Medication Resistant Infections and Aromatherapy

Disease-causing pathogens are mutating in ways that make them immune to current prescription medications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as being resistant to many antibiotics which historically have been used to treat bacterial infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Healthcare, 2019). MRSA can cause infections of the bloodstream, lungs, and surgical sites. This is only one example of bacterial infections that are medication resistant.

An increasingly alarming trend recently has been the discovery of drug-resistant fungal infections and systemic mycoses which have produced high mortality rates (see my blog on fungal infections). Looking at Candida and Aspergillus species there has been documented resistance to standard antifungal medications such as fluconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole (Karpinski, 2020).

This increase in medicine resistant pathogens has alarmed many medical experts. In fact, the World Health Organization says,

“Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.

“AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.

Antimicrobials - including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics - are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.

Essential oils have antimicrobial properties and can be used in treating AMR infections. Unlike synthetic chemicals in prescription medication which have a single action, essential oils are made up of hundreds of constituents producing a synergistic effect that disease-causing pathogens have difficulty mutating around to create resistance. In 1985, an expert in the aromatherapy community, Dr. Jean C. Lapraz, said he could not find any microbe that could live when exposed to the essential oils of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and oregano (Origanum vulgare). Note: cinnamon and oregano are "hot" essential oils and need to be diluted before applied to the skin to prevent burning. In one research study, essential oils were used in combination with prescription medication with highly effective outcomes (Xiao, 2020). In the Karpinski study cited above, essential oils from the Lamiaceae family showed powerful antifungal properties.

This is not to say that prescription medication has no efficacy but rather to point out that it has its limitations just as essential oils do. It has been discussed in detail by experts that overuse of antimicrobial medications has created these "superbugs." It is imperative that we find alternatives that work. Essential oils show a powerful approach to treating infections of this sort.

An internet search on these subjects is encouraged to find available research to make informed decisions. Contact me for more information.