I have not had a run-in with strep throat since a child. In elementary school I had strep throat often and always took antibiotics for it. It returned again and again. Do you know antibiotics can actually make the strep return? It can. Many people who treat strep with conventional antibiotics have a recurring strep illness. Such was the case with me as a child. However, If you treat strep at home, I do recommend seeing a doctor to be sure the strep is resolved. Untreated strep can be very serious!
This post is not for the purposes of saying that you shouldn’t see a doctor for strep. I have people contact me that can’t take antibiotics for strep because they’ve taken them so much they no longer help. I am also a prepper. What if a person can’t make it to the doctor for some reason? Being prepared to “doctor” ourselves if needed is a good knowledge to have. We have wonderful medical care in the US, but I don’t want to take for granted that I’ll always have access. I want to be prepared for possible situations when I might not have that immediate access.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional. Nothing I say has been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.
How I Recently Treated Strep Without Antibiotics
Colloidal Silver – antibiotic, immune booster
Elderberry Syrup – immune booster
Vitamin C – helps cleanse the body of toxins so it can recover quicker
Epsom Salt – pulls toxins from the body and nourishes it with minerals
Days 1 -3 – 1/2 tsp. colloidal silver and 1 tsp. elderberry syrup hourly {except during sleeping hours}. High doses of vitamin C and soak in an Epsom Salt bath. Add 2 cups of Epsom Salts to a bath full of water and had them soak for 20 minutes.
Days 4-10 – Ainister silver and elderberry 1-3 times a day. If any increase of symptoms during days 4-10, increase the dose again.
Days 1-3 – I took the above garlic remedy every 30 minutes during waking hours. This is the best remedy for strep! I felt so much better after just half a day of taking this. I didn’t give this mixture to my children because they can have a hard time with the taste, though I would administer it to them if it was the only option I had. I also took high doses of vitamin C, and should have taken a salt bath but never got around to it. It is harder taking care of yourself when you’re sick than it is taking care of others, isn’t it?
Days 4-5 – I was really kind of tired of garlic. I love garlic, but every 30 minutes? I was wishing for something different. I could have continued with the garlic remedy and lessened the frequency to say, 3-5 times a day since I was so much better, but I decided to go with something of a completely different taste all together. So on days 4 and 5, I switched to taking silver and elderberry hourly those days. I felt almost normal, but my throat still hurt some. The dose for adults is 1 tsp. of silver and 1 tablespoon of elderberry syrup.
Days 6-10 – Silver or elderberry 1-3 times a day.
As I’ve said, I suffered from strep a lot as a child and remember the horror of it. I am so amazed and pleased at how well these natural remedies worked for strep in these recent weeks.
Note:
- In other articles I have written about strep, I have had readers think I am ignorant for treating Strep at home. Strep can have dangerous side effects if left untreated. And I understand that thought pattern. But I am not leaving it untreated, I am treating naturally! And of course I always seek medical attention when needed, I would not hesitate to get help! Many have treated strep at home safely and with great success. I believe it’s always best to work with the natural immune system if possible.
- With strep, be sure to eliminate all sugar and dairy. That cold ice cream may feel wonderful to a sore throat, but these foods WILL hinder your recovery and prolong the sickness, most likely setting you back quite a bit.
- With a more serious illness like Strep, you must administer remedies more often as I’ve mentioned above. Taking remedies only a few times a day for Strep is not sufficient.
- To make your own elderberry syrup and save lots of money, read HERE!
You can read my other post on strep HERE.
Have you dealt with Strep Throat this winter?
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Disclaimer: I am not a professional. Nothing I say has been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to treat, cure, or prevent disease.
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This is an excellent post. I’m so glad to see this in writing from someone other than myself. I’ve never had strep throat, but I’ve used it for other infections and agree that garlic is a powerful yet gentle antibiotic that leaves no side ill effects after use. Not excepting that lovely scent long connected with Italian cookery. 😉
I am always amazed at the effectiveness of garlic! Garlic is one of my favorite things to cook with too, and I wondered often as I took it every 30 minutes if I’d ever be able to cook with it again. 😉
Garlic is amazing and surprising with it’s healing abilities. I just found out that when my mom had Pneumonia real bad when I was a kid after a while she finally bought garlic powder in pill form and it helped her a lot. And on a side note as frustrating as it is don’t let some of these people that frown upon herbs/ home remedies get to you. I may be young almost turning 27 but, not that going the the doctor is a bad thing, I don’t think it even touches the effectiveness of natural way of anything. may take a little longer but people are losing their ability for there body to natural take care of them from too much antibiotics. Doctors that talk down on this subject are 1 of 2 things, money hungry and don’t actually care for you getting better, or aren’t as knowledgeable as they think they are. Chris
I agree- working with the immune system if possible is always best!
