The Dreaded Staph... dun dun dun

[madgrappler]

There is no such thing as faith-based skepticism.

Completely false. Skepticism is often based on faith. Not always, but sometimes. Not all aethiests want to believe in God, most in my opinion hate the idea for various reasons and find ways to make it believable. They are the *best* examples of faith-based skepticism. Ultimately the question is not answerable so any certainty, that their is or isn't, is based on faith, whether cloaked in a more appealing wrapper or not.

You cannot be skeptical about a topic about which you entertain faith.

Of course you can.

madgrappler - nobody is saying garlic doesn't work to some degree. What I'm saying, and I guess the others too, is that there isn't enough scientific evidence to be sure right now. It might work well but then it might not. Lots of things look like they might work but turn out not to. Some of them however do.

You could always try it. That's what I did. I wasn't sure but I was intrigued by the evidence and I tried it and found all the evidence i need. Not trying it when it doesn't hurt anything as a supplement to another treatment because it might not work is dumb, imho.

No doubt garlic has antimicrobial properties along with some other natural substances. The early trials look promising but they are preliminary and could amount to little. Let's hope they turn out to be true and the world is landed with a perfect cure for MRSA which will save millions of lives worldwide.

You are assuming good faith on the part of the fda and big pharma, which is not safe. Both wish to suppress anything that doesn't generate profit whether it works or not. Hundreds died and were maimed for life before the FDA finally took products phen/phen and celebrex off the market, but one person dies while they are taking ma huang, and bang, its banned. Don't be naive. If you want to know what really works you are going to have to get your own hands dirty and try it yourself. (within reasonable limits of course)

Nobody can tell you that garlic didn't cure you of an MRSA infection. It might well have happened. However you cannot be sure that it was MRSA at all unless you got diagnosed by culture tests/DNA typing and you cannot be sure it was the garlic that cured it.

I'm sure enough. And I'm not the only one with the experience. I don't need yours or anyone elses affirmation. Do what you want. People who want to try it can, if you don't, good for you.

There is just no way to be that sure. Why not accept those facts and admit that you personally believe it works but that there is an element of doubt there? Nobody can argue with that.

I'm sure enough. I don't care what you think or argue with.

 

[madgrappler]

Ok, so I got diagnosed yesterday with staph...yay?! So let's hear some of your remedies/preventative measures about what works and what doesn't.

Before the whole "Just take what the doc prescribed." I am, but just looking to possibly expediate and prevent future cases.

The only thing I've been told, outside of making sure gear and all is cleaned and good hygiene, is bleach baths. Do these really help in anyway?

So OP - how you doing with it?

 

[SummerStriker]

Garlic is supposed to naturally heal and prevent staph.

Bleach bath will work, don't get burned!

I've heard taking Acidophilus builds up an immunity to staph and ringworm.

I've heard the pills don't stay alive in your stomach long and don't do much to change the normal flora in your gut in the long term. It's better to eat live culture yogurt (I've had an MD tell me when I was on a strong anti-biotic that it didn't have to be live culture and that anything will work), also fruit that is starting to go bad, sauerkraut, fermented bean kerd, and kimchi are good for building up the normal flora.

The natural oils on our skin are antimicrobial, so people with dry skin, people who use alcohol to wash off, or who use too much harsh soap are at a greater risk. Foods that help with oil production are helpful. Vitamin D and healthy fats are important.

 

[Dirty Holt]

Not to stir the pot here, but Madgrappler, how could you tell you had MRSA instead of regular staph?

 

[TheHereticJay]

So OP - how you doing with it?

Looks to be slowly going away with the meds prescribed. Wish it would hurry up... I have a sport sambo invitational on the 19th and a comp on the 26th I wanna do.

 

[madgrappler]

Not to stir the pot here, but Madgrappler, how could you tell you had MRSA instead of regular staph?

NP Dirty, here's the recap:

I didn't get staph in the gym, ironically I got MSRA from a hug from a neighbor who just got out of the hospital, when we let her use our fax machine to send off some insurance docs. Two days later I had a hole forming in my forehead where it touched her arm (i was sitting she was standing for the hug) and she was covered in staph and back in the hospital.

