cut yourself? rub some dirt in it

[Kali]

old cowboy remedy

Attacking MRSA with metals from antibacterial clays

In the race to protect society from infectious microbes, the bugs are outrunning us. The need for new therapeutic agents is acute, given the emergence of novel pathogens as well as old foes bearing heightened antibiotic resistance.

Shelley Haydel, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute has a new approach to developing effective, topical antibacterial agents — one that draws on a naturally occurring substance recognized since antiquity for its medicinal properties: clay.

<snip>

Medical use of clay has a storied history. As early as 5000 years ago, clay was listed in the ancient tablets of Nippur as a wound-healing medicament. Around 1600 BC, the Ebers Papyrus—recognized as the world's oldest medical text—recommended clay for ailments including diarrhea, dysentery, tapeworm, hookworm, wounds, and abscesses. Clays came into common use in the 19th century as topical treatments for surgical wounds, demonstrating their beneficial effects for pain management, inflammation, putrefaction, and healing processes.

More at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/asu-amw051713.php#.UZ4j-cEtjkQ.google

paper: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0064068

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. I fucking love science!

thanks for the post.

[Kali]

5. you are welcome

I have a pretty good immune system. You can tell by how dirty my house is.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

11. This time of the year, my hands look dirty all the time

cause of the garden dirt I'm constantly digging in.
I banned antibacterial soap from the house years ago, and other than a little bleach sometimes, no chemical cleaners.
I can't remember the last time I was sick.
I can't prove it's because of this, but science is showing that my growing up on a farm gave me a good start. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/04/us-kidsallergies-idUSBRE8431J920120504

[Kali]

16. yep, bleach is about the only thing like that I use

plain soap is good enough for skin unless there is an actual problem

[Downwinder]

2. Grandma said "pour coal oil on it."

[Kali]

6. Grampa would say to us kids "the old-timers used fresh manure"

but I never saw HIM do it.

[Downwinder]

7. I saw and felt the coal oil. Must have worked, still here.

[Thor_MN]

22. The story is that Great Grandpa said that the cure for chapped hands was to pee on them

I never met him, he died before I was born (he was 50 when Grandma was born). But I do notice that they sell chapped skin lotions that contain Urea as the main active ingredient.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Thanks for posting this, Kali

[Kali]

4. 'morning!

intersection of woo and science, eh?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

8. sometimes, I think science Can prove woo to be true (and the opposite is true as well)

you would be surprised at some of new/old technology being currently used in wound care these days.

I have heard of pregnant women craving black dirt or clay ...

I have used honey in some treatments and maggots have a use although we have been picking those out if someone presents with them in their wounds. It happens.

Long dwelling catheter tips are silver for its bacteria resistant ability.


MRSA is a motherfucker and I have heard it said that we ALL have it in our nares.

[Kali]

9. sometimes (many?) old remedies have a real basis

I love finding out stuff like that.

read an article a few years ago about macaws eating clay to control toxins in some of the fruit they eat.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. aspirin origanated from willowbark.

valium originated from valerian root.

ginger has a calm effect for nausea.

I could go on ...

but,

I think you get the point.

Hope you are feeling better today

[Kali]

14. !

maybe I should have had some kaolin!

yeah, stayed in most of yesterday but back to "normal"

[BrotherIvan]

12. Raw honey is an excellent wound treatment

Far better than OTC preparation I have ever tried. Great for burns too!

[womanofthehills]

28. Manuka honey from New Zealand

has antibacterial properties. I put it on an infected gum and next day it was fine. Some sites even say some docs are using it for MRSA.
It's about $20 - $25 for a small jar.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

17. and Garlic!

Middle son came home from school with an abscess, couldn't see his dentist for 4 days. I mashed up a large clove, soaked a teabag in hot water, and had him pack it against the abscess for as long as he could stand, twice a day. (it can burn like a bitch if the garlic is really good) next day it was half the size, the day after he could eat fine.

Then a few days ago, the youngest got a spider trapped in his sock, it bit him several times, and his foot swelled up pretty good. Mashed garlic and put it under band aids over each bite and gave him benadril. after about 4 hours when he took the band aids off, the bumps had become divots, but the rest of his foot was still swollen. It was a little freaky, but he was fine by yesterday.

I've wanted to try raw honey on a burn for years, but luckily I've never had the chance.

[Doctor_J]

13. This was my baseball coach's cure-all too (40 years ago)

including when a foul tip hit me in the nuts. I didn't realize what a visionary he was

[Kali]

15. dirt, it'll cure what ails ya

(and a sympathetic OUCH, from me)

[Thor_MN]

24. Uh, you are saying Coach wanted to rub mud on YOUR balls?

I know they rub up the baseballs before the game, but any other balls is just plain nuts.

[Lochloosa]

18. Kali, you might be interested in getting a copy of this book

Henley's Formulas for Home & Workshop [Hardcover]

It has 1000's of "recipes" for just about anything.

http://www.amazon.com/Henleys-Formulas-Workshop-Gardner-Hiscox/dp/0517293072



This book was written in 1908 and revised again in 1927. Back then the 'modern scientists' said that mercury and lead were actually good for you. If you read thru this and use year 2 thousand era common sense by removing the toxic substances you will be alright. Certain information is timeless. IE how to measure chicken egg freshness by using a glass container filled with salt water is harmless valuable info. Preserving eggs by dipping them into paraffin or bees wax is harmless valuable information. Using lye bleach and mercury on your bare skin as a cosmetic is not harmless or valuable information.

[Kali]

19. have it!

[Lochloosa]

26. Should've known!

[shraby]

20. I must be good and safe. Took a face dive down the manure pile while running up and

down it when I was 4 yrs. old. Was playing while Dad was cleaning out the barn in the spring..the pile had just started to thaw and I lost my footing and slid down the pile..face first.
Dad carried me in the house at arms length laughing his ass off..Mom said it took about 3 washing to get it off me so I didn't smell anymore.

[silvershadow]

21. As an avid gardener, I have to say I've never heard this in my almost 50 years. Thank you! nt

[SaveOurDemocracy]

23. When I was a kid we were told to put clay, from the walls of the brook that ran...

...through our backyard, on bee stings.

[Warpy]

25. When I was a kid, we used clay for bee stings

and it seemed to work well, cooling them off and cutting the itch a day later. Jewel weed also worked if that was growing at the time.

Cuts and scrapes got spit. Saliva also has antibacterial properties, it's loaded with antibodies.

Kid culture has retained some of the old remedies, in other words, in the places it hasn't been destroyed by helicopter parenting and over scheduling away from play.

[Blue Owl]

27. Just don't soil yourself!