I used to get strep throat 3-4 times a year as a child even up through my teen years and into my 20s. Finally resulting in removal of tonsils at age 21. Ridiculous! I am convinced that repeat courses of antibiotics contributed to repeat cases of strep throat.
Once tonsils were removed it was about 17 years before I had another case of strep throat. And just to be fully transparent, I did not go to the doctor to have strep confirmed. I diagnosed myself according to the memory of how strep feels and the way that it looks inside my throat. I treated it using oil of oregano, colloidal silver, and grapefruit seed extract. It was a very painful 7 days. However, it went away and all was fine. My goal was to get my body to recognize strep and hopefully develop some sort of immunity to it. (this was in April of ’12) Just a couple months later in June – the same symptoms returned. It felt almost the same but not as severe and it looked exactly as strep looks. However, it went away within a couple of days. It only hurt badly the first day – the next two days were not bad at all. After 3 days it was gone. Perhaps – my body did develop immunity after all! Also, I treated it differently in June than I did in April. I gargled and drank a mixture of filtered water with 2 Tablespoons of Raw Organic ACV. Ever since that happened, if I even get a slight sore throat, I gargle with ACV and water and it takes care of it. I’ve not had anymore episodes of strep since June of ’12.
Thank you for sharing! I have heard of gargling with ACV for Strep and should have tried it! I was reading an article written by the Healthy Home Economist that her dad was a medical doctor and had her go through Strep completely untreated and she recovered fine. She also feels she developed an immunity to it since she has never had it again, even when around others that have it. {http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/are-antibiotics-necessary-for-strep-throat/}
My children got strep when they were young and I never gave them antibiotics! I took them off all sugar and gave them tons of lemon and honey water. Dr. Mendolsohn’s book “How To Have Healthy Children In Spite Of Your Doctor” was my go to book when I had young children. He helped me know when something really was a true emergency!
I recently got that book but have only read the section about vaccines. I will for sure read the rest of it – sounds great! Thanks for sharing your success, Lori!
This is Dr. Mendolsohn promoting his own failed book, isn’t it? Lol.
I love that book, but this actually based on the success of Dr Christopher treating hundreds of patients as I have described.
excellent article Jill, Antibiotics are so over used and they not only kill the bad bacteria but also the good bacteria which can lead to leaky gut and a suppressed immune system. I love your natural and herbal solutions. Colloidal silver is one I have used quite frequently with great success. thanks for sharing
Thank you for the kind words, Marla!
I’ve never used colloidial silver, but I’m very interested in learning more. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. I successfully treated myself for strep using grapefruit seed extract and a hot infusion drink made with elderberry, ginger, and lemon juice (and some other immune boosting herbs). Thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge :0)
Sounds like a great combo! Thanks for sharing your success, Tina!
Thank you for sharing this, Jill. I’ll be pinning this!
Thanks, Lisha!
Our family had strep for the first time last winter (first time for our children–I had it a lot as a child, and always took antibiotics for it), and we treated it naturally, without antibiotics.
We did pretty similar things that you described: elderberry, raw garlic, colloidal silver, Vitamin C. I didn’t know about the Epsom Salt baths, though. I’ll definitely keep that in mind if we ever encounter it again. And, the other thing I would do differently is start treating immediately. We didn’t know we had it until it was more advanced (for some reason I never even considered that we might have strep until my sore throat was so severe that I finally took a look at it and noticed the telltale signs of strep).
Thanks for the great post, Jill!
Treating immediately does make a big difference! I didn’t know my first sick child had strep at the beginning, but I could tell she was really sick, so I started her on the medicines every hour.
