Immune Health

Key Message: Biofilms are common and can cause chronic infections

Action Point: There are holistic steps you can take to treat and eliminate the issue of chronic biofilm as antibiotics are ineffective
If you have ever had any recurrent infections such as chronic ear infections, chronic sinusitis, tonsillitis, lung infections or chronic fatigue that just won’t go away even with multiple courses of antibiotics, then biofilm may be the cause. But biofilms are not only limited to chronic infections. They can also cause more severe diseases such as autoimmune diseases, Lyme disease and kidney stones.

The issue of biofilm is regularly overlooked when treating chronic illness, yet it affects millions of people in the developed world each year. Recently it has been gaining more attention among scientists, microbiologists and medical professionals.

But what exactly are biofilms? They are complex communities of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, yeast and algae that live together and adapt to various environment conditions. It was once thought that they existed as individual cells, however it is now known that they start off with a few microbes forming a thin layer of slime and eventually form complex colonies, which develop into communities of millions of microbes. They can be found all over the environment and are often found on surfaces that are wet and exposed to moisture. For example the slime on top of ponds and even the plaque on your teeth is biofilm.

It seems that people with lower immune systems are more susceptible to biofilm infections as they tend to form with greater ease in such individuals. In the 19th century, a French scientist, Antonine Bechamp suggested, “it is the internal terrain/ environment of the individual which determines our susceptibility to disease”. This […]