Alternatives to Antibiotics: Why and How (2017) | Hacker News Reader

Alternatives to Antibiotics: Why and How (2017)

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43 pointsvo2maxer21 comments

The real killer is the extreme use of antibiotics in livestock en masse for disease prevention. Increasing the antibiotic pressure on bacteria in livestock and therefore accelerating the potential of a drug resistant bacteria.

We need to be concerned of another major zoonotic disease.

I get a winter sinus infection followed by a throat infection every year. Antibiotics was the only way to end it or I would end up bed-ridden. But the antibiotics really upset my gut.

For the past two years, once I start getting sick, I take high dosages of oregano and thyme essential oil mixed in olive oil, about 100 drops over a whole day. Two or three days of this and it never fully develops.

Oregano and Thyme oil should burn like hot sauce if it's not diluted.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23484421

Any brand recommendations?

I use Young Living.

I used to get sinus infections yearly and get antibiotics.

I changed one thing: I stopped blowing my nose.

That forces the infection deeper into your sinuses and Eustachian tubes.

Is that a good thing? And when you say you stopped blowing your nose, what do you do with all the excess mucus... let it drip?

I spit it out

Sounds gross but it has completely gotten rid of my yearly sinus infection

I think excessive nose blowing can invite infections because a dry nose lacks the mucus which acts as a protective barrier. Nose blowing in moderation is fine, though, in my experience.

Nose picking can also lead to infection, because you're essentially inoculating yourself with whatever pathogens happen to be on your finger.

Aside from avoiding these, the things that have made the most dramatic difference for me is taking Vitamin D and getting flu shots.

Now I virtually never get sick, whereas in the past I'd pretty regularly get multiple colds and occasionally the flu pretty much every year.

I definitely recommend Vitamin D as well. It's one of the only supplements that I use.

It's not the nose blowing, it's the change to winter and dry air that does it. Humidifier in the bedroom at night helps a ton.

The thing about 'natural remedies'... is that if they're effective, there is some kind of active ingredient that does something. With proper research, you can figure out what it is, what it does, and hopefully how and why, and how to most effectively make use of it. That's what science and medicine are for.

I get sinus infections with depressing regularity too, and it's awful... I feel very draggy, like I do the bare minimum just to get by, and they go on and on and on, and then presto, antibiotics and it's gone in a day or two, and I wonder why I waited so long.

I really wish there were some advances in detecting (so you're not taking antibiotics for a cold) and treating them.

It's very difficult to effectively use some natural remedies at scale for a variety of reasons:

(1) They have a large number of active ingredients that are not cost effective to manufacture synthetically or isolate

(2) They have an active ingredient that is not yet possible to manufacture synthetically or isolate

(3) The active ingredient(s) are not shelf stable once isolated from the parent product

Lastly, and most importantly, natural remedies are not patentable. This means there is not enough money to get them approved for marketing as a cure for disease.

natural remedies are not patentable

Never underestimate the ability of our dystopian modernity to do precisely this. Amarin patented a specific variation of fish oil (one that is no more bioavailable than literally eating a fish, just more concentrated), branded it Vascepa, and the FDA approved it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarin_Corporation

I'm sure there are plenty more examples of this, but this is the obvious one that comes to mind.

FDA approval has nothing to do with patentability.

I would also suggest a 4th: Natural Remedies sometimes take longer to work and they can be less convenient than a pill.

It upsets your gut because it kills the beneficial bacteria in your gut which is needed for digestion of nutrients, inflammation reduction, fermenting carbohydrates, strengthening your intestinal wall, stimulating your immune cells, regulating hormones, etc. Doctors fail to tell you this when they prescribe the typical antibiotic and decongestant for a sinus infection. BTW, your own body will produce a healthy antibiotic anyway without the medical antibiotic, and in 7 to 10 days (length on prescription) you'll be better anyway. The medical antibiotic is sold as a convenience, but there's a natural convenience too that doctors used before "medical" doctors...

If you choose to take their antibiotic (not recommended), I'd follow it up with a Probiotic of 10-20 (10 different strains and 20 billion CFUs) to replace your gut bacteria. I'd also eat yogurt, cabbage, or anything high in probiotics.