Thank you for this post. I had a non-strep throat infection a year or so ago that the doctor put me on steroids for. YUCK!! And they didn’t even help like they were supposed to. I’m in the middle of my Family Herbalist course right now and when I saw the garlic/honey/cayenne I did a smh and had to laugh. Of course! Wish I had known about that before I took the steroids. Never again unless on the brink of “death” lol. I’m not getting a flu shot this year so I’m ramping up my stockpile of natural remedies. This was a very helpful post.
Yep – the brink of death is a good sign you need other help! lol
Thank you for sharing! I also have treated strep very quickly without antibiotics using homeopathy. With my son, he was diagnosed around 5 pm, and woke up in the morning fine. Here is my post about what remedy we used. http://countercultureliving.com/strep-without-antibiotics/
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jill! Great post- but I do want to stress the importance, particularly in children, in paying attention if the illness worsens. Strep throat can kill a person rather quickly, especially the young and elderly. With that said, I may implement some of your treatment plan for my own sinus infections. I’ve been battling pneumonia since October, 2 courses of heavy antibiotics and still not gone. Since most bacterial pneumonia comes from a strain of streptococcus, this may just be what I need instead. Thanks!
Hitting an illness hard and working with the natural immune system has saved us scores of doctors visits and hundreds of dollars, but I agree – I never, ever hesitate in the least in getting medical help when needed. Thanks!
Would you say that this can be used for young children as well (23 months old)? Also, would you begin to treat the whole family preventatively if one person has symptoms?
It certainly can help the young children. Always take your child to the doctor if they worsen or are not getting better. I do give remedies to the rest of the family as a preventative when one gets sick, and they either stay well or suffer much less because we got a head start. I typically give an immune booster once or twice a day as a preventative.
Love the entire 10 day program. I too was able to treat strep with Dr. Christopher’s strep remedy. It was awful to get it down, especially every 30 minutes, but boy did it work wonders!
Thanks, Annie!
One week into a strep infection in my poor three year old and we just started antibiotics (and one hit of steroids! Ai!) after a night in the ER. Her pain is so incredibly extreme it is just not possible to keep her hydrated, and that’s with keeping her on way more ibuprofen than I like to think about. I neglected to get on top of things the first few days – it was a slow buildup of symptoms starting Sunday and I couldn’t get her to look in her mouth til Thursday. Worse looking tonsils I’ve ever seen, complete cheese in the back of her throat. Once I realized what we were dealing with of course I got very aggressive with teas (yarrow, echinacea, thyme), raw honey and coconut oil, camphor oil packs, hot onions, garlic on the feet, essential oil this and that. Poor baby, I’m sure I was just too late. N.B.: in hindsight, for the first couple of days when she was just stuffed up and cranky we were laughing at her cute incredibly funny sounding frog voice. Next time I’ll know that’s not a stuffed-up voice, that’s a swollen throat voice! Slow down Mama!
Awwww – bless her heart. I hope she’s all better now!
So glad I found your blog. It has been a real encouragement. My 15 yo daughter is fighting strep now. It started on Thursday January 30. Went to the doctor on Friday. Her throat was so swollen and sore she could hardly talk and her fever was 104. She tested positive for strep. I got the antibiotic in case we decided to use it, but wanted to try natural alternatives first. We started a rigorous program which includes colloidal silver, oil of oregano, our own homemade tonic of ACV, garlic, hot pepper, horseradish, ginger,and onion, and other supplements. I must say she has made marked improvement. She went to bed tonight on Sunday with a fever of only 99.7. Her throat is so much better and she can talk now, more energy, etc. However her tongue seems to be getting red and soar and I’m wondering it it’s the strawberry tongue that you mentioned your daughter having. Unless her tongue got burned from the raw garlic that I’ve been crushing into her food. That’s what she thought at first, but her tongue is so red. She also has a rash on her rear, but that came on when the sore throat did (we’re treating her rear with coconut oil mixed with antibacterial essential oils and it seems to be helping also added the epsom salt bath today). Anyway, I’m wondering if a person is getting better, why would the rash be spreading to the tongue? Or is that just the illness running its course? I’d thought I’d ask since you’ve had experience with the “strawberry tongue.” Thanks.
My daughter got the bumpy tongue 3 or 4 days after her first strep symptoms. I treated her for a total of 10 days and it did go away. I gave my girls the medicines hourly {during waking hours} until they had marked improvement and then reduced it for the remaining days. I always increase if any symptoms seem to worsen at all, which is rarely the case. But yes, the bumpy tongue was just the strep running its course for my daughter. Hope she’s feeling even better today!
