DENVER (KDVR) — Good personal hygiene is more important than ever right now during the pandemic. Because of that, some Coloradans are looking for new ways to stay clean and healthy.

One route some are taking is by adding more natural antibiotics into their daily lives to help ward off certain bacterias.

”Juniper is highly antibacterial and just as a hand cleanse you can take some of those leaves and rub them in your hands and that has an antibacterial effect,” said Michael Cutter.

Cutter is an artisan incense maker and owns ‘Incense Alchemy‘ in Sheridan.

Incense is another item Coloradans have been using.

Studies have show some incense has special antibacterial properties which help purify the air and surfaces in a room naturally, including incense made of Frankincense.

“I’ve worked a lot with the plants that grow locally for those purposes. So the sages, artemisias, juniper, some of those aromatic plants,” Cutter said.

The purifying effects of incense aren’t meant to be mistaken as an antiviral agent, but many of the plants that makeup incense sticks and cones have plenty of other health benefits.

It’s why people of different religions and cultures have been burning them throughout history.

“They used these aromatic plant materials to cleanse the air and to purify the air, body and so on in this healing way,” Cutter said.

Honey is another natural item Coloradans are using right now too. It’s actually considered one of the oldest known antibiotics that was even used in ancient times.

Honey contains hydrogen peroxide, which is widely used as an antimicrobial chemical.

Research has shown garlic concentrate is effective against certain bacterias also.

“I think one of the main things people are aware of is the use of white sage. And copal. Which are used here in North America by the Indigenous People, South American Indigenous cultures have a rich history of using those two materials in particular,” said Cutter, in regards to other natural items Coloradans are using.

Whether it’s honey, garlic or anything else you would consume, remember to discuss any interest you have in natural antibiotics with your healthcare provider first.