Health professionals and scientists are growing increasingly concerned as bacteria continue to build resistance to antibiotics at an alarming rate. Antibiotic resistance leads to higher medical costs, prolonged hospital stays, and increased mortality. We need to change the way we prescribe and use antibiotics, without behaviour change, antibiotic resistance will remain a major threat. The antibiotic resistance crisis has been attributed to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, as well as a lack of new drug development by the pharmaceutical industry due to reduced economic incentives. The medical profession's go-to drugs for Salmonella typhi (a bacterium that causes typhoid), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (a bacterium that causes tuberculosis), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (a bacterium associated with pneumonia, heart, bone, would, organ, joint, and bloodstream infections), multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli (a bacterial cause of diarrhea, anemia, and kidney failure), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (a cause of bacterial meningitis) are now largely ineffective.
Mounting evidence suggests that the superhero of the superbug crisis may be pharmaceutical-grade essential oils. These potent botanical extracts possess substantial antibacterial properties — including against drug-resistant strains — proven by numerous studies. While scientific research surrounding the ability of essential oils to kill and prevent the spread of superbugs is continuing to accumulate, the medical community has been reluctant to integrate natural alternatives to combat this alarming crisis. Most of this boils down to money. Natural essential oils are not patentable, and therefore don’t provide windfall profits to greedy pharmaceutical companies, who continue to search for molecules they can synthesise in a laboratory to create new drugs, rather than embrace the viable option right in front of their noses
Even more important than killing superbugs, evidence suggests that these menacing microbes are not able to adapt to essential oils and become resistant. This is largely due to the fact that essential oils naturally have varying percentages of the dozens to hundreds of constituents they contain. Therefore, the superbug is not exposed to an identical essential oil each time, thwarting its ability to adapt. A July 2012 study published in the journal Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy concluded that according to published research essential oils and their constituents are effective against many species of resistant bacteria. Another study from the June 2013 edition of the Journal of Cranio-maxillo-facial Surgery reported that some common essential oils (lemongrass, tea tree, and eucalyptus) are consistently effective against multi-resistant bacteria associated with hospital-acquired infections. Other studies suggest that certain essentials oils could potentiate the action of antibacterial drugs when used concurrently.
Scientific research suggests that eucalyptus, cinnamon, lemongrass, oregano, tea tree, thyme and other essential oils warrant further investigation as potent antibacterial agents to prevent the further spread of superbugs. We should regularly use these essential oils to cleanse our environment and our bodies.
Until the medical community, world leaders and scientists embrace these proven remedies the world will continue to travel down the path towards scraped knees becoming deadly. Get your essential oils ready and be prepared to survive when modern medicine fails.