Thanks Jill. It’s nice to be able to compare notes with others who have done this. Just wondering how long it took for your daughter’s tongue and throats to clear up. . . the full ten days?. My daughter was on day 5 of treatment today. Her throat pretty much feels normal, but still looks inflamed. She also still runs a low grade fever later in the day. Her energy level is much better than at first, but still not a lot of zip . . . mostly just wants to sit around (we did go out for a short walk today just to get some movement and fresh air.) Just wondering how this compares to your experience.
I was happy to find your post. I just acquired strep from my 3yr old granddaughter over the weekend. Her family (mommy & the daddy) dealt with it for the past two weeks but none of their five babies got the strep. However, when she came to our home for the weekend, she must have been a ‘carrier’ and Nana (me) ended up with strep a couple days after she left. This has been my worse case of strep ever and that’s probably because I have not been to the Dr. as I normally would have done, but now I have no insurance and no family Dr. so I am doubly delighted to have found your page. I have been doing the garlic ‘chew’ religiously for TWO days. I noticed a difference just after the first day. My problem is, during the day I feel almost ‘normal’ but at night, my throat hurts horribly and it’s impossible to get good rest. I wake so often with pain and can’t breath because my throat seems swollen. My glands ache and I dread bedtime. Can you tell me why I can feel so good, mostly, all day long and then at night I’m in pain and misery? Is there anything I can take at bedtime to ease the pain and get some quality sleep? This morning my throat still feels sore and swollen, better get on that garlic right away. Thank you so much for posting these remedies. It’s so helpful to folks who don’t have insurance and who aren’t in to meds for every little ache and pain.
It is not unusual to feel better in the day and worse at night. I make sure I don’t overdo it in the day when I’m feeling better – that will prolong the sickness. Here is a good throat gargle for sore throats: Mix a solution of 1/4 tsp. salt and a 1/4 cup very hot water. Stir to dissolve the salt and gargle. Spit out the solution after each gargle. Do this hourly if needed. Adding 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper to this solution will also help with pain.
Hello,
I have a question for you about the 10 day treatment for kids. My daughter is a carrier, on our last check up her ped gave me 10 days antibiotics and she knows she is a carrier without any symptoms. Ok, I check online and found your website. I bought all of them, the silver, elderberry, epson and vit. c. now my question is: on the silver box is says the for kids to give 1/4 to 1/2 tbs per day. in you 10 days treatment is 1/2tsp every hour?? or you ar talking only for the elderberry syrup? thank you
Hi! For the silver and elderberry both, I gave a spoonful every hour. The dosage on the bottle is suggested but you have to be more aggressive for an illness like strep. 🙂
Hi there, I’m a medical student but very interested in natural medicine and plan to incorporate it into my practice one day. I just wonder, how can you be sure you eradicated all of the strep pyogenes? Did you have a physician double check this? I only ask because strep throat will eventually go away however it is treated with antibiotics because it can cause rheumatic fever causing permanent heart valve damage and glomerulonephritis. If the bacteria was confirmed to be eradicated then thats great!
Also just as an aside- antibiotics are definitely over prescribed but if you’re doctor confirms you have a bacterial infection and prescribes you antibiotics it is important to take them as prescribed. During the course and afterwards you can take probiotics and eat yogurt to maintain your natural flora while the bad bugs are being killed off.
Unfortunately I cannot afford the doctor visit to confirm eradication. Colloidal silver and garlic has been studied to kill bacteria so it is my preferred natural treatment. I would for sure take my children to the doctor if needed. Congratulations on working on your medical degree! I wish you a successful practice. 🙂
So, I decided to treat my son with strep at home. I was posting about it on a group chat. The women who are on there are local and pretty crunchy. One chimed ” Better get tested and get antibiotics. If no antibiotics are given he will remain contagious for weeks.” Wouldn’t Colloidal Silver solve that issue?????
Colloidal Silver does kill bacteria, so yes it is my opinion that a person would not be contagious for weeks.
What about apple vinegar cider with “mother” is this good to use as well to cure strep throat?
