alot of NIH research is carried out

with the assistance of "Big Pharma"? Because Pharmaceuticals have the resources that the government does not.
There are huge amounts of medical research that COULD NOT be accomplished without the money and resources (both people and equipment) that Pharmaceuticals supply. They get the money to accomplish this through government grants. Perhaps then you believe that all government scientists are money grubbers as well?

[Vanje]

75. Inula helenium is a common plant with a wordwide distribution

Grows like a weed!

http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?mode=Scientific+Name&keywordquery=Inula+helenium

[madmom]

84. there in lies the problem.....

"identify the active compound, extract it, characterize it, synthesize it" why not use it in it's natural form, the reason a lot of our drugs are so expensive is because of this exact thing, natural is usually better.

[StarryNite]

15. Manuka Honey looks promising too

Active manuka honey looks like it could be very helpful in fighting MRSA too.


Prevent MRSA With Manuka Honey
Worried about MRSA? Ask for honey dressings, now available on the NHS.

"All honey, including Manuka honey, contains hydrogen peroxide which is produced when the bees add an enzyme to the nectar. Hydrogen peroxide is an acid, but because of the enzyme, it's produced continuously in the honey and at fairly low levels. This means the hydrogen peroxide can be effective against bacteria, but is not at high enough levels to cause harm to the tissues of the body."

"Manuka honey is special because it contains something that we still haven't identified, but which must come from the plant because it's in no other honey, anywhere in New Zealand or Australia, or in any closely related species in the 'Jelly Bush', as we call it."

"What we do know is that different plants have different components in the nectar and some of these stabilise and destabilise that enzyme, so bees add different amounts of the enzyme to different nectars depending on how watery they are when harvested from the plant. They add more enzymes to the more watery nectars and that is why honey can vary one hundred fold in antibacterial qualities."

Dr Molan and his team have been amazed at the scope of bacteria Manuka honey is effective against, and it's ability to heal ulcerated open wounds.

"First we conducted lots of laboratory tests which have shown it has such a broad spectrum of activity as an anti-microbial agent. It is effective on many differennt tpes of bacteri which aantibiotics generally don' cover. There has also been work in New Zealand hospitals where people have had MRSA infections, and they've cleared up after treatment with Manuka honey dressings."

http://www.50connect.co.uk/index.asp?main=http%3A//www.50connect.co.uk/50c/articlePages/health_index.asp%3Fsc%3Dhealthyeating%26aID%3D12175

Active Manuka Honey seems to be effective against MRSA = Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus, also called Golden Staph or Hospital Superbug.

Active Manuka Honey has been researched over 20 years by Dr. Peter Molan at the Waikato University in New Zealand and found to naturally destroy staph aureus, streptococcus as well as h. pylori.

From out Customer Testimonies, we know that Active Manuka Honey has also proven to be effective against wounds contaminated with MRSA and VRE staph infections.

~snip~

Natural Method for treating MRSA?

Active Manuka Honey is a naturally organic honey, collected from the wild, un-cultivated tea tree bush in New Zealand and has stood the test of time. This medicinal honey has been researched by Dr. Peter Molan for over 2 decades and was found to naturally destroy staph, strep and h. pylori. According to our own Customer Photo Testimonies received during the past 13 years since 1994, this honey also seems to successfully destroy the Hospital Superbug MRSA and VRE (Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci).

Manuka Oil also seems to be quite effective against MRSA staph infections on the surface of the skin. After washing the skin with Propolis Soap (containing Manuka Honey and Manuka Oil), apply Manuka Oil to the clean skin when experiencing an itch, rash, scratch or skin irritation to help sooth and combat MRSA naturally.

http://www.manukahoneyusa.com/mrsa-infection.htm

Here is the testimonies address:

http://www.manukahoneyusa.com/customer-testimonies-by-illness.htm

[BuddhaGirl]

19. Very cool!!!

I use honey on my scratches and burns...it heals things much quicker than the OTC junk!

[StarryNite]

24. Me too!

I had a blister on my heel that I used Neosporin on for about a week. I kept applying that stuff and replacing the bandage each time. After a week it looked and felt exactly the same as it did when I started treating it. Then I read about manuka honey, which of course I didn't have. So I tried just regular honey and a bandage. The next day I could see it was already getting better. By day three it was almost completely healed.

[arikara]

16. Tumeric also is supposed to work

very quickly too.

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/boils.html#mrsacure

Be sure to scroll down to the tumeric section.

[MADem]

18. They use that shit in India for EVERYTHING, damn near! Iran too! nt

[StarryNite]

20. I love Earth Clinic

It's a very interesting website.

[arikara]

49. I've had excellent results from the remedies on that site

for example I went off Losec for acid reflux by using the apple cider vinegar with baking soda cure. And as an added bonus, I've lost 35 lbs and its worked wonders for my aches and pains I guess all by normalizing my body ph.

