Something You Need To Know About: MRSA

There has been quite a bit of news in the media over the last week about a so-called super bug called MRSA. A student in Virginia died after being infected with MRSA and there are three reported cases here in Central New York where I live. What is MRSA? And what, if anything can we do about it? Read on.

MRSA is an acronym which stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It's a bacterial infection and is usually spread by skin to skin contact. According to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, it was first discovered in hospitals in 1968. At that time it was primarily found in hospitalized patients and those who were recently hospitalized. In the 1990's MRSA mutated and began to show up in otherwise healthy, non-hospitalized people. Now MRSA infections are more common in the United States than previously thought, and is being found more frequently outside of hospitals. This latest observation was published in today's issue of JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association.

MRSA infections are usually found on skin or in surface wounds, but it can travel inside of the body and attack blood, bones, joints, lungs and heart valves, causing potential life-threatening conditions. My own sister-in-law passed away earlier this year from a MRSA infection which attacked her heart valves. According to the Mayo Clinic, Vancomycin is one of the few antibiotics left which is effective against most MRSA infections, but sometimes even the strongest antibiotics available don't work. It is known that MRSA is a bacterium which is rapidly mutating in communities and may soon be untreatable by any known antibiotics.

Those most at risk for contracting MRSA infections are those with weakened or underdeveloped immune systems such as older people, children and those with severe or chronic illnesses. Those who engage in contact sports or share sports equipment or towels are at risk also, as well as those who live in unsanitary or crowded places. And if you are associated with a health care worker you could be at risk, too.

How did these super bugs come about? Weren't antibiotics always able to treat infections, no matter what? Ever since the discovery of penicillin, that used to be a fairly accurate statement. Unfortunately, more and more infections are becoming resistant to treatment after many years of unnecessary and excessive use of antibiotics. Now, not only can we get our prescription for these drugs from our doctors, we can obtain them free of charge: they're in our drinking water and are given routinely to our livestock. In addition, germs continue to mutate in order to escape and multiply. This is what bacteria do to survive. The appearance of super bugs just makes sense.

There is a study ongoing in the UK on the use of essential oils for treating MRSA. From the European newsletter nutraingredients.com, researchers at the University of Manchester have reported that three essential oils have killed MRSA. Also, essential oils of eucalyptus and tea-tree have been shown to be effective against MRSA at the University of Sydney. How can these simple oils work when our highly researched and expensive drugs can't? Because antibiotics are simple compounds and only work on one or one group of infections; oils are complex compounds and bacteria are unable to mutate and escape. This makes essential oils more effective in treating infections.

Now I must get on my soapbox and I hope you'll forgive me. But this is my blog and this paragraph is where I give my opinion. Those of us who market therapeutic essential oils are prevented by the FDA from calling the oils a cure or a treatment for anything. That is the law. Therefore, I leave it up to each of you to decide. I will say this, though: it is unlikely that the big pharmaceutical companies will spend much time trying to discover new antibiotics. Those drugs don't have the potential for making the big companies much income. They will probably be (and are) concentrating their efforts on developing new "diseases" and "syndromes" for the drugs that they can make the most money from, the drugs that some people take for their lifetime, drugs like Lipitor and Prozac and the vaccines which cripple our children. Okay....I'm done.

MRSA infections are much easier to prevent than they are to treat. Good and frequent hand washing is so important in helping to prevent the spread of MRSA and many other kinds of infections. If you have a wound, keep it clean and covered and dispose of your bandages safely. Don't share your personal items with anyone. By these I mean razors, bed linens, clothing, athletic equipment or skin care items like make-up and deodorants. And finally, if you have a wound or skin rash that doesn't heal, get tested.

It's a good thing to have knowledge about MRSA so that we can protect ourselves. But I don't think we need to hide under the bed just yet. Concentrate on prevention and keep your immune system strong. That's what I have planned for myself. If you have more questions about MRSA ask your health care professional. And remember to do your own research and make up your own mind about what treatments you will accept for any illness that may come along.

Wishing you the best of health!
Jude

For questions about therapeutic essential oils from Young Living please contact me!

wellness@desker.net

315-255-3066

Pharmaceutical Drugs Can Kill

Do you know any parent in their right mind who would offer up their child for experimentation? Let's hope not. Our children have it hard enough these days. But did you know that the cough and cold medications that you may have given them have never been tested for use by children? And did you know that the FDA reports show that 123 children died between 1969 and 2006 from taking some of these medicines? These are only the ones we know about.

I get so angry when I hear about people dying because of medicines which are supposed to be safe for us and for our children. The FDA has to approve all of these things before we can have access to them. If you are paying attention at all, it probably hasn't escaped your notice that lots of supposedly safe drugs are killing people. So, why are people continuing to die and why are they continuing to experience life altering side effects?

