Can a Simple Home Remedy Cure MRSA?













While it has become increasingly clear that Drug Companies are less motivated to fund new antibiotic research in the face of dwindling profits and a complex regulatory environment, the stage has been set for new and alternative approaches to emerge to address the problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Recent research conducted at the University of Sydney in Australia has shown that a type of honey harvested in New Zealand, Manuka Honey, has proven effective as a treatment for wound care due to its antibiotic properties and has even been shown to combat antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. Manuka honey is a product of bees that pollinate the Manuka Bush and researchers are finding other types of honey that are from pollination of similar plants that are claimed to have double the potency of the Manuka strains.

A group out of the United Kingdom has engineered another type of honey, Surgihoney, that has been shown to treat MRSA and has been used in many types of wound treatment with promising results. Doctors have also identified a positive side-effect of treating wounds with Surgihoney. Dr Matthew Dryden, from the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust states, “There are plenty of products that can kill bacteria but they often don’t help heal tissue. Honey is a fantastic natural medicine. The important extra is that it kills the bugs but doesn’t damage the tissue.”

While there is still research to be done, early studies have yielded positive results and effective treatments for infections that have been become difficult or impossible to treat with traditional drugs. Honey may or may not be a cure all for all antibiotic resistant pathogens and it remains to be seen if the substance can be brought to market to replace the accepted means of treating infection. Whatever the case may be, the fact is that any new therapies that can be developed to treat resistant bacteria is a step in the right direction.

So what do you think about Honey as a cure for MRSA and other medically resistant pathogens? Do you think it will ever replace antibiotics? Do you think Big Pharma will allow relatively inexpensive alternative therapies into the marketplace or will their powerful Lobbies push for regulation to keep remedies like honey out of the equation? Share your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to visit our sister site, Sustainable Antibiotics to learn more about how to address the issue of antibiotic overuse and medical resistance in your own life.


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