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Staphylococcus / Herbal Remedies

 
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Are there any here who have alleviated contracted staph infections by way of herbal treatment?

I think I may have a slight staph infection courtesy a spider bite that my shirt rubbed against and has ruptured. The staph that we have present on our skin may have made their way in the injection point and the area is very red/swollen/inflammed similar to a flip flop blister in the heat of the summer.

A good friend of mine suggested oil of oregano for its anti-microbial properties and efficacy against some strains of staph (reference here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/10/011011065609.htm)...Looks to be very promising.

For the time being however, thanks to the pain, I've applied some mupirocin (bactroban) ointment for staph.aureus strain. I'm really hoping this helps within 3 or so days, as this is the touchy extreme pain that makes you jumpy.

Let's hear from you. Peace -



 
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Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) is very effective for alll sorts of things, especially  bacteria.
 
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In Herbal antibiotics:Natural Alternatives for treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Stephen Buhner lists these for staph-caused skin infections:
usnea, garlic, cryptolepsis, eucalyptus, wormwood, sage, honey, gragefruit seed extract.

I also second oil of oregano and tea tree oil.

good luck.
 
George Lee
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Leila Rich wrote:
Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) is very effective for alll sorts of things, especially  bacteria.

ellenrr wrote:
In Herbal antibiotics:Natural Alternatives for treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Stephen Buhner lists these for staph-caused skin infections:
usnea, garlic, cryptolepsis, eucalyptus, wormwood, sage, honey, gragefruit seed extract.

I also second oil of oregano and tea tree oil.

good luck.


Thanks folks. I'm reading on tea tree oil. It says with some people you can get contact dermatitis (as its pretty potent). I read of garlic last night,so I'm gonna continue to make garlic tea,and see if I can knock this out natures-way.


For those interested, I found an incredible resource from West Australia (home of the tea tree)... http://www.webbertraining.com/files/library/docs/276.pdf on a number of wonderful rememdies in nature and 'in vivo' experiments and outcomes. Enjoy -
 
pollinator
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I have been making a comfrey salve for the past 20 plus years to smear on kids, horses, dogs, husband, etc.

Just get some comfrey (leaf or root) and steep it in the hot oil until the herb starts to change the color of the oil.  Then I strain while still hot.

I used to use vaseline as the base but now days I use coconut oil.  I honestly think the vaseline worked better but I don't want to use petroleum for a base anymore.

We always have a couple of large jars around the house for cuts and scrapes.  Husband has to keep one at work because he is always injuring himself.
 
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Consider yarrow (Achillea millefolium and related species). It is great for all kinds of cuts, scrapes, and skin infections.  Most herbalists have a testimony about the value of yarrow for skin, here is a link to the medical research on yarrow and staph.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=achillea%20staphylococcus
 
George Lee
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Jeanine Gurley wrote:
I have been making a comfrey salve for the past 20 plus years to smear on kids, horses, dogs, husband, etc.

Just get some comfrey (leaf or root) and steep it in the hot oil until the herb starts to change the color of the oil.  Then I strain while still hot.

I used to use vaseline as the base but now days I use coconut oil.  I honestly think the vaseline worked better but I don't want to use petroleum for a base anymore.

We always have a couple of large jars around the house for cuts and scrapes.  Husband has to keep one at work because he is always injuring himself.

Comfrey eh? I've known it for a while as 'knitbone'  I need to find a ready-made solution as I don't have any plants at the moment..

Jonathan_Byron wrote:
Consider yarrow (Achillea millefolium and related species). It is great for all kinds of cuts, scrapes, and skin infections.  Most herbalists have a testimony about the value of yarrow for skin, here is a link to the medical research on yarrow and staph.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=achillea%20staphylococcus

I have some yarrow plants in pots, but no means to distill. I read through a few reports and it looks to be pretty effective.. Thanks J Bryon
 
Jeanine Gurley Jacildone
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If you have any kind of health food store or an Earth Fare near you they should have comfrey tea.  I started out just using the tea and over the years sometimes it was not even looseleaf - i was cutting open little bags of it.  Not sure they make it in the bags any more though.

The brand I am currently using is Alvita - I want to get plants though - just haven't gotten around to that yet. 
 
Jonathan Byron
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No need to distill - the fresh herb is effective, as are salves and other DIY preparations. I usually just rinse a few leaves, pound them with mortar/pestle, and use the juice.
 
Jonathan Byron
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Propolis is another option that has been shown to fairly good for staph and MRSA. Lots of research on that, here is one example:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16184236
 
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Hey there,

I've treated staph/strep infections a fair bit and my favorite topical remedies for what you are describing are propolis tincture and lavender essential oil - could use tea tree oil instead, i just find it a bit harsher/more drying. If you have never used either oil topically before then it is best to do a test patch.

My favorite internal remedies are propolis tincture, usnea lichen tincture, echinacea, oregon grape root (in combo), yarrow, garlic, and calendula.

There are other things to consider as well in terms of herb selection, but those are my favorite anti-microbials for this situation.

