Natural Solutions to Drug-Resistant Infections

[Guest guest]

Natural Solutions to Drug-Resistant Infections

_http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=1

9 & Itemid=58_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=19 & It\

emid=58)

 

By CJ Puotinen

 

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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=antibiotics & submit=Search & searchphrase=exac

t & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=immune+system & submit

=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=staphylococcus & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=n

ewest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=antibiotic+resistanc & submit=Search & searchphr

ase=exact & ordering=newest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=streptococcus & submit=Search &

searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) _pneumoniae_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=pneumoniae & submit=Se

arch & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , which causes _pneumonia_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=pn

eumonia & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , childhood _ear

infections_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=ear+infection & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=ne

west) and meningitis; mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB; and

neisseria gonorrhoea, which causes gonorrhea. " Hospitals favor the

development of harmful _pathogens_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=pathogens & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & orde

ring=newest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & search

word=gastrointestinal & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

disease. Some of the viruses detected in coastal waters are linked to _heart

disease_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=heart+disease & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest

) , _diabetes_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=diabetes & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newes

t) , _meningitis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=meningitis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering

=newest) and _hepatitis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=hepatitis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & o

rdering=newest) . " 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=water+pollution & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & orderin

g=newest) . 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=drinking+water & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & order

ing=newest) . Municipal _water contamination_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=water+contamination & subm

it=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) became a national concern

when chemical _pesticides_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=pesticide & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & orde

ring=newest) , _fertilizers_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=fertilizer & submit=Search & searchphrase=exa

ct & ordering=newest) , industrial _solvents_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=solvent & submit=Search & sear

chphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , road salt, bacteria, parasites and

_heavy metals_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=heavy+metals & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest

) found their way into kitchen faucets. Now pharmaceutical drugs,

including antibiotics, _hormones_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=hormones & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ord

ering=newest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=estradiol & submit=Search

& searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) .

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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Grapefruit+Seed & submit=Search & searchphrase=e

xact & ordering=newest)

There are many _herbs_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=herb & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=n

ewest) and _essential oils_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=essential+oils & submit=Search & searchphras

e=exact & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Artemisia+an

nua & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) (_annual wormwood_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchw

ord=annual+wormwood & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) or

_sweet Annie_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=sweet+Annie & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newe

st) ) and 200 mg _Echinacea angustifolia_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=co

m_search & Itemid=5 & searchword=Echinacea & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering\

=newest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Noni & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

Also known as the _Indian mulberry_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Indian+mulberry & submit=Search & sear

chphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , noni (_Morinda citrifolia_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Morinda+c

itrifolia & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) ) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=E.+coli & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=new

est) , _fungi_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=fungi & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

and internal _parasites_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=parasites & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & o

rdering=newest) , making it an appropriate " _immunization_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=immunizatio

n & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) " 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Olive+Leaf+Extract & submit=Search & searchphrase=exa

ct & ordering=newest)

Derived from the leathery green leaves of the familiar olive tree _Olea

Europaea_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Olea+Europaea & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

, 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=

malaria & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=oleuropein & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest

) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=calcium+elenolate & sub

mit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=high+blood+pressure & submit=Search & searc

hphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , eliminating atrial fibrillation and

preventing LDL _cholesterol_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=cholesterol+ & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ord

ering=newest) from oxidizing. The extract has been used to heal _peptic

ulcers_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=peptic+ulcers & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

, _hiatal hernias_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=hiatal+hernias & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ord

ering=newest) , _psoriasis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=psoriasis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact &

ordering=newest) , _fibromyalgia_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=fibromyalgia & submit=Search & searchphr

ase=exact & ordering=newest) , _rheumatoid arthritis_

(http://www.wellbeingjourna

l.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword=rheumatoid+arthritis & submi\

t=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Tea+Tree+Oil & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=

newest)

The essential oil of the leaves and branches of the Australian tea tree,

_Melaleuca alternifolia_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Melaleuca+alternifol & submit=Search & searchphrase

=exact & ordering=newest) , is advertised as " a medicine kit in a bottle, "

and the description fits. Tea tree oil is used externally to treat _skin

lesions_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=skin+lesions & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) ,

_insect bites_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=insect+bites & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=n

ewest) , _rashes_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=rashes & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newe

st) , _burns_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=burns & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

, _abscesses_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=abscesses & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newe

st) , cuts, abrasions, _infected wounds_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=infected+wounds & submit=Searc

h & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , and _fungal infections_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=fungal

+infections & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) . Like

_eucalyptus_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=eucalyptus & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=yeast & submit=Search & searchphrase=exac

t & ordering=newest) cells, _mold_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=mold & submit=Search & searchphrase=exac

t & ordering=newest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=fungi & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ord

ering=newest) .

