While the media likes to exploit the fear of upcoming cold weather by hyping how many infectious diseases the average person can contract in school and at work, they just seem to milk hospital-only (nosocomial) infections during slow news days. After all, if their reporting kept people out of hospitals, it would adversely affect the economy, but these warnings could be the most important ones the public could receive.
Bronchitis Study Showed Antibiotics Ineffective
In a five year study, 562 bronchitis sufferers went to their doctors. Some received prescriptions for antibiotics, others did not. But when the antibiotic group faithfully took their prescription medications, and all of them drank their juice and observed bed rest, the symptoms of coughing and fatigue persisted for the entire group for 11 days.
Other bronchitis symptoms the whole group shared included fatigue, sinus blockage, throat phlegm, and shortness of breath. These symptoms cleared up in the group that took the antibiotics less than one day earlier than those that did not take antibiotics.
Why Are Prescriptions Written?
In geographical areas that include winter weather, when the lower temperature and humidity afflicts the population with environmental conditions conducive to colds, flu, bronchitis, and the like, the public is generally confused as to what illness they have picked up. Some don't care about the name and simply rely on prescription and OTC medications, rest, and personal quarantine while waiting the illness out. If symptoms persist, a doctor’s visit may take the usual 15 minutes, discussion of ailments, and with little testing other than taking the temperature and a check for swollen glands, the patient may soon find himself out in the hall with an antibiotic prescription in hand.
Others who don’t see doctors for common illnesses and use vitamins and natural products instead, may fare just as well or better than those who do. One of the reasons for this is that non-natural prescription medications operate on a “rob peter to pay paul” basis, forcing the body into unnatural compliance by blocking the production of enzymes or tricking the body into producing more white blood cells. Often this works, but other times it fails miserably, leaving the person weary and having to then recover from the inner battle caused by the non-natural repercussions of medication. (Information About Drugs: Factors That Affect Drug Action, adapted from Engs, R.C., Alcohol and Other Drugs: Self Responsibility,Tichenor Publishing Company,1987.(c) Ruth C. Engs, Bloomington, IN, 1996).
Antibiotic Means Anti-bacterial
One of the reasons an antibiotic prescription may not work is that the individual’s problem is not bacterial in nature. This may explain why so many frequently seek out alternative health practitioners, even though their services are rarely covered by insurance; because over the years, doctors have insisted on giving antibiotics for everything, even when they couldn’t confirm a bacterial infection. Since antibiotics have no affect on viral infections such as viral bronchitis, most colds, and flu, the symptoms continue unabated. When asked why this was happening, most doctors confessed to being sympathetic to the suffering patients and felt a prescription would be both psychologically comforting (like a placebo), and might also "protect against residual bacterial infections" that sometimes follow serious viral infections.
In the last 10-15 years, many in the medical community began speaking out with strong warnings to general practitioners to stop this practice, because it has given rise to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But it was too little, too late, as one of the most serious confirmed medical issues of today is superbugs, or antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, explaining why many of these infections are contracted only in hospitals. (Doctors Told to Stop Giving Antibiotics for Colds, articles.mercola.com, by Joseph Mercola, M.D., January 29 2008).
Antibiotic-Resistant Diseases in Hospitals
While “the flu” has become the Center for Disease Control's primary focus these last few years, many nosocomial superbugs now exist, including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a source of blood poisoning and infection in hospitals, Bacillus anthracis Sterne, virulent Escherichia coli, Klebsiela pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori (the source of most stomach ulcers), Mycobacterium terrae, viruses with lipid membranes, and various invasive fungi (More Good News on Coconut Oil, Mary G. Enig, PhD, Dec 18, 2006, westonprice.org).
This leaves many looking to natural products, which have been found to effectively treat infectious diseases, such as coconut and other oils rich in lauric acid. Herbal oils like originum and oregano oils have been traditionally recognized remedies for illnesses of this type for many decades, but without published studies, doctors could not accept the wealth of anecdotal evidence regarding these natural substances. But better late than never, publication was forthcoming.
Recent Research Proves Lauric Acid's Value
Dr. Harry Preuss of Georgetown University laboratory published his research on lauric oils in several peer reviewed papers appearing in toxicology journals in 2005, showing them to have powerful antimicrobial properties (Preuss HG, Echard B, Enig M, Brook I, Elliott TB. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of herbal essential oils and monolaurin for gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Molecular Cell Biochemistry. 2005;272:29-34). Part of his research focused on in-vitro studies on two strains of Staph infections (Staphylococcus aureus), followed by in-vivo studies in mice.
The effects of monolaurin and originum, when used in combination, proved to be more potent than the most powerful antibiotics and were deemed safer and more effective to use for prevention and therapy of Staphylococcus aureus and many other virulent infections. These studies scientifically validated the conclusion that oils such as coconut oil and oregano oil in the diet could provide both preventive and healing effects superior to antibiotics.
References:
Dr. Andrew Saul web site, doctoryourself.com/faq.html
National Insititutes of Health web site (nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/antibiotics.html)
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Marie Thomas - Marie Thomas (RieT) is an author in multiple genres, with 18 years in technical writing, and freelance work in science, biographical, and ...