Brittnee, I have never used raw acv for strep throat. I have read of others having success with it. Here’s a good website to check out: http://www.earthclinic.com/cures/strep_throat.html
What brand vitamin c do you use? And how much are you actually giving?
One of my favorite vitamin C’s is Nutribiotic Ascorbic Acid Powder. Here is what I follow: 1/4 tsp. powdered = 1,200 milligrams = 1+ grams
1/2 tsp. powdered = 2,500 milligrams = 2 1/2 grams
1 tsp. powdered = 5,100 milligrams = 5 grams
Adults: Take a loading dose of 5 grams of vitamin C in half a glass of water or juice. Mix 2 heaping tsp. of vitamin C in one quart of water and sip on it for the remainder of the day. Children take half the amount. Babies take 1/4 of the amount.
This is a guide to dosing to bowel tolerance. If a person has loose bowels, back off the dose until the loose bowel problem disappears.
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Thank you! 🙂
Great information. I had scarlet fever as a child… often a complication from strep. So I know first hand that it can get complicated. However, I just wanted to put it out there that my children’s doctor said that they are starting not to give antibiotics for strep right away. It is not always helpful and it will usually clear up on its own. Yay! Same thing for ear infections. I was told you had to be running a fever for 3 days before they will consider antibiotics for ear infections. Finally the medical field isn’t just handing out antibiotics for the sake of it. I’m all for antibiotics when naturally ways just are not enough, but they should never be the first line of defense. FYI: my kids doctor is just an ordinary military pediatric doc…
Gargling with salt water helps with strep. Also so does a nasal flush. I use a neti pot… takes some time to get use to it, but it works!
Thank you for saying that! Even the CDC website says that strep can clear without antibiotics. So many accuse parents of being neglectful for not immediately treating strep with antibiotics, but the CDC and some doctors don’t even claim that.
But how long do you have to do treatment before you’re fully recovered. Today is Monday and I have to sing Friday…
It can really depend on how bad the case is. I felt a lot better in a couple days, but I take some sort of remedy for at least a full week to make sure it’s really gone. I hope you have your voice by tomorrow!
Yes I hope so too. Thanks a bunch!
I am all for natural home remedies, but after 4 doses of garlic/honey/cayenne, I lost my dinner… Sorry, but my gag reflexes cannot handle that! I’m going to try ACV tonight…
I have also used colloidal silver, elderberry syrup, and high doses of vitamin C. I gave a dose hourly. Hope you are better soon!
I work in a school and have had strep twice in the past month despite hand washing and sanitizing precautions. Do you know, is there research regarding whether or how you are contagious while using these methods? I’m very interested in trying them, but I want to protect the students I work with because some are medically fragile.
You may find some helpful information in this post: http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/?doi=javaa.2010.1.4
Garlic boosts the immune system, and in my opinion, works immediately at killing viral and bacterial infections. Hope you stay well!
Hi I tried to read through the whole article and commentary below and I am wondering what dosage you would recommend for elderberry and colloidal silver for an adult.??
I am dealing with strep now and was going to go to the doc, but since it’s not that bad and I’m not around children, and am trying to avoid pregnancy with the pill I thought this would be a good alternative to antibiotics that would interfere with the pill. I have to have my wisdom teeth out this month so this is a particular month I have to be careful.
Hi, Sam! I personally take a spoonful hourly. I don’t measure exactly. I hope you are better soon, and always see your doctor if needed! 🙂
I took a variety of things and this infection, I’ve been fighting off without the remedies for at least three days prior, went away overnight after starting the remedies near dinner time yesterday. I am surprised it went down so quickly-I thought it would take a few days- but as yall all pointed out taking the remedy for several days past my symptoms going away seems like a good idea to make really sure the infection is gone. I only had one teensy white spot left on my tonsils when I made my husband look at them this evening…. yesterday evening there were at least 6 or more large white spots areas. the swelling has gone down about halfway so it’s still working on getting the rest out of my system. I’m interested to see whether I get strep again and if it’s less severe next time like others have mentioned. the only thing is, and I don’t know if I might have a stress-induced ulcer that’s being aggravated by dietary disturbances, but the garlic gave me an insta-heartburn situation…. like really bad so that I had to take a serious antacid. mine has been getting bad lately anyway, so I am learning some dietary changes I can make to help the possible ulcer. I have had a hell of a year emotionally with two failed pregnancies, one full term (severe preeclampsia) and one tubal where I lost my right tube so the mental healing has been grueling to say the least…. this is why I am not surprised about my ulcer-indicating symptoms.
