HELP 9mthold with MRSA, MANUKA HONEY does it work.

[preciousstone]

HELP! My 9mth old has MRSA on his groin area. He was hospitalized for it cuz it cause major swelling on the testicles. I've read that manuka honey clears up mrsa. Has anyone ever used it on an infant. And if so, did it work? How did you apply it??

Thanks!

[MountainMamaGC]

I am so sorry about your boy. There are actual published study regarding both manuka honey and tea tree oil. Try the honey, put a thick layer over it because if it gets to dilute with sweat/urine, it wont work. Manuka honey is edible, and you cant use too much on him.

Buy some liquid hand soap and body wash for your whole family. Add about 10 drops of tea tree oil to both and mix it well. Tea tree oil kills MRSA, and you are going to want to use it every time you wash your hands and body. This way you can prevent the infection from spreading to other people or other parts of his body.

You may even want to mix some tea tree oil into a carrier oil like grapeseed or olive oil and apply to his diaper area with a cotton ball if the honey doesnt work.

Give him probiotics 2-3 times a day.

[mbravebird]

We just got through a two month staph infection, and manuka honey was by far the best thing that we tried. It's worth the money -- it takes the swelling and pain and itching down in one night, in my experience. Totally better than the bactroban, or internal antibiotics, or clay, or any of the various skin things we tried.

Tamanu oil was good too, but still not even close to the manuka honey.

It's hard to keep on, though, and keeping it on is what makes the difference. For our son, I would cut non-stick bandages, smear them with honey, and then tape them over the area right before he went to bed. I'd let it breathe a little during the day, but then reapply again during the day, and again the next night. If you're able to keep the honey in contact with the wound, you will see a big difference in just one night.

I'm not sure how you could keep it on the groin area. Saturate a cloth with it, and strap it on with a diaper?

[mbravebird]

We also did increased probiotics, which is a good support for the body as it fights the infection. We also worked with the acid-alkaline balance, and honestly thought we saw improvement with this odd stuff called "pHenomenal" -- a water product that binds to hydrogen and lactic acid (which is produced by and protects staph) and escorts it out of the body. I actually think that stuff is what allowed his body to finally kick the infection from the inside out. But for topical use, the honey is absolutely the best.

[preciousstone]

O! THANKS!!! Which manuka honey did you get there are so many online. I can't tell if there is a diff in them. Also, which probiotics and where did you get this phenomenal? (Sorry, but I'm also Pm'ing you in case you couldn't come back to this post - I'M DESPERATE.)

[mbravebird]

I'm running out the door, but wanted to say that the higher UMF factor the better for the honey -- I don't think the brand matters. I just got the one that was at our local health food store. I actually got the middle UMF one, I think it was 15 or 20 UMF. The highest one was $50. The one I got was $20, and it worked just fine.

Look up MRSA 30 day for the pHenomenal. It's a sales job, but it seems to work.

I'll post about probiotics when I come back tonight!

[mamaof5boys]

I also would recommend using essential oils to treat MRSA. Tea tree is a great oil, I would definitely put it in a carrier oil (even olive oil is great) especially in the groin area. Make sure that any EO you use in therapeutic quality. Most of the stuff you get over the counter has synthetics in it.

Another EO I would use is Thieves- from Young Living. You need a good quality diffuser (you can get them from Young Living, or Abundant Health) that will actually put microdroplets of oils in the air. I have a friend who is a nurse and had a patient with MRSA. They had tried everything!! She brought in her diffuser with Thieves and ran it on and off for a couple of days and the MRSA was gone!! Nothing topical- simply diffusing in the patient's room! Good luck!

[JaneS]

iodine
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC271835/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9403250

[mbravebird]

I have had success with essential oils in the past, but with staph we tried essential oils in the bath and topically on the sores, and had no success. We used repeatedly, for two months: tea tree, lavender, geranium, oregano oil, and the thieves blend. They didn't change the look of the staph sores one bit. We did not, however, run a diffuser.

We also did not try iodine.

We also washed everything religiously in Borax, every day. We also did cell salts, regular homeopathy, probiotics, epsom salts baths, colloidal silver, and calendula wash.

Honestly, after struggling with this thing for two months, my sense of it is that it is not so much a bacteria issue as an immune system issue. It is tempting to want to eradicate the buggers, but really I think the issue is balance with other bacteria -- staph is *supposed* to be on our skin; it's normal. Certainly the more aggressive kind is not normal, but I still think the "eradication" seems to work best from the inside out than from the outside in. So, we tried all sorts of powerful "germ killing" approaches, some of which were successful temporarily (the manuka honey being the most wildly successful) but I think the inner alchemy is what has finally brought it under control/in balance.

To further that example, I have never broken out in staph -- even though I sleep with him, touch the sores with my fingers, etc etc etc. Nor has anyone in our house, including our six year old, who never washes his hands. In my opinion, it is more than a simple bacteria issue.

Here's the link to the water that helped:
http://www.mrsa30day.com/FAQ.shtml

Like I said, it sounds like a pitch (I was very suspicious at first), but it seems to work.

We use Pharmax probiotics, using the link in JaneS signature (she posted above.) We alternate that with Klaire infant probiotics.