My husband picked up MRSA from a visit to the emergency ward. His family doctor totally bungled his treatment by prescribing 4 kinds of antibiotics. This was before I knew about Earth Clinic. Now I keep both of us loaded with tumeric - I buy the spice in bulk and do up the capsules myself... and he's been in the hospital several times without catching anything. I know that's not considered scientific enough for the annoying debunker person that I have on ignore, but at least it isn't hurting anything and a man who is already prescribed handfuls of pills is not forced to take something more dangerous than tumeric to get rid of another dangerous hospital infection.

[kimmerspixelated]

26. OIl of Oregano

works very well, too. Oreganobiotic, I believe, also comes in a topical cream and I have used it successfully. Thanks for posting this Holly Hobby. I must say, I am jealous! Seems like everytime I post anything about how nature takes care of us for the asking, or anything about natural cures, I get slapped silly by the naysayers of natural care on this site. The usual hammerheads aren't out tonight, I guess!

[bonito]

28. I've heard that as well

I use silver ions it works great.

[arikara]

51. I use colloidal silver for a lot too.

And it is wonderful stuff. But I did find that it didn't get rid of my husband's MRSA boils. Perhaps though the silver did stop it from spreading, because I've read horror stories about how sick some people get from MRSA. With already having a compromised immune system he still wasn't as bad off as a lot of people.

[bonito]

62. I got a good method for

celulitus using silver and msm, mix a small batch like a mud consistency, soak a 4 by 4 place over infected area, cover with plastic wrap and tape around the perimeter to keep the moisture in over night. I have used both of these things in many ways with excellent results as well.
mrsa in the lungs was an easy one though.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

29. I get a kick out of the scientifically illiterate.

The sort of people who think that scientists finding novel natural products in botanical sources is equivalent to their all natural snake oil.

[kimmerspixelated]

30. Synthetics never solved a damn thing. Period!

Doesn't the fact that natural folk medicines, if you want to call it that, have been around for ages count for anything? Modern medicine just masks symptoms, they don't cure anything. Wasn't it Hippocrates that said, "Let food be thy medicine", and it was also a nobel prize winner that said, (N/T at the moment), the body can heal itself if given the proper NUTRIENTS! I'm sure he was definitely scientifically illiterate! :rant:

[blondeatlast]

32. Um, wrong. See: insulin. I know, I know, a product of Big Pharma,

but I've found it tremendously useful...

[kimmerspixelated]

36. I'm certainly not upset at you...

But have you tried supporting your system with Chromium and Cinnamon-which has shown to reduce blood sugar levels naturally?

[TZ]

44. Obviously not....

Since this person is still healthy enough to post. Diabetes is a life threatening illness that requires INSULIN PRODUCTION FROM THE PANCREAS. And those substances DO NOTHING to aid that

[blondeatlast]

71. Why on earth should I? Insulin has been marvelously successful for me for 3 decades.

I've had no side effects beyong an very occasional low blood sugar. Pretty good trade-off if you ask me.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. LOL

Have you tried the all natural cure of putting tinfoil hat on your head, spinning in circles, and going "woo woo woo?"

[blondeatlast]

80. Nah, I don't like the side effects.

The tinfoil plays hell with my dye job. :rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. Synthetics solve lots of things.

Headaches, some kinds of cancer, gonorrhea, diarrhea, labor pains, strep throat, tuberculosis, high blood pressure...

The list goes on and on.

"Modern medicine just masks symptoms, they don't cure anything."

See, this is the sort of thing I'm talking about when I said scientific illiteracy.

"Wasn't it Hippocrates that said, "Let food be thy medicine""

It was Hippocrates that said disease was caused by an imbalance of humors.

"it was also a nobel prize winner that said, (N/T at the moment), the body can heal itself if given the proper NUTRIENTS!"

Did he say the body could heal itself from an MRSA infection? Probably not.

[TZ]

41. That guy died of cancer too

Nobel prize winning does not make one omniscient. Or perhaps you think that James Watson was speaking the truth when he said that blacks were not as intelligent as whites? Scientists can say dumb things, especially when talking about things not in their specialty
As for "synthetics" never solving anything...you might want to read about GENE THERAPY...The faulty gene which causes disese (like Parkinson's for instance) is replaced with a gene that works properly (this is an oversimplification).
Also see antibiotics, anti-virals. etc. They attack the problem directly.

[LeftishBrit]

69. Modern medicine has cured many infections; cancer; etc.

No one has died of smallpox for many years; polio, diphtheria and many other diseases are preventable in many countries; very few women die in childbirth; most people with pneumonia get cured; the life expectancy in developed countries has gone WAY up. One in six babies died in their first year 100 years ago; even in 1960 infant mortality was about three times what it is now. Even many people with cancer - including three-quarters of children with leukemia - get cured nowadays. 'Masking symptoms' - well, if one of the symptoms is early death, I'm glad to mask it!

