Monday, January 14th, 2008

ust the other day, a 17 year old boy was brought into my office. He had a swollen jaw. I examined it and recommend the father take the boy to their family MD for antibiotics.

Well, the next day the father came back. The boy was diagnosed with MRSA (aka the antibiotic-resistant Superbug). The father wanted to know what Ayurvedic treatments I could offer.

As you know MRSA (pronounced Mursa in the States) has evolved, mutated and adapted its DNA to be super-resistant to conventional treatments. It can survive a full dose of beta-lactam antibiotics, including penicillin, methicillin, and cephalosporins, according to Medical Microbiology.

How MRSA Probably Came About...

The MRSA didn't appear under scientists' microscopes until two years after treating it's predecessor with antibiotics..

Since then this superbug has been on a rampage. MRSA infections in the United States reached 127,000 in 1999 (according to a 2007 report in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). And that's only counting the infections that were treated in hospitals. Of those 127,000 infections, 11,000 people died.

These Figures Suggest That MRSA
Is Causing More Deaths than AIDS

By 2005, MRSA was associated with 18,650 hospital stay-related deaths, estimates the October 17, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Almost all these deaths were from people with weakened immune systems.

MRSA was once only labeled as a hospital acquired (HA-MRSA) infection. Now, however, it's turning up in schools, gyms and day care centers. It has been promoted to the rank of community acquired (CA-MRSA) infection.

A 17 Year Old High School Student's
 Battle With MRSA

17 year old Ashton Bonds from Virginia was rushed to hospital twice before he finally died from MRSA.

Last October, a 17 year old boy named Ashton Bonds from Virginia's Staunton River high school acquired a MRSA staph infection according to CNN. Ashton went to the Bedford Memorial Hospital on October 4th with a pain in his side. After they ruled out appendicitis they sent him home.

Three days later, he was readmitted. By that time the MRSA infection had spread to his kidneys, liver, lungs and the muscles around his heart.

Antibiotic treatment was useless. The doctors sedated him and put him on ventilator. They were ready to begin surgery to try to drain the infection from his lungs. Very sadly, a blood clot near his heart got to him first.

21 schools in his area were immediately closed down and given a thorough cleaning to prevent the spread of the disease.

Superbugs are Super-Intelligent

Bacteria scavange the remains of dead bacteria to see how they should mutate they protect themselves from antibiotics.

Okay, back to that boy and his father who came to my clinic with the swollen jaw. As you can see, it's no surprise they didn't want to rely on conventional medical treatment.

Fortunately, there's still a wealth of remedies available for dealing with MRSA and other skin infections. Of course, they are natural treatments that can't be patented and sold as a drug. If they can't be sold as a drug, who can afford to pay the millions of dollars required to get it FDA approved?

Thank Goodness for the
Natural Rainforests of the Amazon and India

The traditional people of the rainforest of South America and India have preserved natural remedies for the world's people.

These superbugs are Mother Earth telling us to keep ourselves healthy with what she provides for us. Why rely on processed antibiotics? Annihilation as the main means to rid the body of toxic bacteria does not work. This has been scientifically proven by the breakout of MRSA in hospitals throughout the US.

For the Boy With The Swollen Jaw I Prescribed...

Dr. Helen's prescription for combatting MRSA uses only natural herbs and spices. No reliance on antibiotics.

Guduchi - 1-2 capsules at night before sleeping. (Lab studies showed that guduchi reduced or eliminated E. coli and upper respiratory infection, according to the Indian Journal of Pharmacology 2003.)

Triphala - 1-2 capsules at night before sleeping. (A 2006 study by the University of Madras showed triphala inhibited growth of common bacterial isolates from HIV patients.)

Superbugs Versus Supermen

The media has us worried about how strong these superbugs are. Instead, you should be concerned about how strong and balanced your own body and immune system are.

According to Ayurveda, it's really a matter of how strong your body's tissues are. Just take note of the news: The people who are dying from MRSA are usually the elderly or those suffering from a weakened immune system.

In fact, in a healthy body, many microbiologist believe bacteria will mutate to become helpful to its host. This may explain why children who grow up with a pet before age one rarely have asthma or other allergies (more on this in a future issue).

The problem lies with your body's ability to release toxins. If your cells are congested with toxins your immune system cannot operate properly. Infections take place. In Ayurveda we teach that toxemia is the root cause of all disease. Most toxins come from the colon. Antibiotics do nothing to clean out toxic waste from your blood and gut.

In Issue #1, I shared with you how daily oil massage can help purify the body. Next week, I'll let you know about some inexpensive herbs and spices you should be taking to balance and clean up your gut. This is one of the best ways to prevent infections like MRSA.

Until then, you may want to bookmark or print out this page. With MRSA infections becoming so widespread you'll want to have the turmeric, guduchi and triphala prescription on hand. Of course, I recommend you still see a professional health advisor (such as a local Ayurvedic or Naturopathic doctor).

Above all, keep your body balanced and healthy by following the guidelines for your particularl body-type as outlined in my book (available as a free download).

P.S. If you'd like to order any of the herbs I recommended for treating a MRSA infection, I use and trust Organic India.

P.P.S. Please let others know about this article. The conventional medical system has people terrified of infections that their body should be able to fight off with a little TLAC (Tender-Loving Ayurvedic Care).

P.P.P.S. Please leave a comment below. Have you noticed how the mainstream media stays clear of recommending natural and effective alternatives for treating MRSA? Even though conventional antibiotic treatment is proving useless. Let me know your thoughts!