Essential oils and MRSA
Natural preventative pet care isn’t something new, but it’s certainly not completely mainstream yet. One of the challenges is being able to re-educate the public to think outside the box. For so many years, traditional caregivers have told us time and time again that our pets need annual vaccinations, heartworm, flea and tick prevention medications, and premium kibble diets. We have been told that all this will lead to the maximum well-being of our pets. Could not be farther from the truth.
As we continue to fight to conquer the mountain of “alternative care is for the new age, crystal-wearing, hippie-singing” mountain, our pets are getting sicker instead of healthy. One of the most challenging problems on the rise is super-resistant bacteria that are increasingly resistant to traditional antibiotic use. Most notable is the increase in MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). This is a staph infection that the antibiotic methicillin can no longer kill. MRSA is transmitted from humans to pets and is still mutating in strains in different animal species. Horses have developed their own strain and antibiotics are not the answer! In fact, the overuse of antibiotics is part of the main reason these bacteria have mutated and evolved.
This staph infection is deadly and can and does kill humans and animals. In fact, the same thing happened to Jill Moss’s most beloved white Samoyed, Bella. Jill lost Bella to this staph infection a little over a year ago. She got Jill to take serious action and bring the knowledge of this deadly strain of bacteria to the world so other pet owners and people wouldn’t have to suffer the loss she did. Jill has established the Bella Moss and Pets-MRSA Foundation to help bring not only knowledge about MRSA, but also hope, help and healing.
Research has already begun to find ways to stop these virulent bacteria. Scientists at the University of Manchester in England have discovered that three essential oils destroyed MRSA! Dr Peter Warn, who was involved in the research, told the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) in December 2004 that when he tested the oils in the lab, “absolutely nothing grew. Instead of stimulating bacteria and fungi, the oils killed off.”
A diligent product formulator for a therapeutic essential oil company discovered that two of the oils used were Melaleuca alternafolia and geranium.
So why are essential oils proving so effective in killing even the most virulent bacteria like MRSA? According to Jacqui Stringer, clinical leader of complementary therapies at Christie’s Hospital in Manchester, England, who treats cancer patients, the reason essential oils are so effective is because they are made of a complex mix of chemical compounds that superbugs like MRSA finds it difficult to resist. She would add that because these compounds are natural and derived from plants, the “blood” of plants, no two oils are ever exactly alike, making it the perfect complex compound to combat a mutant super bug! Current treatments, according to Stringer, are made up of unique compounds (such as antibiotics), so MRSA becomes resistant very quickly, leaving only a 50% success rate for MRSA cases. She thinks about it: only a 50/50 chance of survival. Those are not good odds. Hope comes with this new alternative approach to combat these superbugs.
Another added benefit of using essential oils to combat and help prevent (prevention is the goal in stopping MRSA) the spread of MRSA is by application: inhaled directly or by diffusing it. MRSA is often carried inside the nose, so inhaling the essential oils is all that is needed to keep patients from being at risk. This makes them very easy to administer to both humans and pets.
The biggest impediment to further advancing essential oil research and combating these superbugs has been funding. In January 2005, the Manchester investigators were having trouble obtaining the £30,000 needed to continue their research. Shortly after learning of this, Jimmy Savile, the former presenter of the UK TV show ‘Jim’ll Fix It’, has donated £40,000 for the investigation to continue! As stated above, pharmaceutical companies are not really interested in assisting in this type of work because they cannot benefit from a product that occurs naturally, as they cannot be patented.
This is really reprehensible, as this type of research could help save thousands of lives and completely eradicate MRSA.
I for one am very excited to see more and more research being done to bring healing and hope to many, using what God created for us to use in the first place!
You can find the references for this article in my “Articles of Interest” on my website.
DISCLAIMER: The only oils we use and refer to in ALL articles are Young Living essential oils. We do NOT use any other brands and we make no representations about the use of Essential over other brands.