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Featured How to Cure a Staph Infection

Thorne

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WARNING: This treatment is for mild to medium cases of staph. If you fear you have a bad case, go to a physician and get on antibiotics immediately. In my experience, this particular remedy, which was shown to me a long time ago, has worked every time. IT IS NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS (HIV, FINAL STAGE HEPATITIS, ETC)

Life on the road is hard, and this is especially true when you are sick or have an infection. What this means is you have to find alternative ways to heal common ailments. Listerine, a very common and relatively inexpensive product, can be used in even the harshest conditions to cure mild to moderate staph if done correctly.

Materials: (amounts depend on the size and severity of the infection, so use your best judgment)

  • Original, Yellow Listerine or generic equivalent
  • Neosporin, A&D Ointment or generic equivalent (optional, but preferred)
  • 4x4 or 2x2 Sterile Gauze for cleaning and dressing
  • Paper tape (to adhere gauze)
  • Latex Gloves
  • Something that will hold at least a gallon of water (optional)
  • Bleach (optional)
  • Bandana or any other clean surface to work from
Some History:

Dr. Joseph Lawrence and Dr. Jordan Wheat Lambert first formulated Listerine as a surgical antiseptic in 1879 and named it for 1st Barron, Dr. Joseph Lister, who is considered the Father of Modern Antiseptic Surgery. Its use helped to reduce the risk of infection after major surgeries by irrigating the wound and cleaning surgical sites. During WWI it was used as a field antiseptic to clean wounds on the battlefield and civilian doctors also used it as an all-purpose antiseptic. Listerine was also being used in dental care because of its antiseptic properties and in 1914 it became the first over-the-counter mouthwash available to the public.

Treatment:

  1. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, bleach, hand sanitizer, or some of the Listerine if none of these other things are available. Also, most of us have a few wet-wipes from the last construction-site porto-sans we passed, and those work too.

  2. Put on a pair of gloves, even if you are doing this on yourself and especially if your nails and hands are caked with layers of train grease, dirt or mud. However, gloves have not always been available to me, and I have never contracted Staph and I have treated at least 20 cases this way over the years.

  3. Find a clean surface to open your gauze on. It is very important that this stays clean as you will be using it to clean open wounds. I know, hopping trains, sleeping in ditches and building cooking fires, nothing you have is really clean so here is a suggestion:

    Take that bandana off your head or off your neck and unfold it. Use the side that was not exposed to the elements as your work bench. In many cases it's the cleanest thing available.

  4. If you wish, or if the resources are available, you may want to moisten the scabs first to make their removal easier.

    To do this:
    1. Find something clean that will hold water and add 3 to 4 cap fulls of bleach to it to make sure it is biologically neutral, meaning that all bacteria in the water, are dead. This is an especially important step if you're using pond or stream water.

    2. Soak or swab the scabs with the water and bleach mixture until they soften up.
  5. Strip the scabs off of the wound with clean gauze. Throw away each pad after every wipe in one direction.

    NOTE: This is not pleasant so if you can obtain a pain killer of some sort (you know what works best for you), it may help.

  6. After all scabs are striped, scrub the open wound with Listerine. After fully cleaning all puss and debris out of the wound allow it to air dry. Do NOT blot.

  7. After wounds have been cleaned and dried, dress with Neosporin or equivalent. You don't want to use very much. A light coating will due.

  8. Lightly bandage the wound. You want air to be able to get to it, but you don't want dirt to get in it. You can't keep out everything, especially on the field, but do the best you can.

    NOTE: If the infection is on a place like your back, and you are able, just cover it with a clean white, 100% cotton t-shirt, preferably new, but not necessary. You'll likely end up throwing these away, but a pile of thrift store t-shirts are a lot cheaper than a pile of gauze. If it is on your feet, be sure to get a bag full of clean or new white socks. If you can, keep your feet out of boots and expose your socked feet to the air as much as possible.

  9. The first time you clean the wound check for any discharge penetrating the gauze. You might have to change your bandage from every two to six hours for the first day until you see a clearly identifiable, blood discharge.

  10. At the point where the wound can go six to eight hours reasonably between cleanings and you see noticeable progress, you can revise the procedure by doing it more lightly and just dabbing some Listerine and Neosporin on the new scabs that are free of infection. Healing rate is anywhere between 3-10 days depending upon the severity of the wound.
 

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Franny

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Just another note:
Listerine and generic equivalents are good antiseptics -because- they contain large amounts of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Rubbing alcohol can be substituted (but doesn't make a very good mouthwash).
Also, rubbing alcohol IS meant for rubbing, and it is unpleasant. If you can't handle the rubbing, using some kind of force behind the rubbing alcohol can work as well. Think a nasal aspirator (those blue bulbs you use to remove mucus from your nose) or syringes designed for ear irrigation. A clean water bottle with a small hole poked in the top works the same way too.
Sometimes less can be more. Rubbing alcohol kills a great deal of bacteria, but it also kills newly forming skin cells. If the wound is no longer secreting large amounts of pus, there's no reason to keep going at it with the mouthwash/alcohol more than once a day.
 

