I want to welcome Dr. Michael Bingham to our practice. This month I have asked him to comment on a new eye drop formulation that shows promise... or does it? Either way, thank you to Dr. Bingham for being a member of our team and for his first official blog! -- Dr. Keg

Recent news about a study from the University of Nottingham caused quite a stir in the medical world. The reason? A medieval recipe designed to cure eye infections was recreated based on instructions from a ninth-century medical book called "Bald's Leechbook." The recipe called for a specific combination of garlic, leaks, wine, and bile from a cow's stomach. All the ingredients were combined and cooked in a copper vessel. Shockingly, the strange concoction proved to be amazingly effective in a laboratory setting! In fact, it proved effective in killing approximately 90% of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus). In the medical world today, anything that kills MRSA is a huge deal. This is the superbug that has been plaguing hospitals for years due to its resistance to most antibiotic treatments. What does this recipe discovery mean for us in eyecare? Unfortunately, not much. We're certainly not going to start brewing this concoction at Cool Springs EyeCare. The study falls far short of proving that it would work well on a living person and be safe for use on the eyes. The good news is that it gives researchers new ideas for creating effective antibiotics in the future.