More than 12 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are reported in the US each year, and cost billions of dollars to treat. In Canada, STDs have been declining for several years but remain an important public health concern according to Health Canada. It is difficult to compare STD rates between the US and Canada as reporting systems are different.

Nevertheless, chlamydia is most prevalent in both countries, causing an estimated four million infections per year in the US and 34,000 annually in Canada. STDs are especially dangerous for women because these infections often cause few or no symptoms. As a result, many infected women are left untreated. When this happens with chlamydia, women can develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), experience an ectopic pregnancy and/or infertility.

While many natural health practitioners can help individuals with certain STDs, like yeast infections, there are few human trials confirming the reliability of natural therapies for these conditions. This article outlines some research supporting four different natural approaches–herbal, stress management, minerals and diet–for a handful of STDs.

Berberine for Chlamydia

It has been known for some time that berberine fights against bacteria, viruses and other infectious agents. Some natural health practitioners turn to herbs high in the active constituent berberine, such as goldenseal, barberry and Oregon grape, for chlamydia. While there is no research supporting berberine’s use for genital chlamydia, studies on other forms of this microbe are promising.

There are 15 different types of chlamydia species that infect humans. In Canada and other developed nations this bacteria-like parasite is responsible for STDs; for the rest of the world it is the leading cause of blindness. A chlamydia-based eye infection is not considered an STD.

A Japanese study done several years ago discovered that berberine enhances macrophages, large scavenging blobs which gobble up germs in the body. An Indian research team from Sitapur and Lucknow applied berberine chloride drops to patients with chlamydial eye infections. They compared this solution to suphacetamide eye drops, a drug used for the past 40 years for treating this affliction. While the drug produced better initial results than the botanical-derived remedy, all patients did improve. More significantly, only in the berberine treated group did the chlamydia parasite die and there were no recurrences. This outcome suggests that research on the use of berberine for genital chlamydia is warranted.

Stress and Herpes

Genital herpes is caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). An estimated 30 million individuals are affected in the US. It is unknown how many Canadians are infected as the law does not require medical personnel to report HSV cases.

Until fairly recently, stress reduction was thought to be a key in controlling herpes outbreaks. There is also evidence that as tension climbs, immunity drops–a possible trigger for herpes sores to develop. Nevertheless, most investigators now agree that stress alone does not activate herpes. There are, however, several speculations as to how daily tension impacts this STD.

New research indicates that how one copes with stress, not the stress itself, may provoke an attack. For instance, people who use problem-solving skills to deal with stress do better. There’s also evidence that individuals who feel they have a strong support system, specifically for their herpes, are less likely to suffer a recurrence during stressful periods.

Finally, having herpes is very stressful. This creates a chicken-or-egg dilemma of what comes first: Does stress cause herpes? or Does herpes cause stress? The good news is that, given time, most people learn to cope with the idea of having herpes, and stress is less influential.

(Editor’s note: many people have found that extract of myrrh is excellent for clearing up cold sores immediately and relieving both types of herpes.)

Zinc for Trichomonas

Lauri Aesoph is a naturopathic doctor who practices in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Source: alive #208, February 2000