These articles always get me riled up. Sure, antibiotics are hitting a brick wall. And I totally agree that phages are really cool and hold great promise. I'm really happy that people are printing some of the stuff that's been out "on the fringes" for awhile, and it's going mainstream.

But hey, there are some great technologies that unfortunately are cheap and not patentable, and they work GREAT, so they are never advertised. They aren't cool or attention-grabbing. They just work. For instance:

1. Iodine. Yeah, good ol' iodine. It went out of favor when it was discovered that the alcohol-base prevented healing. But not it's available in a povidone base. And you know what? It actually sinks into the skin and kills bacteria BELOW the skin. It prevents deep tissue infections in spinal surgery. Add a couple of drops to brine, and it cures nasal infections. It might be what makes "sea air" so healthful. Bacteria haven't developed a resistance to it, even after a few million years.

Most people are low in iodine right now, probably because we are eating less iodized salt (and restaurants don't necessarily use iodized salt, nor do potato chips). The lack of iodine might be one of the reasons we are prone to certain infections, as iodine tends to stick in the mucous membranes and protects them.

Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to buy soon because some folks decided to use it to make meth.

2. Bentonite clay. Used in cattle feed to prevent dysbiosis in cows and prevent damage from mycotoxins. In human-quality clay, it fixes food poisoning in record time, with a very small dose. Sold in capsules, it even seems commercial enough that people will accept it. It doesn't actually kill germs as much as changes the "mix" of bacteria.

(I also think it's one of the few substances that can't be used to make drugs or bombs, so it's likely to stay legal.)

3. Testing for ferritin levels. Staph eats iron. A whole lot of people in the US have very high ferritin levels (well water, added iron to breakfast foods and baby formula). I kind of wonder if the folks who are getting these major staph infections are the ones with the high stored iron levels.

4. Testing for celiac. About 1 in 100 folks (or 1 in 10, depending on who you talk to) have highly compromised immune systems due to gluten reactions (and possibly there are other foods that are as bad, I don't know, but this one is one that's been researched for 25 years and still is almost unknown). This sort of issue doesn't need a drug to fix it, just some dietary fixes. Healthy people can fight off their own germs, usually.

Anyway, the point is, until our health-care system is even remotely geared to look for cures that actually CURE, even if they don't make profit, it's unlikely that we'll make real progress.

-- Heidi

That was probably one of the best and insightful posts I've seen in a very long time on the issue! The Iodine and the clay were extremely thought provoking! Personally I'm not to worried about these pathogens b/c as long as a human's immune system is working properly eventually the immune system will evolve to deal with the new threat. That's the way its dealt with alien invaders for millions of years, and I doubt that will change anytime soon. I think though in our society our addiction to medicine is weakening our immune system. I fear that our bodies will become dependent on drugs, to fight of an infection instead of dealing with the invaders all on its own. Over the past couple of years I've limited the amount of medication I've taken when under the weather and I've noticed a significantly higher recovery rate from illness and a lower illness rate. My father and some other friends have also done this and our health has done quite well. Our immune systems are an amazing marvel sometimes instead of pampering them we need to allow them to take on a hit, so that way the body will be better prepared for the next invasion. Of course I'm fully aware that at times medication is necessary in certain situations. Bacteria may be evolving new weapons but natrually our bodies are evolving new counter-measures to compromise these weapons.

While the human genome can evolve, an individual person's immune system may change with time but this change is probably not properly called evolution.

Don't forget maggots!

I did research on maggots and MRSA for nursing school, and they are incredibly promising. They're underused at the moment, because of the squick factor.

Maggots are great: they eat bacteria and kill them in the process, they eat away dead tissue (which promotes new tissue growth), and they encourage blood flow (to speed healing). They may even stimulate the body's natural defense against bacteria.