Antiseptic Lozenges

Lozenges containing antiseptic, anti-microbial and/or anti-viral substances have been on the market for a long time. One version of Strepsils contains both amyl meta cresol and 2,4-dichlorobenzyl alcohol. TCP Sore Throat Lozenges contain hexylresorcinol. An older box of Sucrets containing hexylresorcinol and a newer one which doesn't contain hexylresorcinol is shown below. I bought the Strepsils and TCP lozenges recently from a UK pharmacy through Ebay. More recently, I found some Strepsils being sold by someone in New York on Ebay. Before buying Strepsils make sure they contain the antimicrobial compounds that you want. The formula varies.



Black current is often used in throat lozenges including one version of Strepsils.

Studies on Black Currants
Scientists investigated the inhibitory effects of black currant extract against pathogens associated with oral, nasal, and upper respiratory infectious diseases, including respiratory syncytial virus, influenza virus A and B, herpes simplex virus type 1, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus mutans. They found that "less than one percent concentration of extract of blackcurrant inhibited replication of (several of the diseases investigated) by over 50 percent and a 10 percent extract inhibited adsorption of these viruses onto the cell surface by over 95 percent" and "a 10 percent extract disinfected 99.8 percent of H. Influenzae type B and 78.9 percent of S. pneumoniae in 10 minutes."
The conclusion was that black currant extract has potential as a functional food for oral care
One study noted the dietary antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, were helpful in preventing and controlling various diseases by counteracting the imbalance of oxidative and antioxidative factors. Black currant, known to contain high amounts of anthocyanins, has recently been found to be the second most effective amongst nine different berry extracts studied for their free radical scavenging activity. The study was conducted to evaluate the potential antiproliferative effects of black currant fruit skin extract against liver cancer cells. The results indicate, for the first time, that black currant skin containing an anthocyanin-rich fraction inhibits the proliferation of liver cancer cells.
http://foodfacts.mercola.com/black-currant.html

Green tea can help beat superbugs according to Egyptian scientists speaking March, 31, 2008 at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting.
Date: April 1, 2008
Source: Society for General Microbiology
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330200640.htm

References

THE DISINFECTANT AND ANTISEPTIC PROPERTIES OF AMYL-META-CRESOL.
C. E. COULTHARD.
brjexppathol00245-0058-amylmetacresol2.pdf

A NOTE ON THE TOXICITY OF AMYL-META-CRESOL.
W. A. BROOM.
brjexppathol00245-0054-ToxAmylMetaCresol.pdf

Boots Pure Drug Co. patent on 2,4-Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol
GB865672A-part1.pdf
GB865672A-part2.pdf

Hexyl Resorcinol
V. Leonard
J. Urology 1924 pages 585-610
(see page 590 for phenol coefficients of various alkyl resorcinols)
Hexylresorcinol-Leonard1924-2.pdf

Results Obtained with Aerosols in the Monkey House of the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland, Dublin (1949-1953)
By John McGrath
Hexylresorcinol-McGrath.pdf

Aerial Disinfection with Hexyl Resorcinol in a Monkey House
IJMS 1963 pp. 99-103
By P. N. Meenan
Hexylresorcinol-Meenan.pdf

Alkyl resorcinols, such as hexyl resorcinol show bacteriostatic action, see page 16 in the following article:
Resorcinolic Lipids, the Natural Non-isoprenoid Phenolic Amphiphiles and Their Biological Activity
Arkadiusz Kozubek
Chemical Reviews
Volume 99, Number 1 January 1999
ResorcinolicLipids.pdf

Dr. Ewing's formula contains Resorcin (aka resorcinol), Eucalyptol (from eucalytus), Ol. Pin. Sylvest. (oil of Pinus sylvestris or Scots Pine) and menthol (case 1), or carbolic acid (phenol), oil of cassia, oil of wintergreen and menthol (case 2). He claims success in treating tuberculosis, post nasal catarrh and chronic laryngitis using these formulas with the Underwood Inspirator.
Medical Review 1897 p 162
Medical_review-Underwood-p162ex.pdf

A good example of antibiosis
Bacterio-Therapy, Cantani
The Weekly Medical Review page 161 1885
http://sciliterature.50webs.com/Weekly_Medical_Review_Cantani-p161.pdf
Could readily available probiotics, such as L. acidophilus or L. reuteri work in place of Bacterium termo?