Oh bless your heart! I am so sorry you have been through this. May you find comfort and healing.
You are not a medical professional. By posting this nonsense online you are putting children at risk for further infection.
Leave medical care/advice to trained professionals.
Strep is treated by the thousands successfully at home, but I completely respect your opinion and choice to only use conventional methods for this illness. I appreciate the same respect in return. 🙂
Jill, Thank you for sharing!
I started to get strep last night, white spots, no fever or swollen neck lymph nodes, yet. I had been battling feeling yucky for days. Hadn’t had strep since high school. I immediately started looking for treatment I could start right away, and found your recipe. I changed it a bit by taking 1/2 garlic clove, 1/2 finger size turmeric root, gargling with unfiltered acv/water and swallowing it…what I had on hand. Did this through the night, as I woke, and every hour or two today. Pain was gone by afternoon, and felt much better. Spots are still there, so will continue.
I am so glad you are feeling better! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for the advice!
Anytime! 🙂
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While I do think there is a place for homeopathic remedies – strep is NOT the time to use them. I’ll admit freely that I am not a medical professional. But, I am the wife of a man that had to have emergency open heart surgery because the strep virus attacked his heart valve and it failed. The strep virus can lie, undetected, in the body for a long time. So despite the fact that symptoms may no longer be present (no more red/white throat) the bacteria is still present in the body. Once strep gets into the blood stream, it attacks a weak or hard working part of the body. Often, this is the heart. My husband ended up with an abscess in his heart that needed to be repaired – and an infection that needed 2 months of IV antibiotics to cure it.
It is not my intention to be disrespectful – however I think something as serious as strep needs to be taken extremely seriously!
Hi, Heather! I completely respect your opinion and appreciate you sharing it so kindly. 🙂 Colloidal silver was used as an antibiotic in western medicine before the days of amoxicillin and has been shown to effectively kill the strep bacteria. I think those that wish to use conventional medicine for strep should- but I like to offer alternatives for those that desire another route and even can no longer take antibiotics. Thanks for the comment!
I’m so glad I stumbled to your post. I currently have strep throat and a sinus infection, and absolutely hate taking medicine. I’m in so much pain that I went to the doctors office yesterday to get meds. I’ve been on them for a day, so I will be switching to a natural remedy. I feel like an idiot though because I have some items to treat it naturally. Thankful for your blog!
You are welcome! We have found this effective for us. I hope you feel much better soon!
My 6 yr. old has scarlet fever. (Self diagnosing here, but according to what I read that’s definitely what it is! And I also heard that some kids at his school had it last week.) Started with fever and swollen, sore throat. He now has the rash practically covering his body. I’ve never dealt with this before. I know this article is talking about strep throat, but have you, or would you do the same things for scarlet fever?
He was such a trooper today, taking lots of the raw garlic remedy. But after all day, he says it’s too hot and doesn’t want any more! I plan to continue lots of elderberry, and do colloidal silver. Anything else you’d recommend? I have the same philosophy as you… Do all I can to treat naturally and avoid antibotics. Just wondering what you thought about scarlet fever, though…
Hi, Lyss! I have never dealt with scarlet fever, but one of my favorite herbalists, Rachel Weaver, has some recommendations. She says you can get antibiotics for this. She does not recommend antibiotics for most illnesses, but scarlet fever is a more serious bacterial illness, so you may want to seriously consider it for this condition. While I avoid them as much as possible, they can be a blessed life-saver!
In addition, I would give Echinacea, high doses of vitamin C, and silver. I would take a break from the garlic if he’s having a hard time with it.
Rachel also says that most of the serious complications come from mucus in the nose and throat. To prevent these serious complications, mix 1/2 tsp. salt with 1/2 cup of water and spray or drip into the nose. She says this is very important and will offer relief and comfort to keep the nose clean of the likelihood of streptococci. If this mucus is not kept clear, the streptococci can cause mastoiditis, earache, neck abscesses, and more, which can turn into a serious situation.
I hope your son feels much better soon. Keep me updated!
