Hospitals throughout the world are fighting not just against your ever-present diseases and ailments of humanity. Today, healthcare professionals must contend also with the mounting prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, of which is the most widespread bacterium, MRSA, or methicillin-resistant streptococcus aureus. But, did you know there’s hope in integrative medicine? Specifically, there is newfound hope in an Irish ancient healing practice with the use of dirt!
As a boy growing up in Ireland, Gerry Quinn, PhD, remembers his great-uncle’s belief in his ability to cure a variety of illnesses using natural mountain ingredients. This healing tradition is one of many ancient Irish healing practices we discussed before, passed down throughout generations.
In Western medical parlance, Gerry Quinn’s great-uncle had what is known today as an obsessive-compulsive disorder, geophagy, or a mostly benign, dirt eating disorder. But, in ancient folk medicine, the Druids speak of eating the soil as good for your digestive health and building tolerance to toxins. Some folklore talks of placing a clump of dirt beneath your pillow to cast away spirits. And, others add a small amount of soil to tinctures that are consumed.
The last known person to known about and use this Irish ancient healing practice was Reverend James McGirr. As this Ancient Origins article, details
In the old churchyard there is the grave of the ‘’Reverend James McGirr, the parish priest in 1803’’ reports the BBC. He was a respected figure in the community and on his deathbed he claimed that the earth from his grave had healing powers. There is a long-standing belief in the locality and beyond that the earth from Father McGirr’s grave can heal and is very effective against infections.
What’s different is that this one Irish ancient healing practice was not forgotten or dismissed by that little boy growing up in his hometown mountain regions. As it turns out, Quinn is now a microbiologist studying antibiotics, and uniquely, a former botanist. And, his great-uncle’s beliefs are proving lucrative for fighting against bacterial resistance.
In the scientific journal, Frontiers in Microbiology, Dr. Quinn, as part of an international research team, write that they have discovered a new Streptomyces bacterium that has some potent properties. (Streptomyces are the bacteria from which modern antibiotics are produced.) And, where did it come from? It originated from those same grasslands of Toneel North in Boho, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where Father McGirr’s grave lies.
These bacteria, a strain before unknown, develops in the alkaline/radon soil in Boho. And, as science has determined there’s merit to the folklore. This newly-discovered strain of Streptomyces, Streptomyces sp. Myrophorea, has antibiotic properties that can inhibit the growth of four major pathogens, including none other than MRSA. The other drug-resistant strains that Streptomyces sp. Myrophorea combats against are Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Carbenepenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumanii.
Now with the process of developing cultures of this bacteria and synthesizes it for medical purposes, there may be future hospital-grade medical uses that stemmed from this successful ethnopharmacological research project.
Once again, we learn that respecting and understanding the ancient healing practices of cultures from around the world are a worthwhile endeavor. Not only can they help us understand our fellow man better, but in them are the potential to find evidence-based medicine. Complementary, integrative medicine is changing the way in which we heal the mind, body, emotion and spirit, when we choose to be open to all healing pathways.
Do you have a family medicinal secret? Perhaps one that helps cure a cold/flu? Or, helps with another particular ailment? Let us know about your family’s healing traditions in the comments.