She was in the hospital getting AB's via IV for over a month, I got rid of it completely (at least no visible signs left) after about a week. This was before I knew about Defense soap products so they might work even better. I made garlic infused oil and kept it on there three times a day, and made a smoothie with garlic, cinnamon, and other antimicrobial herbs and spices fresh three times a day. Tasted terrible but inarguably worked, as that's all I did. No antibiotics at all, which don't work well for MSRA anyway.

Recommend you make sure you take a good probiotic while on the antibiotics...

So I got a painful infection that looked and acted exactly like staph in the exact spot I came into contact with her skin, and in the spot i touched her (and others) she wound up in the hospital tested for MRSA.

So there is a slight chance that's just a big coincidence and I had an ingrown hair on that spot. But I don't believe in Santa Clause either.

 

[madgrappler]

Looks to be slowly going away with the meds prescribed. Wish it would hurry up... I have a sport sambo invitational on the 19th and a comp on the 26th I wanna do.

Good news bro. Good luck, hope you make your comps.

 

[carolinasmbCR]

Just take what the doc prescribed... Lol!



:wink:

 

[Nozza]

Completely false. Skepticism is often based on faith. Not always, but sometimes. Not all aethiests want to believe in God, most in my opinion hate the idea for various reasons and find ways to make it believable. They are the *best* examples of faith-based skepticism. Ultimately the question is not answerable so any certainty, that their is or isn't, is based on faith, whether cloaked in a more appealing wrapper or not.

Of course you can.

You could always try it. That's what I did. I wasn't sure but I was intrigued by the evidence and I tried it and found all the evidence i need. Not trying it when it doesn't hurt anything as a supplement to another treatment because it might not work is dumb, imho.

You are assuming good faith on the part of the fda and big pharma, which is not safe. Both wish to suppress anything that doesn't generate profit whether it works or not. Hundreds died and were maimed for life before the FDA finally took products phen/phen and celebrex off the market, but one person dies while they are taking ma huang, and bang, its banned. Don't be naive. If you want to know what really works you are going to have to get your own hands dirty and try it yourself. (within reasonable limits of course)

I'm sure enough. And I'm not the only one with the experience. I don't need yours or anyone elses affirmation. Do what you want. People who want to try it can, if you don't, good for you.

I'm sure enough. I don't care what you think or argue with.

I'm sorry but you're just plain wrong. Skepticism is never based on faith. People may claim to be being skeptical whilst having faith but there are not. The two things are mutually exclusive. You appear to have weird definition of atheism.

The rest of your points are so littered with logical fallacies I don't even know where to start. And since you don't care, I won't bother.

 

[madgrappler]

I'm sorry but you're just plain wrong. Skepticism is never based on faith. People may claim to be being skeptical whilst having faith but there are not. The two things are mutually exclusive. You appear to have weird definition of atheism.

The rest of your points are so littered with logical fallacies I don't even know where to start. And since you don't care, I won't bother.

People believe what they do for reasons more psychological than logical, and justify it after they've decided what they believe, then beliefs tend to be very "sticky" even in the face of evidence. Lots of research backs that up.

I feel certain that your powerful belief that "skepticism can never be based on faith" is a good example of all of the above. Probably because it is tied to other things you believe involved in your self-identity, and it is emotionally threatening to have that challenged.

Or you could be vulcan purged of all emotion, a being of pure logic. Either way, I guess.

 

[Nozza]

People believe what they do for reasons more psychological than logical, and justify it after they've decided what they believe, then beliefs tend to be very "sticky" even in the face of evidence. Lots of research backs that up.

I feel certain that your powerful belief that "skepticism can never be based on faith" is a good example of all of the above. .

No it's not. It's based on the definition of the what the two things actually are. Your misunderstanding of what a skeptical enquiry into a subject doesn't change that. I suspect you're confusing what you think of the "skeptical community" (including people who point out that the you go about defining what counts as proper evidence is unscientific and unsound) and what Skepticism is. They are not the same thing in the same way that Christianity and Christians are not the same. If someone, whether they claim to be a skeptic or not, holds strong beliefs about something for which they do not have sufficient, testable evidence, then then they are not being skeptical about that particular subject.