Good luck! I know it sucks, and is stressful. Hopefully something in this thread will help your little one.

[Lauren31]

Is it a local skin infection on his groin? I have heard that draining it at a doctors is highly recommended but I am sure your doc has done that if it would work. honestly, I would not mess around with MRSA, I would listen to the doctor and do what he recommends. MRSA can lead to blood poisoning (sepsis), Cellulitis, Infection of the heart valves (endocarditis), pneumonia, organ failure and death may result from untreated MRSA infections. There are still some antibiotics that are ok with MRSA.

[Ackray]

When my son had MRSA cellulitis on his leg we treated it with antibiotics. I wouldn't mess around with a MRSA infection of his groin and testicles. HTH.

[mbravebird]

OP, have the antibiotics they gave him in the hospital worked?

[tngirl11]

I swear by Manuka honey. I buy mine from Amazon. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Wedderspoon-Or...6938240&sr=8-1
It is pretty affordable, at least comparatively. This one is active 16+, but I know you can get active 20+, which might be worth it for a serious infection like your son's. My dad had a skin cancer removed from his back, and the incision got infected. Nothing the doctor gave him worked, but the honey cleared it up quickly. It certainly can't hurt!

[NewSolarMomma]

I've had MRSA in the groin area and my husband had it near his eye. A friend of mine lost his eye to MRSA, it is very serious. One night, I went to bed fine, and woke up with 7-8 huge abscesses on my bikini line- yikes!

The ONLY thing that got rid of it was having the abscesses lanced, cleaned and packed at the drs (more than once), then twice or more daily washings with Hibiclens (drugstores have it), repacking them, and liberal applications of bactroban, a prescription only ointment. It won't hurt to add other things to the treatment your doc gave your son, but you should do whatever the hospital suggests. The poster above is right, it can cause VERY serious problems.

Don't feel bad, having this is not an immune system weakness, our bodies have not had the time to evolve a defense for this new strain, and cannot do much to fight it, which is why it's so dangerous. you couldn't have prevented this! Even though many people, not all, have staph in their groins and noses (that's where it lives I guess), but this is NOT the same thing as MRSA, which is a drug resistant, mutant strain.

Also important if you are going to have more kids- make sure you get tested to be positive you don't have it, even years after the initial infection. My OB tested me a week before my due date, as MRSA can do very ugly things during birth!

Good luck, I hope your son is better soon!

[JessicaS]

You might talk to your Dr about the honey and see if they have recommendations. There are different "grades" and I would be really cautious about using something like that from an unknown source on something that is so potentially serious.

When I buy honey I buy it from local farmers (one cannot swing a cat in Kansas without hitting a bee keeper ) and it is unpasturized. While that is delicious I am not using it for medicinal purposes. I wouldn't trust just anyone with something like this.

[preciousstone]

thank you all for your replies! the docs did give him an rxn of antibiotics and have drained it manually 3 times. we were admitted to the hospital for 4 nights. the area is now getting smaller and hard and isn't draining any more. we are still going back to the surgeon just to make sure it cannot be surgically drained anymore because one of the docs that saw him (we have been seen by several docs at the hospital incl our own pedi) seemed to think the hardened area will continue to shrink as the antibiotics does its job. Anyway, this is day 6 on this antibiotic and we have seen a tremendous improvement. In the past 2 days I've started using the manuka - i got the umf16+ one and I do think it is having much more dramatic effect. But given that we are also still giving the antibiotic I can't be sure that it really is working. Needless to say, I could care less - so long as it goes away!

I did feel the mrsa30day website sounded like a gimmick. I think I would try it once we are done with the antibiotics.

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by preciousstone

I did feel the mrsa30day website sounded like a gimmick. I think I would try it once we are done with the antibiotics.

This was my approach, too. I found out about it, but was unwilling to order until we had tried everything else for a good long while. For us, antibiotics didn't touch it. He had three outbreaks while on the antibiotics. And we did the natural stuff with the antibiotics and after the antibiotics, in full consultation with our pediatrician. The manuka honey was better than everything else that we tried, including oral antibiotics and prescription antibiotic cream (bactroban). But when I got desperate after two months of new lesions, I ordered the water and they finally cleared without returning. We are still in assessment phase about it, though.

[preciousstone]

did you have a progression like we are seeing. the cellulitis has stopped draining and is now harder but shrinking. so there is a sore where the white head was originally but then a harder area around it. did you put the honey on the whole area where it is hard?

[TonyaW]

I was reading today about colloidal silver for MRSA. Maybe you can google it. Also I once heard a nurse mention taking hibiclense baths for MRSA.

[frugalmum]

I also had 2 children hospitalized with staph in diaper area. Both had surgery .

I have found the best, and cheapest cure is zinc oxide diaper rash cream-- smear it on whenever they have a diaper on. Also daily bathing is very important. Keep laundry and towels as clean as possible. I also use alcohol hand sanitizer on my own hands all day long.

By "cure" I really mean preventative to stop recurrence-- if he has active cellulitis he needs to have it drained and take a full course of antibiotics. Once he's well, use zinc oxide paste daily on diaper area. My DD has not had a recurrence since using zinc oxide paste.