MRSA Infection? Healing Clay or Alligator Blood May Cure It

Some clays contain healing properties and scientists are now studying these healing clays for treatment of MRSA and other infections. Alligator blood is also being researched as an anti Superbug agent.

As the number of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infections continues to rise, it is no surprise that researchers are scrambling to find new ways to treat these deadly infections. Antimicrobial elements in clays, and antimicrobial proteins in alligator blood may hold the answers scientists have been seeking.

According to the article, "Healing Clays' Show Promise For Fighting Deadly MRSA Superbug Infections, Other Diseases" by Science Daily (see article link below), "Clays have been used for thousands of years as a remedy for infected wounds, indigestion, and other health problems, either by applying clay to the skin or eating it."

While the use of clay as a medicine may appear to be somewhat archaic, or something common only in remote villages of the earth, clay is used as an alternative medicine in many countries. While overseas, in Germany, I suffered stomach pain and was attended to by the daughter of a licensed healing practitioner ( called, in German, a Heilpraktikerin) who gave me clay and water to drink as a remedy. Wing of bat and toe of frog, I thought to myself.

"This is just dirt?" I asked and she grinned. "Very special dirt," she replied. I was skeptical but my stomach was aching so badly I was desperate for relief. I drank the clay potion and it worked. Why or how it worked, I've no idea. I imagine that it simply contained minerals acting as an antacid. Similar scenarios occur daily throughout the world.

Much more important-- to scientists and non-scientists-- than clay's ability to soother minor stomach ailments is the clay's apparent antimicrobial properties. Scientists are trying to identify the specific minerals that contain these antimicrobial elements so that they can be isolated and used for topical creams to treat superbugs such as MRSA and other infections.

Alligator blood may also offer successful treatment for MRSA infections as well as the ulcers commonly found on diabetes patients. Armed with the knowledge that alligators are able to fight off many serious infections, researchers are set on identifying and analyzing the antimicrobial proteins in alligator blood. They are confident that these antimicrobial elements can be used, with great success, in treating resistant infections in humans.

Researchers warn that clays can contain harmful organisms and that scientists are studying the healing properties does not mean people should begin using any clay for MRSA treatment or any other infection treatment. The same holds for alligator blood.

Sources:

American Chemical Society (2008, April 8). 'Healing Clays' Show Promise For Fighting Deadly MRSA Superbug Infections, Other Diseases. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/04/080406155621.htm

American Chemical Society (2008, April 7). Alligator Blood May Put The Bite On Antibiotic-resistant Infections. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/04/080407074556.htm