Thorne

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Rubbing alcohol is denatured alcohol. Do you know what denatured alcohol is? Denatured alcohol is alcohol that is fit for human consumption except there are agents in it that stop it from being consumed internally that are placed there to prevent it.

It is not unpleasant because you have to use listerine, it is unpleasant because you have to pull of the scabs. Read things before you post them. And do more research.
 

Franny

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Read things before you post them. And do more research.

Nice. I might caution you to do the same thing, my friend. Rubbing alcohol and denatured alcohol are not the same. Denatured alcohol (often used as an industrial solvent) DOES contain isopropyl alcohol...and acetone...and methynol...and dyes. Lots of stuff you wouldn't want in an open infected wound. Listerine's other ingredients, mostly water and menthol and "safe" colorings isn't as much of a concern. Fact remains that isopropyl alcohol is the active ingredient, meaning that is what DISINFECTS the wound. Don't tell me that listerine has some magical disinfectant property that rubbing alcohol doesn't. Rubbing alcohol can, and should burn. It does hurt. So does pulling off scabs, but cut your finger on a manila envelope and it will burn all the same if you rub alcohol on it, scabs or no.

If you get a bottle of 75% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol from absolutely anywhere, it is NOT denatured alcohol. Calling them the same because one contains the other- let's just call apples cyanide and almonds arsenic while we're at it.
 
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Mouse

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I got some lovely goop to stick up my nose that's supposed to get staph outta your system. and a lotion typically used to acne to use... I keep having troubles when I shave my pits and it's been helping.

I'd be willing to send some of the nose goop to people if they suffer from chronic staph problems. they give ya a massive tube and I'll only use a 10th of it. (I use a q-tip to apply it so it's not contaminated or nothing)
 

finn

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Hey Mouse, what's the active ingredient of the nose goop? It's gotten me a bit curious.

I prefer using alcohol more of a cleaner and sterilization agent instead of as a direct treatment, and my favorite treatment for superficial staph infections is honey.
 

venusinpisces

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While I was a full-time squatter I had the staph infection from hell and as a result I now know more than I ever cared to about the lovely flesh-eating disease and how to get rid of it.

First of all, there are two remedies that are relatively cheap and a lot better for you than antibiotics, which is the standard medical treatment if you go to a doctor. The first is plain baking soda and it costs less than a dollar. What you do is mix about a teaspoon in a glass of water on an empty stomach. Make sure you haven't just eaten or you will make yourself sick.You can also mix some of it into a paste and smear it on the sores.

The other remedy, which is even better, is grapefruit seed extract which you can find at any decent health food store(not the vitamin kind). It costs less than $10 and is a very effective cure. Just mix some in water and it will have a similar effect to antibiotics only you won't get sick afterwards.

Another miracle cure is oregano oil. Just one drop in a glass of water will work wonders.
Both it and the grapefruit seed extract will temporarily stop working after a few weeks so you can rotate between them.

Beyond the immediate, most people come down with staph because their body is in a state of hyper-acidity. You can reverse this problem by consuming mostly alkaline substances while eliminating the acidic ones. This approach will have dramatic and immediate benefits but it's hard to do if you don't have a place to cook, although it's still possible. The two most acidic substances, unfortunately, are alcohol and sugar. So you have to quit drinking and eating sweets for awhile to cure up any long-lasting staph infection. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. There are a lot of charts out there that give a more thorough breakdown regarding the acid-alkaline subject so google it if you want to know more. Basically you just need to eat a whole lot of vegetables and contrary to popular opinion you don't need to be vegetarian for this to work.

I can assure you that these remedies will work. The staph I had was so bad the doctor said I might have to have brain surgery. I was pulling ropes of congealed black blood from my legs and it lasted for months and then kept recurring. :dead_zombie::zombieface: That was over 7 years ago and no staph since. I've even had friends sleep on my couch who were covered in staph sores but I did not get it. You really have to be fairly immuno-compromised for MRSA to take hold in the first place so take care of yourself and you won't get it even if your friends do. Good luck staying healthy!
 