Yes people believe for all sort of reasons. When they do that, they are not being skeptical. They not being scientific (the two things are very closely linked). Properly conducted science attempts to remove such biases. It's one of the main reasons science is so successful at what it does.

Everything you've written so far implies to me that you're anti-skeptic and anti-scientific (not to mention prone to conspiracy beliefs). You appear to prefer anecdote and your personal perceptions to hard evidence. That's fine for matters of conscience, relationships, art and what have you. It's almost useless when it comes to testable hypotheses such as whether garlic is a particularly good cure for MRSA. We won't know that until such time as science tests it properly.

 

[madgrappler]

No it's not. It's based on the definition of the what the two things actually are. Your misunderstanding of what a skeptical enquiry into a subject doesn't change that. I suspect you're confusing what you think of the "skeptical community" (including people who point out that the you go about defining what counts as proper evidence is unscientific and unsound) and what Skepticism is. They are not the same thing in the same way that Christianity and Christians are not the same.

Yes people believe for all sort of reasons. When they do that, they are not being skeptical. They not being scientific (the two things are very closely linked). Properly conducted science attempts to remove such biases. It's one of the main reasons science is so successful at what it does.

Everything you've written so far implies to me that you're anti-skeptic and anti-scientific (not to mention prone to conspiracy beliefs). You appear to prefer anecdote and your personal perceptions to hard evidence. That's fine for matters of conscience, relationships, art and what have you. It's almost useless when it comes to testable hypotheses such as whether garlic is a particularly good cure for MRSA. We won't know that until such time as science tests it properly.

Far better said than anything else you've said. Based on this I'd love to debate you more on the nature of belief and skepticism and how human beings work, I think it might be worth my time and I'd probably enjoy it.

But all I have time for right now is to say that everyone's experience is evidence of something. Figuring out evidence of what and deciding how much weight to give it is tricky. Theories are tested about what works and what don't are supported or disproved by analyzing what happens under certain circumstances under as controlled conditions and that's exactly what I have applied to my own experiences and the experiments I perform in my own life. Can I hit a kimura from the bottom of half guard? Only one way to know. Try it. Does garlic work as a topical antimicrobial? Only one way to know, try it. I'm satisfied that theories are well suported because I've gotten repeated and consistent results with both. I have all the evidence i need from my own experiences on those two subjects. I'm not asking you to accept my evidence, it only makes sense for you to want more reviewed and controlled experimental data. It will come. In the meantime if you care enough you can perform your own experiments, or not. Whatever. But I did, and I'm telling you what the results were. Do with that whatever you want.

Anti-scientific made me chuckle. I make my living using the scientific method and applying math to complex phenomena. In my personal life I think in terms of moving field grid of probability. So - no.

Have a good day.

 

[richmFTW]

I've never had staph thankfully. Ringworm now thats a different story.

 

[cc023]

I've heard the pills don't stay alive in your stomach long and don't do much to change the normal flora in your gut in the long term. It's better to eat live culture yogurt (I've had an MD tell me when I was on a strong anti-biotic that it didn't have to be live culture and that anything will work), also fruit that is starting to go bad, sauerkraut, fermented bean kerd, and kimchi are good for building up the normal flora.

The natural oils on our skin are antimicrobial, so people with dry skin, people who use alcohol to wash off, or who use too much harsh soap are at a greater risk. Foods that help with oil production are helpful. Vitamin D and healthy fats are important.

Very well could be true, I don't know.

I took acidophilus and stopped getting ringworm so much (though it's also supposed to help with staph) but I could have just built an immunity or something else in my diet has probably been fighting it off.

 

[Funkoar]

This thread has made me paranoid. I had a mark on my arm, went and got it checked, turned out it was a bite from an insect...

Better safe than sorry haha.

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

The most common misdiagnosis for staph/MRSA is spider bite. Not to make you worry lol

 

[Funkoar]

The most common misdiagnosis for staph/MRSA is spider bite. Not to make you worry lol

Lol, well I do live in Australia. But they said it looked nothing like an infection or anything.