Now that I’m on the recovering end of this sickness, thanks to many of the methods that I’ll be talking about below, I thought I’d share my preferred methods of killing bacteria.

These methods work for acute sickness, like a cold, for local issues like a stye, or for long-term bacterial infestations (like if you have sinusitis like I did for pretty much ever).

Obviously, if things are getting too bad you’ll want to go to the doctor. There’s a point where your body gets overwhelmed trying to fight everything and you need the big guns of antibiotics. When I had pneumonia a couple of years ago, I used these types of treatments as adjuncts to antibiotic therapy.

Antibiotics are a last resort, tho, and if you’re new to the world of offroad medicine you may be surprised at how well these approaches work.

Grapefruit Seed Extract

My number 1 all time favorite of all time of the extracts/essential oils family is grapefruit seed extract. It is by far and away the most effective topical I’ve used, and that includes silver, garlic, and tea tree oil. The research on GSE is…sketchy…at best but speaking from personal experience, it works. Externally at least. Please note that I have not tried taking GSE internally, and as such I would not personally recommend it.

My ride-or-die is the NutriBiotic GSE Nasal Spray, which is now a permanent member of my medicine cabinet. I need it less now that my sinuses are starting to behave, but back when they were completely out of control, this spray was both good cop (hydrating) and bad cop (bacteria killing). I still use it regularly.

Another fave is the GSE Skin Ointment, which I alternate with Bacitracin Zinc ointment (see below) as each one wears off in effectiveness.

Rubbing Alcohol

Alcohol is the OG of bacteria killers. Rubbing alcohol is another staple of mine, which I discovered during the “hellacious painful boils” phase of conquering gut dysbiosis. I use it to clean beauty tools, to prep and clean areas of skin, to soak out areas of infection (like the bacteria colony in my left nostril) (no I’m serious).

This is a tip I got from my aunt who grows here own food and digs a new outhouse every year: when you feel a boil coming on, and can see the puffy pink skin starting to come to a head, soak a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and use it to saturate the area for 10 minutes. I will not lie to you: this usually hurts. But it’s super-effective and will usually allow your immune system to take care of the boil without having to form a head (which is also painful).

I’ve noticed that every time you put alcohol on an area infested with bacteria, it will hurt–and this is regardless of if you have broken skin or not. You just have to roll with it.

The downside of using rubbing alcohol (topically only!) is that it’s drying. To prevent against further skin irritation, always follow up with lotion, or my preferred method of skin healing, Aquaphor.

Lately I’ve invested in alcohol prep wipes to clean my earrings each time I wear them (both before and after), which has literally changed my earring game. I thought I was going to have to let my ears heal over to get rid of all the bacteria, all I needed to do was up my earring hygiene protocol.

Hot Water

This is the sleeper method of fighting bacteria, because it always always ALWAYS feels like “how could this possibly do any good?” until you try it out. And yet, so effective. There are two main ways to deliver hot water therapy to yourself.

Steam

First of all, if you haven’t experienced the joys of the sauna, you need to do so ASAP. Just as a general health tip, the time you’ll spend in a sauna is time of joy and meditation and encouragement to yourself. Highly recommend.

But, not all of us have access to a good sauna. (I sadly moved away from my favorite sauna and haven’t found another good one.)

In times of need, such as upper respiratory infections, head colds, or sinus infections, turn to a great at home alternative: steaming your head. That’s what we call it in my family, at least. I like this method better than the Neti Pot.

Boil a pot of water on the stove. Any size will do, but a bigger pot with more water will hold heat for longer. Then, set up a station for yourself where you can bend over the pot without much fuss, like at a table or countertop. Grab a potholder or trivet to hold the pot, and a big towel. When the pot boils, turn off the stove and move it to your trivet. Drape the towel over your head and the pot. Breathe deeply, through your nose if you can. Stay here for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Keep a box of tissues at hand, because you might drip. And while I do not recommend taking a laptop under the towel with you, some sort of entertainment is essential. Try a podcast, or a talk on carnivory.

Hot Packs

Or hot compresses. Or as these may be called in the alt medicine field, “hot fomentations.”

Whatever you want to call them, they’re really easy to do. Boil some water, or if you’re lazy, run your tap for a very long time to get it super hot. Then, place a towel or washcloth in the stream to soak up all the heat and moisture. Wring out the towel, then place on your problem area. If you want to get super fancy, cover with another towel to keep in the heat.

(If you want to get even higher power levels, use a cloth that’s 50% cotton 50% wool.)

The hot water works to pull blood supply to an area of concern, thus providing more attention from your immune system. This works on pimples or boils, on lung problems like pneumonia (spread the towel over your back, or get someone else to do it for you), and even on sinus problems (mold a washcloth over your eyes and sinus cavities).

Seriously, I put a hot compress on my face last night and my sinuses feel so much better today.

Bacitracin Zinc

Sometimes, the natural methods just won’t cut it. For these times, you have bacitracin zinc ointment, which you can pick up at a local drugstore (probably). It can be a little hard to find, at least in my experience.

I like bacitracin zinc over triple antibiotic ointments because it has relatively few ingredients and really does get the job done.

It will stick in hard-to-reach places (the the aforementioned bacteria colony in my left nostril) and doesn’t cause skin irritation.

Hibiclens

And then there is the granddaddy of the at-home bacteria war: Hibiclens. I will know that I have finally won the war when I don’t need one of these in my shower.

If you have any kind of topical bacterial infestation, this is your best friend. Nothing like hospital-grade antibacterial wash to fight the good fight.

There you have it, my arsenal in the fight against bacteria! These guys have been with me in my struggles with SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) which turned into Everywhere Bacterial Overgrowth, pneumonia, boils, sinus infections, regular ol’ breakouts, infected eczema and more.

They work just as well on head colds and scraped knees, too, if you’re not fighting some huge bacterial war.

If you have another method that you use and love, let me know in the comments down below!

On the next episode of “Let’s fight bacteria together,” I’ll tell you the biggest lesson I’ve learned about eye makeup and bacterial infections.