Clinical Improvement of Active Tuberculosis Patients with Complex Treatment and Nutritional Supplementation
L.V. Turchenko, E.O. Voloshchuk, V. Ivanov, T. Kalinovsky, A. Niedzwiecki and M. Rath
The Open Natural Products Journal, 2008, 1, 20-26
http://sciliterature.50webs.com/20TONPJ.pdf

Influence of environmental conditions and pollution on the incidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae infections
https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/3/4/00014-2017

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link to complete article (discusses H1N1 in addition to other flu strains)

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ST37 contains 0.1% hexylresorcinol. Its used as an antiseptic and oral pain reliever.

more pictures
Old ST37 ad
Recent ST37 Box bought from a New York pharmacy through Amazon.com
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Links

circa 1925: Patients in the inhalation room at a tuberculosis clinic at Friedrichstadt.

circa 1930: Patients at a hospital in Germany inhaling powdered medicines such as menthol and eucalyptus to heal respiratory diseases.

http://www.nocolds-noflus.com/

US patent 7048953 (view or download pdf)


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Sinus infections

For almost two decades sinus infections (often infecting the lungs later) have been going around in my area and I've been trying to find OTC (non-prescription) treatments for it. Back in 1996, my father got a sinus infection and went to the doctor who told him that it was a bacterial infection (probably streptococcus, micrococcus or similar bacteria) and gave my father a prescription for antibiotics (Ampicillin or Amoxicillin, I can't remember which one) and asked the doctor if he could have a couple extra for me since I had the sinus infection at the time, too. That's when I discovered it was a bacterial infection.I found that salt water sprayed into my nose using a wash bottle helps. Breathing the vapors from peppermint leaves isn't too effective. Breathing the vapors from clove oil helps to some extent. Menthol, camphor and eucalyptus (such as Vicks inhalors/Vaporub) help a little bit and antibiotics are very effective, but I need a prescription to get them and my stash is getting low. I found an old bottle of Dristan (containing antimicrobial quaternary ammonium salts) that was effective, but I don't think they sell those anymore. More recently, I tried breathing the vapors from an old bottle of Lysol and found that it can cure the sinus infection in a couple days. It contains orthohydroxydiphenyl (aka ortho-phenylphenol) and xylenols which appear to be the disinfectants. I don't think they sell Lysol with these chemicals in it anymore. Its the most effective thing I've found next to taking oral antibiotics, which I don't like to do since I have to go to the doctor, get a prescription and risk getting an upset stomach and diarrhea as well as having a weakened digestive system for a while after taking antibiotics. On the back of the Lysol bottle there's directions for using it as an external antiseptic.
Click links to see bottle Lysol-front.jpg Lysol-back.jpg

A lot of people thought it was a strange idea to inhale the vapors from a Lysol bottle and also, I decided to see if I could find something related that was developed for use in treating throat, sinus and lung infections. I heard of hexylresorcinol and searched the internet for that. The throat lozenges discussed above are some of the results I found. I recently got the sinus infection again (January 2014) giving me the oppurtunity to try out the TCP and Strepsils lozenges and found that they both are very effective in reducing the symptoms and shortening the duration of the infection. Compared to other lozenges I tried before, not containing the germacides discussed above, such as Halls Mentho-lyptus, Ricola, etc., I found that the TCP and Strepsils to be far superior.
Note: ortho-phenylphenol, xylenols, resorcinol, hexylresorcinol and amylmetacresol are all phenolic type compounds with anti-microbial properties.


Lugol's Solution

After reading the directions on my Lugol's Solution bottle about use as an iodine supplemnt, I decided to try adding 3-4 drops to an ounce of salt water and using it as a nasal lavage when I had a sinus infection. Its highly effective. Iodine has been used as an antiseptic for decades. Lugol's Solution should be diluted enough when used in this way. Don't use full stregth.

Google "Lugol's sinus" and you can see a lot of people have thought of this already.

http://just-got-lucky.blogspot.com/2011/08/bioweapons-in-your-sinus-part-ii.html


Umckaloabo

Here's an interesting story of a man who was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis in 1897, went to South Africa and was given an herbal preparation containing Umckaloabo (Pelargonium sidoides - an African geranium) to treat his tuberculosis. Later, he tried to sell it and was accused of being a quack by the British Medical Association

https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/opinion/blogs/umckaloabo-secret-remedy/11110886.blog

http://archives.wellcome.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=((text)=%27Umckaloabo%27)

https://naturalsci.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/friends-of-science-in-medicine-umckaloabo-and-secret-remedies-everything-old-is-new-again/

There's scientific support that Umckaloabo boosts the immune system and you can find products containing it on Ebay and Amazon.com.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20070280

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2008.04085.x/pdf

Efficacy and Tolerability of High-dose Pelargonium Extract in Patients With the Common Cold
http://alternative-therapies.com/openaccess/ATHM9589Riley.pdf


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