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I ended up taking him in and they confirmed my diagnosis. He is on antibiotics. I was so hesitant, because I didn’t want him on antibiotics.But like you said, in this case, I feel it’s necessary. While he wasn’t getting worse, the thought of it causing future problems scared me. The doctor I saw told me that it would not go away, but that the bacteria would move somewhere else, such as the heart or other organs.
Kind of a long story, but we didn’t have a doctor to go to, and I was hesitant to take him to urgent care. Well, the Lord is good, and led me to find a great integrative family practice! They told me they are not quick to prescribe antibiotics, but this was one of those times.
I’m keeping up with some herbs and vitamins for him…and for the rest of us, hoping it keeps us from getting sick! And will do lots of probiotics for him. I picked up a probiotic supplement, but I also make kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut. So hopefully we can get his gut filled back up with the good stuff! Unfortunately, this is his 3rd round of antibiotics in his short life. : ( One was necessary soon after he was born(he was a preemie). The other he probably didn’t need, but I didn’t know then to question it. Now that I’m learning more about gut health, I will be doing all I can to help his out! : )
You sound like you are armed with knowledge, which is what we need! We eat homemade kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut too-great stuff! I’ve noticed such a difference in our health because of it. Praying he’s better soon and thanks so much for the update!
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Thanks for this post, Jill! I just had a kiddo come down with a sore throat a couple days ago. It’s all red and swollen, his tonsils look huge, he’s had a low-grade fever, and he’s been very sleepless at night. We have had confirmed strep cases in our extended family recently so I’m gonna assume it could be strep, even though we’ve not really been around those who’ve had it. So, I IMMEDIATELY thought of this post and came here to see how you handled it.
Right now, I’m doing Rosemary Gladstar’s Triple Strength Throat Spray with echinacea, licorice root, sage, and eucalyptus EO. He spritzes that on his throat whenever he wants. We’re also doing the Nutribiotics Vitamin C you suggested in a previous comment as well. He’s eating the garlic/honey every hour, and lastly, I’m rubbing salve on his neck 2-3 times a day to facilitate lymph drainage.
At this point, I’m waiting to see if it goes away in 3-4 days. Most cases of strep are viral so antibiotics won’t help. If it doesn’t go away in that time, or if he starts to get worse we’ll head to the doctor to see what they think. Thanks so much for this post. It’s been very helpful to read!
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Thanks, Meagan! I hope he’s better soon!
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I work in child care and never had a problem with strep throat until this past year. I have had it twice already since January (I used antibiotics to help recover) and now I suspect I may have it again. Last week I started getting what I thought was a cold, yet had no fever, but did have a sore throat. Over the weekend, I rested a lot, made bone broth, drank ginger tea and now I physically feel a lot better. However, my throat is still sore. I am new to natural medicine, and went to a health food store to buy elderberry syrup yesterday. I took 2 teaspoons of it during the evening. Overnight my throat is now hurting worse, but I still have no fever and physically feel good otherwise. I think I will try the garlic mixture you wrote about as well as continue the elderberry syrup today (I have to go to work so I can’t use it as frequently, but I will try a few times anyway) and see how I feel by tonight. As a childcare professional, I feel I can’t put off going to the doctor too long, but I am frustrated that it may come to that. I have never had to use antibiotics so much in the course of one year, and am discouraged by it.
That can be SO discouraging to have recurring illness. This garlic remedy works great for us and I hope it does for you as well!
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Strep infection can, if it is not serious, to go away on its own with no remedy. However, it can have serious adverse effects if left untreated later on! Heart or kidney problems are rare and are responses of the immune system that can emerge weeks later if the person is left without antibiotics when the throat infection appeared. As for the immediate ones I’ve child collapsing within hours of the infection. Don’t mess with yours or your child’s health!
No no No! When you allow your body to fight strep without antibiotics, your body creates antibodies that will later attack healthy cells leading to rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic heart disease which can destroy your heart valves. Strep is one of the only infections you absolutely do not want your body to fight off without antibiotics.
I agree that it’s best to use antibiotics for strep – I just choose the natural ones that have been just as effective for me. 🙂
Which collodial silver (brand) you recommend? The above links no longer work. Thanks.
I knew some of the very important use of garlic, but in this post, I learned a lot.
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