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foxtailV

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thank u 4 this. I got Mrsa while traveling it eventually took me for a heavy ride.. I had broken out in my croch and i still kept trucking , thinking i could shake it. I thought it was a fungus like ringworm... and after monthes of cleaning and cutting the wounds open to heal , in which when one would heal another would appear! it finally moved into other regions of my body . It appeared on my calf. it hurt so bad i had to travel with a crutch while lugging a 50pound pack and a 60 pound dog in a hottest summer on record 100 something heat. It was a long time to get help . I finally got diagnosed at hospital as MRSA . The infection was due to my health and no doubt malnurishment. The fact that I had a tooth infected to the nerve was bad! It poisons the blood! I started taking antibiotics and the MRSA went away ie.. the lesions . I went home and stayed there for a year and was sick almost the whole time . I would get better after being sick for a month and then relapse , until I figured out it was the tooth.. The Doctors did not figure this out, I had 2! Finally got tooth removed and then i still stayed sick ..after yet thinking I had made it! The problems I had gone through wreaked my defenses and i was so open to everything out there , everytime I turned around I got hammered . Its like I had Aids! no immune system. I thought i would die if the next wave hit me . I had taken to many hits. I could barely get out of bed to eat breakfast in the morning and I would be exhausted after, that I could barely make it to bed again , only to wake up at midday and be up for a few hours. It was just about a year of this shananagins, I had the contempt of everyone in my family thinking I was using my Grandparentsand faining a sickness! They had decided to make me leave .. Just before this I had gone to WholeFoods and talked to someone about probiotic yougurt, it was made by a pharmacy in Canada and cost $5 a shot! I started tea leafing them and i noticed a difference right away it was like wind in my sails i suddeny started to have leaps and bounds of energy , still feeling sick but ammo to fight day. They put me out a couple weeks after and I thought if this doesnt cure me Im dead! On the street I couldnt survive this life of not being able to function! I went to the shelter and never was admittted , it was to crowded and i had to live in an abandoned building, but the sickness , to my relief had finally been tamed, and i escaped by the skin of my teeth! MRSA everybody is a bad bitch, and i beat her like a maddog!
 

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I had MSRA once after i was given steroids to chill a hardcore poison ivy reaction... the poison ivy went away... but then i had a staph infection in the skin of my back shoulders and chest... it was nasty... imagine like every inch of skin covered in little white heads.

it didnt seem to be that big adeal... and back then i was working and could afford the doc visit and antibiotics... they gave me this super strenght antibiotic body wash and a bunch of pills... the pimples went away in two or so weeks... but i now i have scars all over my back and i get normal old acne on my back.

staph is no fun... EAT YO VITAMINS KIDS!
 

wokofshame

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OK, I used to work on a trail crew which got MRSA infestation we think from one person's hospital visit, it spread to almost the entire 20-person crew, the building and tents we stayed in, the last 3 summers they have had it and will probably still, I'm long gone but it keeps getting spread each summer to the new people. Gross
That is Definitely a horror story, if you wnat to work on that crew you will probably get staph. Is it actually MRSA or just reg staph?, I think doctors commonly misdiagnose without actually seeing if its resistant to specific antibiotics.
Whe i was around 15-16 yrs old I kept getting recurring staph and I think what happened was it stayed in my body even after individual infections were beat.

The trick is to beat it early before it gets to your blood, you may die if its in your blood, i cant even how horrible it is to have in your mouth, i've never heard of that before. USE BOILING WATER COMPRESSES, HEAT WILL DRAW IT OUT. Burn yourself, do whatever you gotta do, the heat does the trick. Grapefruit see oil does sound effective, I've used lavender on the spot.
 

venusinpisces

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it hurt so bad i had to travel with a crutch while lugging a 50pound pack and a 60 pound dog in a hottest summer on record 100 something heat. It was a long time to get help . I finally got diagnosed at hospital as MRSA . The infection was due to my health and no doubt malnurishment.
I've been there before(minus the crutch but my dog is 95 pounds :/)!! And yes it is terrible. I really thought I was going to die, too. Glad to hear you managed to beat it. Thanks for bringing up probiotics. I forgot to mention that part. Probiotics are really important because they will actually compete with the staph bacteria for dominance. After one of my last sores drained I was still a completely lethargic mess. Shortly afterwards I randomly ended up at Short Mountain Sanctuary, an off the grid farm for gay men and they surprisingly took me in for a couple weeks. That whole time I spent milking, doing dishes and eating raw goat's milk yogurt and organic (not certified) vegetables. When I first started off there I wasn't the most productive worker but by the time I left I was bouncing around like nothing had even happened--and it was their Beltane celebration then which is a huge 500 person camp-out. Amazing! I am so grateful to the guys there for helping me out. Anyways, yogurt is a particularly good food for travelers because it doesn't require preparation. Thanks again for that tip--it's really important.
 
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L.C.

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i had chiggers and staph at the same time the staph spread to the chiggers. let me tell you that the staph didn't kill the chiggers.(wich i hoped for) i ended up with miserably itchy and painful staph sores.
 

Menyun

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Just dont let it get too bad... I got MRSA and nothing would work, kept trying these home type remedies and woke up one morning and my entire right arm was swolen up got emited to the hospital took them 3 weeks to get it under control by running a stent line to my heart cause the antibiotics they used would of ate up my veins if they gave it to me normal. If it wasn't for the nuns picking up the bill I would of owed them 80 grand =(
 

Xavierr

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Just dont let it get too bad... I got MRSA and nothing would work, kept trying these home type remedies and woke up one morning and my entire right arm was swolen up got emited to the hospital took them 3 weeks to get it under control by running a stent line to my heart cause the antibiotics they used would of ate up my veins if they gave it to me normal. If it wasn't for the nuns picking up the bill I would of owed them 80 grand =(

Wow yeah. I needed IV antibiotics for a few days, and had a shitty fever, but it's starting to go down. In OR they give compensation apparently, so I got free 7 days of antibiotics to leave with in the hospital I was at. Cant wait till i get on the move again tho, shit.
 

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