If you follow the money, the trail leads right to the pharmaceutical industry which I refer to as Big Pharma. Big Pharma makes up illnesses (like restless leg syndrome or dry eye syndrome) and makes dangerous chemical drugs which cover up symptoms but that don't really cure anything. Then they do their own testing on their drugs, skew the results they report and pay the FDA to get them on the market as quickly as possible. Our congress and senate help Big Pharma to get this done. Our elected officials accept more monetary donations from the pharmaceutical lobbies than almost any other. Then the media takes over. Because Big Pharma owns the media we are showered with advertisements for whatever is the hot drug of the day -- and the drug which has the most potential to make Big Pharma even bigger.

By the time the news of these wonderful new "cures" hits the main stream media, our doctors have already been advised on what they should be prescribing for these new "diseases." They've been taken out to lunch, given nice gifts, provided with all expenses paid trips, and armed with rooms full of free drug samples. Wouldn't you be influenced by this behavior? I would think that anyone might be. And doctors just want to help their patients with the latest and the greatest. They don't have time to do any research on the safety of these drugs that they prescribe. They take the word of their medical organizations like the American Medical Association and the Food & Drug Administration. And Big Pharma has been so very helpful in providing these doctors with the "proof" of drug safety by showing them the testing results.

The advertisements for new drugs are so much in evidence that there is no escaping them. Putting it simply, we get brainwashed by the media. We are convinced, by sheer repetition, that we should ask our doctors for drugs. And let's be honest with ourselves: we want the easy solution to whatever the problem is. We're busy. We don't have any time to try to figure out what else besides a pill might help us feel better. In addition, even if we know what we need to do to feel better, we might be too attached to some bad behavior that we would just rather have the pill so we can continue to behave badly. It doesn't seem to enter into our minds that the side effects of the pill might kill us. And all drugs have side effects, even aspirin.

The cough and cold medicines that we give our children so freely have never been tested on children for safety or effectiveness. Who would volunteer to have their child tested in this manner, right? The drugs have been tested on adults, and as I said a couple of paragraphs ago, there is no impartial testing of drugs. Big Pharma does the testing. If something is found to be dangerous or just ineffective, it's likely put on the market anyway to make sure Big Pharma doesn't lose any money. The actual results of this type of behavior on the part of Big Pharma are usually only discovered later after people die. Remember Vioxx? The families of the 100,000 people who died remember.

Somewhere along the line the decision was made by someone that cough and cold medicines, among others, should be marketed to children. Adult doses were set and then children's doses were extrapolated from them. In other words: if an adult of 150 pounds weight gets 150 milligrams of a drug, a child of 25 pounds should get 25 milligrams. Because testing on children was never done or even required by the FDA, assumptions were made about the safety and effectiveness of adult drugs on children. Our children, your children, have been tested without your knowledge or consent. I don't know how you feel about this but it makes me mad as hell.

When our kids get a cold or the sniffles what are we going to do to help them be more comfortable? The first thing to know is that so far there is no known cure for the common cold. My daughter's old pediatrician used to say, "It'll be over in two weeks or 14 days, whichever comes first." Next, think before you run willy nilly to the store for some medicine which might be dangerous. In fact, planning ahead would be a good idea. Find out some natural methods for help with getting through the next cold. There are many out there. And work on your immune systems. Get them boosted up to peak performance and keep them that way. By doing so, there will be less chance of getting a cold.

I am not a licensed medical practitioner so I can't legally recommend anything to anyone. That being said, I can tell you that nutritional things like chicken soup have been known to be effective for comfort. Keeping the air inside the house moistened with a vaporizer or humidifier can help. Increasing fluids and getting more rest are on that list, too. For myself, I would not be without certain essential oils -- Young Living, of course! -- as the cold and flu season approaches. I must be honest and tell you that last winter I had a respiratory illness. That has been the only time I've been ill with anything since I began using Young Living products for my health and wellbeing. Therapeutic essential oils have been in use since 4500 BC. That was definitely before Big Pharma came along. They have stood the test of time and have, no doubt, helped with the varied health issues of many. Young Living Essential Oil products are therapeutic, organic, 100% natural, independently tested for purity, and documented by testimonials in the millions as being effective and safe. They have been effectively used by great grandparents and by the parents of little ones across our nation and around the world.

The world is a dangerous place these days. I guess it always has been, depending on your particular circumstances. But you don't need to put yourself into the line of pharmaceutical fire. There are many other methods available to keep yourself and your children well and to help them through the times when they are less so. Don't let Big Pharma remove the responsibility for your children's health from you. Take it yourself. These are your children. You brought them here. It's your job to protect them from anything that could hurt them. Do your own research. Think first, then act.

Please consider reading "The Truth About the Drug Companies" by Marcia Angell, M.D. Information is power. Also, please consider how Young Living might help you with your wellness issues. Just call me if you have questions.

Wishing you -- and your children! -- the best of health!
Jude

wellness@desker.net

315-255-3066