Someone suggested comfrey, but this is not a good idea. Comfrey (root or leaf) increases the rate of mitosis/cell division (which is great when you need to 'knit' a bone back together or you have a NON-INFECTED wound). When comfrey is applied to an infected wound or a wound that may be infected (especially puncture/deep wounds) it can encourage the outer layer of skin to heal, while not dealing with a deeper infection.
 
Leila Rich
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LivingWind,
I asked my Mum (who grows and distills tea tree) about dermatitis and she's never seen a reaction. as far as she's concerned. it's good for pretty much anything!
Of course some people are extra sensitive to all sorts of things. As you say, tea tree is pretty potent but you can always 'water it down' with sweet almond oil.
You can drink the stuff, unlike many oils, so it's very good for fighting off food-borne stomach issues. I don't like the taste, but it's not awful. I've used it on eye conditions with no discomfort.
I suppose I'm pushing it's general usefulness, rather than a specific purpose.
As an aside, I contracted MRSA in hospital, and while the official line is 'get that antiobiotic of last-resort down ya', the medical staff were perfectly happy for me to chug tea tree oil too, not because they considered it some kind of ineffectual hippy placebo, but because there's been quite a few studies that vouch for it and basically, they're pretty desperate for anything that works.
Oh yeah, it's very effective  in avoiding or treating mastitis. Women, goats, cows...
 
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Welcome Christopher Walken!

All in favor of herbal remedies, tea tree is my favorite for topical issues. Haven't taken an antibiotic in DECADES.

BUT, don't be naive about staph. It can go from a localized infection to something systemic and it can kill. If the infection persists, spreads or gets worse do not hesitate to go to the ER or otherwise see a doctor.

Despite the overuse of antibiotics, they are still the greatest life-saving medicines ever. Period.

Allopathic medicine does a lot of things badly and a few things well, acute trauma and acute infections are two of the things it does well. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.



 
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Yes,Tea tree and tea tree oil is used to treat skin problems,tea tree oil is very effective to cure acne and other skin rashes problem.Staphylococcal skin infection causes due to bacteria,tea tree oil has good healing property which helps to heal and reduces skin infection.
 
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First of all, if it is a spider bite, you need to draw out the poison before closing the wound. This is what I did for a spider bite on myself: A suction device like that used in snake bite kits would work. Then clean the wound, put on a drawing salve (like black salve or Icythamol), leave on about 12 hours, rinse off and clean again. Then apply something strong like perhaps goldenseal. I did that for a brown recluse bite and did not even get sick from it. It did start to rot out an area the size of a dime (on my temple, a bit scary), which was when I finally figured out it was a brown recluse bite. It starts as a blister. I was totally healed in less than a week and it left not even a scar.

Using comfrey heals quickly but can close a wound so fast, that if there is any staph or any other pathogen inside, it will close it and leave no way for the infection to drain. Always keep that in mind when using comfrey.
 
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yukkuri kame wrote:Welcome Christopher Walken!

All in favor of herbal remedies, tea tree is my favorite for topical issues. Haven't taken an antibiotic in DECADES.

BUT, don't be naive about staph. It can go from a localized infection to something systemic and it can kill. If the infection persists, spreads or gets worse do not hesitate to go to the ER or otherwise see a doctor.

Despite the overuse of antibiotics, they are still the greatest life-saving medicines ever. Period.

Allopathic medicine does a lot of things badly and a few things well, acute trauma and acute infections are two of the things it does well. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.



This person is the voice of reason. I studied herbal medicine for many years, and I get frequent MRSA infections (HIV+). While lavender and myrrh essential oils are nice topically, there's nothing quite like Septra and Clindamycin. In fact, I think I'll have some right now.
 
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Is it possible that the infection in question was caused by the spiders venom as in the venom of the brown recluse spider?
 
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Thyme oil has even more thymol than oregeno, but it will feel like burning on contact. Works best on staph i have found.
Like to mix it up every other day with silver sulpha cream sold for burns.

there is another thread on Permies about MRSA that has some info in it too...

https://permies.com/t/3298/medicinal-herbs/thyme#97954


and honey is supposed to help too
https://permies.com/t/16207/medicinal-herbs/medicinal-honey-plant-Revamil#142007
 
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I wonder if Usnea tincture would work too?
 
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I had a nasty staph infection last summer and the best thing to take out the pain was claycompresses... green clay, white, brown, yellow, colour doesn't matter. Just mix it with herbal tea (sage, chamomile, oregano) and apply as a poultice. It draws out the heat, sooting immensely.
 
Morgan Morrigan
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Not exactly med herb, but they have found that clays containing metals will work
Specifically copper cobalt, and zinc containing clays

http://phys.org/news/2013-05-mrsa-metals-antibacterial-clays.html
 
Melba Corbett
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I had a brown recluse bite which blistered up similar to what you seem to be experiencing. Are you sure it isn't a brown recluse bite?

 
Melba Corbett
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Lisa Allen wrote:I wonder if Usnea tincture would work too?



Usnea is more specific to the lungs, i.e. congestion, etc., and infection in lungs.
 
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