When I first came across bacteriophages (or phages) during my lymphatic training, I will be honest, my brain hurt a little.

I already felt like I was trying to keep up with lymph vessels, macrophages, neutrophils, inflammation, fibrosis, bacteria, biofilms and immune responses. Then someone introduced tiny viruses that hunt bacteria.

Wait… what?

Viruses that kill bacteria?

Surely viruses are the bad guys?

As it turns out, not always.

The more I read, the more fascinated I became. Not because phages are a miracle cure (they are not), but because they remind us just how complex and clever the human body really is.

For those of us interested in infection, immunity, swelling, cellulitis and lymphatic health, phages may be one of the most interesting areas of emerging research.

Not All Viruses Are Villains: Meet the Phages Living Among Us

A bacteriophage (usually shortened to phage) is a virus that infects bacteria.

The word literally means “bacteria eater.”

Unlike the viruses that cause flu, colds or COVID, phages do not infect human cells.

Their target is bacteria.

Scientists estimate that phages are the most abundant biological entities on Earth. They are found in soil, rivers, oceans, food, animals and within our own bodies.

Researchers have identified phages within:

• The gut

• The skin

• Saliva

• The lungs

• Lymphoid tissues

Scientists are now exploring how these phages may influence bacterial populations and interact with our immune system.

We are only beginning to understand the relationships between bacteria, phages and human health.

The Tiny Virus That Hunts Bacteria: Could Phages Change the Future of Infection Care?

Phages work in a surprisingly simple way.

They attach themselves to a bacterium.

They inject their genetic material.

The bacterium becomes a phage factory.

Eventually the bacterial cell bursts and releases new phages that can hunt other bacteria.

Rather like a biological game of Pac-Man.

The exciting part is that phages are often very specific.

An antibiotic may affect large numbers of bacteria, including some beneficial ones.

A phage may target a particular bacterial species whilst leaving many others alone.

This is one reason researchers are becoming increasingly interested in phage therapy as antibiotic resistance continues to grow worldwide.

Read more:
World Health Organization – Bacteriophages and Antimicrobial Resistance

A Forgotten Story That Is Returning

One thing that surprised me was that phage therapy is not actually new.

Phages were discovered over 100 years ago.

Before antibiotics became widely available, scientists and doctors were already experimenting with phage therapy.

Then antibiotics arrived.

They were easier to manufacture, easier to prescribe and often produced dramatic results.

Interest in phages gradually faded across much of Western medicine.

But now the story is changing.

As antibiotic resistance increases and some infections become more difficult to treat, researchers are once again looking at phages and asking whether we may have overlooked an important tool.

In many ways, it feels less like a new discovery and more like reopening a chapter that was left unfinished.

Sometimes the Answer Might Be Hiding in a Giraffe’s Poo

If you had asked me where scientists might look for future treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, I can honestly say giraffe poo would not have made my list.

Yet researchers have recently been collecting faecal samples from giraffes and other animals in search of bacteriophages.

On one level this is quite funny.

Somewhere there are scientists who get excited when someone hands them a fresh sample of giraffe poo.

On another level it is a little troubling.

Many of the animals being studied are endangered.

Researchers have pointed out that these animals may harbour unique bacteria, viruses and phages that could one day contribute to future medical discoveries.

If species disappear, we may lose far more than the animals themselves.

We may lose biological knowledge and potential treatments that we have not even discovered yet.

Sometimes the biggest discoveries start in the most unexpected places.

What Does This Mean for People Living With Lymphoedema?

If you live with lymphoedema (what is lymphoedema?), you may already know that cellulitis can be a recurring concern.

Anything that increases our understanding of infection is worth paying attention to.

At the moment, phage therapy is not a standard treatment for cellulitis.

That is important to say clearly.

However, researchers are exploring phage therapy for difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, chronic wounds, biofilms and antibiotic-resistant infections.

This does not mean phages are about to replace antibiotics.

But it does mean there may be additional tools available in the future.

The Good

• May help tackle antibiotic resistance

• Highly targeted

• May help with biofilms

• May work alongside antibiotics

The Challenges

• Very specific

• Bacteria can adapt

• Regulation is complicated

• We need more human clinical trials

The Body as an Ecosystem

Breathing and the lymphatic system

Your gut and your ymohatic system

This may have been the biggest lesson for me.

The more I learn about lymphatics, immunity, fascia, bacteria and healing, the less I see the body as a collection of separate parts.

Instead, I see conversations.

Conversations between tissues.

Conversations between immune cells.

Conversations between bacteria.

And now conversations involving phages.

The old story was often about killing the bad thing.

The newer story seems to be about understanding relationships.

Balance.

Communication.

Adaptation.

Phages remind us that health is rarely about one single answer.

It is about many different systems working together, each contributing their own piece of the puzzle.

What About Breathing, Gut Health and Inflammation?

This is where things become particularly interesting.

Researchers are increasingly discovering links between:

• breathing patterns

• sleep

• gut health

• inflammation

• immunity

• microbial communities

Although we cannot say that better breathing directly improves phages, we can say that breathing influences the environment in which immune cells, microbes and phages live.

Similarly, probiotics may not simply add “good bacteria.”

They may help support a healthier ecosystem.

One where beneficial bacteria, immune cells and even phages can coexist in a more balanced way.

This is one of the reasons scientists are becoming increasingly interested in the relationship between the microbiome, the virome (the viruses that live alongside us) and long-term health.

What Happens Next?

I suspect we are going to hear a lot more about phages over the next decade.

Researchers are exploring:

• Personalised phage therapy

• Phage-antibiotic combinations

• Biofilm management

• Chronic wound care

• Resistant infections

• The role of phages within the human microbiome

Whether phages become mainstream medicine or remain a specialist tool, they are already teaching us something important.

The human body is more connected, more adaptive and more fascinating than we once believed.

And sometimes the smallest things can have the biggest stories.

Further Reading

World Health Organization

Bacteriophages and Antimicrobial Resistance

Kim MK et al. 2025

Bacteriophage Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant Infections

Nature Communications 2025

Recent advances in phage therapy research

University of Sheffield

Endangered Species Poo and Future Medical Discoveries

The more I learn, the more I find myself returning to the same idea. Health is rarely about one thing. It is about relationships. Between movement and recovery. Between sleep and healing. Between the lymphatic system, immune system and the world of microbes living alongside us. Phages may be tiny, but they are another reminder that we are all part of a much bigger ecosystem than we once imagined. Watch out for my next blog – I am going back to my friend and colleague Lucille from Gut and Wellness clinic for another conversation.