Instead of using the antibiotic in the first place, I'd suggest researching and understanding what colloidal silver is. Realize most sources will misinform you that it will make your skin "turn blue". This is utter nonsense and a lie. Millions of people take colloidal silver, millions of people are not blue (like the famous "blue man" they show on the fake news all the time). Argyria, cause of "blue skin", is caused by contact or ingestion of silver chloride, not colloidal silver. You can buy colloidal silver at the grocery store or online and avoid your doctor entirely for your sinus infection (among many other things).

They don't like that and will usually lie to you to scare you into getting their prescriptions. I have firsthand experience with this. I had regular sinus infections in the past, before being educated. I tried colloidal silver the first time, but then went to the doctor hours later for the congestion symptoms. He said I no longer had an infection, then got visibly angry when I told him I took colloidal silver earlier that day. He proceeded to tell me that my skin would turn blue, and actually told me that he had "a whole family" in months prior that were all blue from taking colloidal silver (research the number of cases and causes of Argyria in the United States and you will quickly see that that is an absolute BS lie). He suggested that even though I didn't have an infection any longer that I should still get the prescription for an antibiotic. I had sinus infections 1 to 2 times a year in the past. I haven't had a sinus infection in 10 years. I take colloidal silver whenever I need to. I'm not blue.

If you take it when the symptoms first start you won't get a sinus infection (hold under the tongue for 30 seconds for better absorption into the blood stream). If you already have a sinus infection you should be able to knock it out in a couple of hours easily. You will still need to deal with the congestion, but only if you wait too long before killing the infection. You won't need a prescription for the congestion either. Look into turmeric and honey remedies for the congestion.

I'd recommend "Sovereign Silver" (I take just when needed) at the grocery store or online. Also get a 10-20 probiotic for daily use. Reduce the amount of GMO foods you eat.

Colloidal silver has many uses other than sinus infections (kills viruses, kills "bad" bacterial infections, kills fungal infections, wound healing, water purification, pet medical care, kill many diseases, etc.). It is not dangerous. It is put into babies eyes when they're born to prevent infection. It isn't called colloidal silver though. They just make up some other name for it. Other products use the term "Silver" in their marketing, not telling you it actually contains some amount of colloidal silver (like some band-aid brands for one). If you like keeping your money then you can just get a bottle of colloidal silver, which will last a good while.

Used to experience the same. Eventually had tonsils and adenoids out. Some improvement in frequency, but still used to succumb. Went low-carb (properly) and found myself without _any_ congestion, which solved the initial and subsequent problems. N=1, etc. One paper by Paton from 50's relevant (re pneumonia), otherwise nothing I can find in the lit. Recommended, though, for that and other readily apparent reasons.

I read a recent article [1.] about the state of the antibiotics companies. It was interesting and revealed how over-prescription, fear of over-prescription, and market economics have governed the fate of promising new drugs.

[1.] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/25/health/antibiotics-new-re...

I like the idea of bacteriophage therapy and would like to see this field researched more in the U.S. Here is an article about the limits on wider use of bacteriophage therapy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3821673/

The current philosophy is bizarre. You get NPs and PAs who pretend to have never heard of secondary infections, refuse to prescribe antibiotics because virus, then you’re back in a week and they magically discover bacteria.

Diagnosing an infection is inexact in most outpatient settings. The healthcare provider takes into account a number of factors based on the history and physical exam. A rapid antigen test as is available for streptococcal pharyngitis makes it straightforward. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for many infectious conditions which end up being treated empirically. For example, most upper respiratory infections’ etiology is viral in both adults and children. It’s very reasonable to prescribe medication for symptomatic relief and reassure the patient that should discomfort continue or worsen, antibiotics may be considered. Even though this should be the standard of care, many physicians and extenders still overprescribe antibiotics mostly to move the visit along or satisfy the patient. A good explanation with evidence takes longer than just acquiescing to the demand.

I had a chronic low-grade sinus infection for 3 years. It was miserable. Constant post-nasal drip, clogged ears, clicking, popping, etc. Oregano Oil and snorting Lactobacillus sakei is the only thing that cured things.

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