Phage Treatment for HS
Bacteriophage, or phage therapy, is the use of “good” viruses (bacterial viruses) to treat antibiotic resistant or chronic bacterial infections. The bacterial virus acts directly and exclusively on the target bacteria to destroy it through a process called “lysis”.
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Phages work with HS because they destroy biofilms, work as an anti-inflammatory, restore the microbiome and modulate the immune system.
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Antibiotics are the main means of killing bacteria. Phages and antibiotics both fight bacteria, but they do so in a different way.
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An antibiotic works like a kind of bomb carpet: a group of bacteria is destroyed, including bacteria that benefit humans.
Phages work like a precision bombing: the phage only kills the pathogenic bacterium. Phages are therefore more cumbersome in the healing process. A doctor must first find out which bacterium exactly causes the disease, and then a specific phage must be found. There are phage banks, which store phages and record which bacteria they work against.
Currently this treatment is not covered by most insurance unless you're fully antibiotic resistant. Treatment is available via Eliava Phage Therapy Center in Tiblisi in Georgia (near Turkey). There is an option to receive treatment without having to go to Tablisi. Please visit the Eliava Phage Therapy Center website for additional information.
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NEW Success Story! Read about Tanja Diederen's Phage success here!