10 Reasons to have 9 Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils in your Survival Kit

Photo Credit: Mountain Rose Herbs

'When you think of essential oils do you envision a high-end massage therapist or someone sniffing a tiny bottle to ease stress?  If you have not yet been exposed to the multitude of medicinal uses for therapeutic-grade essential oils, then I have news for you!

My first experience with essential oils was from a couple of bottles of lavender and peppermint oils I got at the health food store back in 2003.  I thought the oils had nice smells, and used the peppermint to deodorize my carpet and the lavender on a sunburn.  I was happy with the results I got.  But a couple of years later when I tried out therapeutic-grade oils, my world opened up considerably.'

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Essential oils to fight superbugs

Essential oils could be a cheap and effective alternative to antibiotics and potentially used to combat drug-resistant hospital superbugs, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh this week.

Physorg.com

Professor Yiannis Samaras and Dr Effimia Eriotou, from the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands, in Greece, who led the research, tested the antimicrobial activity of eight plant essential oils. They found that thyme essential oil was the most effective and was able to almost completely eliminate bacteria within 60 minutes.

The essential oils of thyme and cinnamon were found to be particularly efficient antibacterial agents against a range of Staphylococcus species. Strains of these bacteria are common inhabitants of the skin and some may cause infection in immunocompromised individuals. Drug-resistant strains, such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are extremely difficult to treat. "Not only are essential oils a cheap and effective treatment option for antibiotic-resistant strains, but decreased use of antibiotics will help minimise the risk of new strains of antibiotic resistant micro-organisms emerging," said Professor Samaras.'

Essential oils have been recognised for hundreds of years for their therapeutic properties, although very little is still known about how they exert their antimicrobial effects in humans. Australian aborigines used Tea tree oil to treat colds, sore throats, skin infections and insect bites and the remedy was sold commercially as a medicinal antiseptic from the early 20th century. Various scientific studies have demonstrated that essential oils are not only well tolerated, but are effective against a range of bacterial and fungal species. Their therapeutic value has been shown for the treatment of a variety of conditions, including acne, dandruff, head lice and oral infections.

The Greek team believes essential oils could have diverse medical and industrial applications. "The oils - or their active ingredients - could be easily incorporated into antimicrobial creams or gels for external application. In the food industry the impregnation of food packaging with essential oils has already been successfully trialled. They could also be included in food stuffs to replace synthetic chemicals that act as preservatives," they said.

Provided by Society for General Microbiology

Original Article HERE

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MRSA Superbug Nearly Nonexistent in Norway—Here's Why

Petrie dish with MRSA culture behind thumbs-up hand painted as Norway flag

'MRSA is a scourge in virtually all modern hospitals in every industrialized country, with the exception of Norway. While tens of thousands of American and European patients die each year from MRSA, it's a rare occurrence in Norway. How are they doing it? In the most simple of ways. In Norway, the problem was faced head-on. The cause—overprescription of antibiotics—was acknowledged. So they stopped overprescribing.

People didn't start dying from lack of antibiotics, but they did stop dying from MRSA.'

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Essential Oils Fight MRSA Infections

'A pair of orthopaedic surgeons report that two essential oils--eucalyptus and tea-tree oil--are surprisingly effective at treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.

Despite the positive findings, though, others say it is too soon to consider such oils an alternative to antibiotics.

The researchers presented their findings here at the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Dr. Eugene Sherry of the University of Sydney in Australia said that, applied to the skin of infected wounds an antibacterial wash derived from Eucalyptus radiata and Melaleuca alternifolia--better known as eucalyptus and tea-tree oil--can work when modern antibiotics fail.'


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More anti-MRSA essential oil research

'Just came across a prerelease publication on PubMed of an article proving that specific essential oils are effective against hospital acquired infections, including MRSA. Strains of staph, strep and Candida were tested.

Eucalyptus, Tea tree, Thyme white, Lavender, Lemon, Lemongrass, Cinnamon, Grapefruit, Clove Bud, Sandalwood, Peppermint, Kunzea and Sage oil were all tested with the agar diffusion test. Olive oil, Paraffin oil, Ethanol (70%), Povidone iodine, Chlorhexidine and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) served as controls.

"Large prevailing effective zones of inhibition were observed for Thyme white, Lemon, Lemongrass and Cinnamon oil. The other oils also showed considerable efficacy. Remarkably, almost all tested oils demonstrated efficacy against hospital-acquired isolates and reference strains, whereas Olive and Paraffin oil from the control group produced no inhibition. As proven in vitro, essential oils represent a cheap and effective antiseptic topical treatment option even for antibiotic-resistant strains as MRSA and antimycotic-resistant Candida species."

Of course they don't give the chemotype of Thyme, nor which Cinnamon oil was used, but once again, Essential oils are proven as effective as the more conventional prescription medications.'

Citation from the Journal of Craniomaxilofacial Surgery, 2009 May 25

Read more: http://naturesgiftaromatherapy.blogspot.com/2009/06/more-anti-mrsa-essential-oil-research.html#ixzz0b2ioskPa

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