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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=aloe+vera & s

ubmit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=comfrey & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) or

_calendula_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=calendula & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

, 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Oil+of+Oregano & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & order

ing=newest)

Common _oregano_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=oregano & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newe

st) , the culinary herb _Origanum vulgare_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Origanum+vulgare & submit=Se

arch & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=dig

estive & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _respiratory_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchwo

rd=respiratory & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) and

_rheumatic_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=rheumatic & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=hiccups & submit=Search & se

archphrase=exact & ordering=newest) and _dyspepsia_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=dyspepsia & submit=Se

arch & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) . Oregano also loosens phlegm,

calms coughing spells and helps treat chronic _bronchitis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=bronchitis & sub

mit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) . Topically oregano has

been used to help treat _cellulite_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & sea

rchword=cellulite & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _eczema_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=eczema & submit=Search & searchphrase=exac

t & ordering=newest) , _psoriasis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=psoriasis & submit=Search & searchphrase=

exact & ordering=newest) , and chronic skin problems. Using oregano in a

sitz bath or as a _massage oil_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=massage+oil & submit=Search & searchphrase=exa

ct & ordering=newest) may help relieve _menstrual_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=menstrual & submit=Sear

ch & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=absce

sses & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _allergies_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=a

llergies & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _arthritis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchwo

rd=arthritis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _asthma_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchw

ord=asthma & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _athlete's

foot_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=athlete's+foot & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

, _back pain_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=back+pain & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newe

st) , _bites_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=bites & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest)

, _bronchitis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=bronchitis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=new

est) , _bruising_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=bruising & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=n

ewest) , _candidiasis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=candidiasis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & or

dering=newest) , _canker sores_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=canker+sores & submit=Search & searchphra

se=exact & ordering=newest) , _colds_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=colds & submit=Search & searchphrase=ex

act & ordering=newest) , _cold sores_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=cold+sores & submit=Search & searchph

rase=exact & ordering=newest) , _colitis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=colitis & submit=Search & searchphr

ase=exact & ordering=newest) , _congestion_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=congestion & submit=Search & sea

rchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _diarrhea_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=diarrhea & submit=Search & s

earchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _earaches_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=earaches & submit=Search

& searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _eczema_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=eczema & submit=Search & s

earchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _fatigue_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=fatigue & submit=Search & s

earchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _flu_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=flu & submit=Search & searchphr

ase=exact & ordering=newest) , _fungal infections_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=fungal+infections & su

bmit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _gastritis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=gastritis

& submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _hearing loss_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=h

earing+loss & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _neuritis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchw

ord=neuritis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) ,

_parasites_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=parasites & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) ,

_poison ivy_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=poison+ivy & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) ,

_prostatitis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=prostatitis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=new

est) , _psoriasis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=psoriasis & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering

=newest) , _ringworm_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=ringworm & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & orderi

ng=newest) , _rosacea_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=rosacea & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & orderi

ng=newest) , _shoulder pain_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=shoulder+pain & submit=Search & searchphrase

=exact & ordering=newest) , _sinusitis_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=sinusitis & submit=Search & searchphr

ase=exact & ordering=newest) , _splinter wounds_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=splinter+wounds & submit

=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _scalp conditions_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=scalp

+conditions & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _tooth _

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchwo

rd=tooth+infections & submit=Search & searchphrase=all & ordering=newest) and

_gum_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=gum+infections & submit=Search & searchphrase=all & ordering=newest)

infections, traveler's _diarrhea_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=diarrhea & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact

& ordering=newest) , _ulcers_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=ulcers & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & o

rdering=newest) , _urinary infections_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=urinary+infections & submit=Sear

ch & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _warts_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=warts & submit=Search & se

archphrase=exact & ordering=newest) , _wounds_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=wounds & submit=Search & sear

chphrase=exact & ordering=newest) 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_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=aromatherapy & submit=Search & searchph

rase=exact & ordering=newest) companies carry this essential oil; most sell

_Thymus capitatus_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Thymus+capitatus & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ord

ering=newest) (_Spanish oregano_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Spanish+oregano & submit=Search & search

phrase=exact & ordering=newest) ) labeled as _Oregano-Origanum_

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_search & Itemid=5 & searchword\

=Oregano-O

riganum & submit=Search & searchphrase=exact & ordering=newest) . 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.

This article is from Well Being Journal, January/February 2000, Volume 9,

#1 (out of print). _See all available back issues and article feature

titles._

(http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart & page=shop.brows\

e & category_id=1 & Itemid=53)

__

 

CJ Puotinen is the author of eleven books about medicinal herbs for pets

and people, including Herbs for the Heart, The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet

Care, and Natural Remedies for Dogs and Cats, all published by Keats

Publishing. She writes the Question and Answer column for the Northeast Herbal

Association Journal ( " Ask Goldie, " by Goldie Oatstraw). For information about

the Northeast Herbal Association, which has members throughout the U.S. and

Canada, write to NEHA, PO Box 10, Newport, NY 13416-0010.