Writing to university R&D for scientific research into B

[CyberchndriacNot]

I have been contacting universities in NZ, Australia and the UK and will let you know if I get any responses. Feel free to comment on the wording of the letter. If I can further condense the letter without losing meaning, or add additional information you think relevant, I'm all ears!

Microbiology Building
Health Sciences
Otago School of Medical Sciences

Dear Sirs

Having read research papers published via your university, I am writing to request whether you or your colleagues will be conducting further research to learn how to eradicate the smelly bacteria found in halitosis sufferers.

As a member of the badbreathhalitosis forum I am writing on behalf of other members from around the globe to convey our interest and support for the continuation of research in this field. Many members have or are in the process of identifing the possible causes of their debilitating conditions. We understand that different people have different underlying medical conditions or predispositions to bad breath, but many of us have the following in common:-

1) long-term suffering, both physical and psychological, caused by continuous bad breath (the sort of breath that fills a room with a stench that makes people flinch, turn away or cover their noses despite having excellent personal hygiene);

2) the life-long search for a cure, and general distrust of the medical and dental profressions as a result of having had no relief and poor experience with practitioners who do not really understand the nature of the condition;

3) the trial of all sorts of mouthwashes, toothpastes, probiotics, anitbiotics, enzymes, regular dental care, diet changes, natural home-made remedies that have been known during the past forty years. One or two products have provided short-term relief for some members, and a few members are in the process of trialling some of the methods in a desperate attempt to find a cure;

4) the desire to pool our knowledge and experiences together in the vain hope that researchers will listen to our pleas and investigate the causes to find a cure (There is much valuable information to be found on this forum - e.g. many members have reported that their bad breath started after long courses on antibiotics)

5) a willingness to participate in scientific research for a team of researchers willing to take this project on.

Please see viewforum.php?f=1 for discussions about members' conditions and their untiring search for remedies and cures.

As a result of undergoing the triple therapy and a course of probiotics I find myself bad breath free for the first time in my life. I write this to you with the hope that my experience might shed some light on the condition and encourage a team of researchers to undertake further research. The following is a personal account of my condition.

I am a 43 year old female and have suffered from chronic bad breath ever since I had chronic bronchitis as a child. Tetracycline was administered in an attempt to unblock the congested bronchial tubes. My tonsils were removed and I have followed a healthy diet ever since. By my teens I had grown out of bronchitis.

I have been to many doctors, dentists, health food stores, tried every product on the market, read thousands of books and have only recently come across the possible link between the H. Pylori bacteria and bad breath. The doctors who have listened and looked for a cause have sent me off for barium meal chest scans, sinus, post-nasal drip tests and dealt with 'leaking' amalgam fillings. The most I ever got from a doctor was that I had a lazy oesophageal sphincter at the bottom of the oesophagus which apparently contributed to the escaping stomach acid smell. I have never suffered from gastric problems or acid reflux except mild complaints during late pregnancy. I have always fastidiously cleaned my teeth, scraped my tongue, flossed regularly etc. but to no avail! The teeth which have survived dental invasions are very strong. I have never had gum disease. But I did have bad breath!

When under stress, my symptoms got worse and I knew that if I was to have a stressful day at work I would take carbon tablets, drink/eat parsley steeped in hot water and always have gum and mints in my bag. These rarely worked but somehow even for short moments of time gave me the confidence to keep going

After reading about the triple therapy, I decided to give it a try. I hadn't undertaken any tests to determine if I had the H. Pylori bacteria or not but could not delay the reported symptoms of relief any longer. I took daily doses of 2x 500g Amoxil; 1 x 500g Fasigyn and 1x20mg omeprazole for 7 days.

It started working on the second day. I hadn't taken antibiotics since my teens so I suspect the triple therapy worked for me. I found research papers about quadruple therapy which is used for people with a high resistance to antibiotics so some people who have not benefitted from the triple might benefit from the quadruple therapy.

After the 7 day treatment I put myself on the multi-billion dophillus probiotics. Each probiotic capsule I'm using includes 2.1 billion acidophilus, 2.1 billion B. lactis, 550 million S. thermophilus and 250 million L. bulgaricus. It's now 3 weeks and it's hard to believe but my bad breath seems to have cleared. I haven't had any meat for the past 3 weeks (I was a meat eater before) am avoiding yellow cheese and eat vegetable and grain soups, oats, raw fruit and veges, rye bread, cottage cheese, beans, lentils, walnuts, almonds and bio-yoghurt. Today I have introduced fish into my diet.

Given others' experiences the bad breath might come back and in some reported cases worse than before, but for now I'm revelling in the new me... and I pray that it's not short-lived...

Halitosis has plagued the whole of my life, not to mention thousands of other sufferers. It appears that I have found a way to possibly manage the condition, even if only for a whole three weeks, but the causes are still not fully known or understood. Further data collection, scientific observation, and identification and elimination of the voracious bacteria is still a much needed area of research.

Please remember that you have access to many volunteers who would be willing to participate in the research. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Should you be unable to conduct further research in this area, I would be grateful to you for forwarding my email to other colleagues who might be willing to undertake research.

Kind regards

[jc]

You did great. I hope they would finally listen to our plea. We need all the help we can get. Thanks for making the effort to write them.

[oceanside]

I agree. very well written. nice job. keep us posted.

john