I entirely agree on the importance of healthy eating, and attention to nutrition; and few in modern medicine would NOT consider this important. Healthy eating and lifestyle should be our first line of defence and *are* likely to reduce the need for medicine of any sort; but sometimes people *do* need modern medicine, and should not be denied it out of some dogma. Other people on this thread have suggested trying herbals *first* and then going to more powerful medicines if the former don't work, but your post seems to reject the possibility of *ever* using modern medicine - which is just as dangerously fundamentalist as denying women birth control out of religious dogma.

[BuddhaGirl]

34. you mean the "woo haters?"

I just don't get them or their judgementalism.

[TZ]

48. yes those silly people who insist on having scientific evidence

that substances actually do what they claim to do. Why would anybody want a cure that works?

[BuddhaGirl]

55. I do want cures that work

it's just I prefer alternative treatments, as they work for me. If it's not "scientific" enough for you, then don't use them. Simple as that.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

60. It's quite simple.

I laugh at the alternative medicine woo-woos for the same reason I laugh at creationism woo-woos, anti-global warming woo-woos, and holocaust denial woo-woos.

I dislike them for their capacity to do harm.

[KittyWampus]

82. ah, but you forget the allopathic woos. Taking medication AS prescribed is a leading cause of death

and that was reported in JAMA. You know the journal the major allopathic woos publish in.

[LeftishBrit]

70. If you or your family depended on some form of modern medicine for your life or quality of life

you might also be 'judgemental' of those who wish to snatch it from you out of ideology.

I am not at all judgemental of people using any treatment that makes them feel better. But when people campaign ideologically against modern medicine, it makes me feel just the same way that it does when religious fundamentalists campaign ideologically against birth control or stem cell research.

[blondeatlast]

81. A-effin'-men. As a lifetime diabetic, I think any parent/guardian who denies

their child proven medical treatment ought to be tried for abuse--or even murder.

I thank my parents for ignoring some of their friends' advice and actually agreeing to put me (gasp!) insulin.

[StarryNite]

46. You spoke too soon.

[Holly_Hobby]

61. You're welcome

5 years ago, my dog was diagnosed with grade IV mast cell cancer. The tumor was mostly removed, but it had grown into the muscles that support his tail. The vet called me during surgery, I said leave the tail intact.

I did some quick research while he stayed at the vet the next day, and ordered Turmeric. When I picked up my dog, my vet gave him 8 or 9 months to live.

I started the Turmeric about a week later, gave it to him every day, and he lived until LAST WEEK, symptom free, pain free and happy. He died at age 13! Not age 8 like the vet said.

Anyway...another antibiotic to treat MRSA will work for a while, but then the bacteria will again mutate - nature ALWAYS fights back. That's why I think this Irish wildflower research is so important.

[H2O Man]

45. A good book

for people with an interest in this general topic is "Indian Herbalogy of North America," by Alma Hutchens. It was originally published in 1973, and re-issued in 1991 in a paperback edition.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

47. Here's another book recommendation.

http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780764554308

[BuddhaGirl]

57. Cool - I will check it out!

:hi:

[windoe]

67. Integrative medicine

would work best in this country. Empowering the individual to make informed decisions, but with greater choices and without insurance companies enabling big pharma to run the show. I hope for this one day.
Simply, as long as one chooses medical treatment that does not harm another, then life and death is in the power of the individual.

[earth mom]

72. Big Pharma & * Co isn't happy about this no doubt. ROFL!

They are trying to kill us off and kill off Homeopathy so get your info and stock up now ya'll! I have 3 alternative medicine books on my shelf and am trying to stock up on remedies as we go.

Hubby's toothache was recently cured by a swig of peroxide (swish in mouth a few seconds, do NOT swallow, then spit out), once a day for 3 days AND Co-enzyme Q 10. :thumbsup:

[Beelzebud]

74. Homeopathy? LOL wow...

A practitioner of homeopathy recently died of a drug overdose.

He forgot to take his medication!

Seriously, homeopathy is just insane. You honestly believe that diluting something makes it stronger?

[Pavulon]

76. Science and nature are not separate

many drugs come from nature. Digitalis is one.


However the application of the scientific method to evaluate the effects of drugs and test them should be in place. We have seen the results recently of the short circuiting of this process.

Nature is a great source for many things, medicine is one of them.

[Quantess]

85. Aspirin comes from birch trees.

Asians use a lot of plant compounds in medicine.
Here in the USA, we have giant pharmaceutical companies who prefer that medicines are not plant derived, because they aren't as profitable.

[lovuian]

78. Awesome News and yet Global Warming is killing

our forests