No one likes having strep throat. It’s extremely painful and can be quite rough to deal with. It’s difficult to swallow foods, consume food, and even sleep at times. The standard treatment for antibiotics is the use of antibiotics.
The problem with that approach is that current research indicates that antibiotics only halves the time it takes to get rid of strep throat.
Building a resistance to antibiotics is also a legitimate problem that the world is facing. You don’t want to suffer the effects of antibiotic resistance. Why? Because bacteria evolves just like humans do. When too much antibiotics are used, the bacteria quickly develops resistance to the drug.
These are called “superbugs.” These superbugs are estimated by the CDC to kill more people than cancer by the year 2030. It’s a serious problem that needs to be addressed. The treatments for superbugs are stronger versions of antibiotics and they are quite strong.
These drugs are similar to chemotherapy as they can produce a wide range of severe side-effects. These superbugs can put you in months of the hospital unable to move. Unfortunately, there are even “super-superbugs” that have resisted the stronger antibiotics. The problem is if you increase the intensity of the antibiotics you have a high chance of killing the person who is taking the drugs. That’s a huge problem.
Now you understand why it’s best to avoid antibiotics unless it’s absolutely needed. You don’t want to develop an immunity to antibiotics (which happens) nor do you want the bacteria to evolve to such a point that it will resist common antibiotic strains.
Using natural home remedies as a first step to address your strep throat is a wise approach, simply because you are taking antibiotics seriously. They used to be meant as a last resort. You aren’t supposed to take them all of the time for little problems. It’s meant for problems that are getting worse and seriously impacts your life.
Home remedies can be considered the first line of defense that you use to treat your problems. In this case, it’s strep throat. This article will discuss multiple remedies that you can use to address your strep throat.
The Difference Between Strep Throat And Sore Throat
There are two different types of throat infections that you can get. A sore throat is when a virus has infected your throat. Strep throat occurs when you receive a bacterial infection. They are different.
Viral infections are harder to cure and there’s little to no medication to treat viral infections. Strep throat on the other hand can be treated via antibiotics as antibiotics are specifically designed to counter bacterial infections.
Having a sore throat is a possible indicator of other problems associated with your breathing/lungs. Both of these infections can infect people so it’s best to avoid contact with other people when you have it.
People with sore throats do not have bacterial infections; however it’s certainly possible that they do. Statistics indicate that viral infections are about 70% of all throat infections among adult and young children. The other 30% are bacterial infections.
Consult a medical professional to determine what kind of infection you have. If you take antibiotics for a viral infection, you’ll find that your condition worsens as a result. If it’s bacterial then it is fine to take antibiotics or some other natural remedy that we recommend.
It can be difficult to determine the difference between whether you have strep throat or sore throat. Sore throat typically has symptoms of coughing, sneezing, and runny nose. People who have strep throat do not have these symptoms. It’s recommended to try out home remedies to combat your problem.
Why Does Strep Throat Occur And What Are The Symptoms To Look For?
Strep throat is when you are infected by bacteria within the throat or tonsils. A bacteria by the name of A Streptococcus is the reason why strep throat occurs. Another name for it is called group A strep.
Group A strep is known to be extremely infectious and spreads quickly. The primary way it spreads is through coughing, sneezing, rubbing your face, sharing forks, sharing knives, sharing spoons, touching doorknobs, and so forth.
This is why strep throat occurs more often during cold times, because people are closer together and don’t go outside as much. This increases physical contact and therefore increases the chances that infections are spread more quickly.
Symptoms for strep throat start to appear within the first 10 days of infection. The symptoms are:
- Sore throat and having trouble with swallowing food or water
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Severe head pain and aching of the body
- Red rashes all over the body that do not itch
- Body temperature of 100 Fahrenheit or above
If you have any of these symptoms then there’s a good sign that you have strep throat. Consult a medical professional in order to confirm this though. Too many people try to self-diagnose themselves and get harmed in the process. This has led to countless of deaths and problems becoming worse, because people think they are better than medical professionals. Consult a doctor! They know what they are doing.
The Standard Treatment For Strep Throat
The standard treatment for strep throat is antibiotics. The statistics indicate that doctors will prescribe you antibiotics for strep throat most of the time, even though it’s not appropriate to do so.
Most throat infections are sore throats and therefore are viral infections. There’s no treatment for viral infections other than waiting for it to go and taking natural remedies to alleviate the symptoms.
However, most people aren’t aware of that and want a magic fix to their problem. Therefore, the doctor prescribes the antibiotic in order to keep the patient happy.
You know better now. When talking to the doctor, make sure that he/she distinguishes clearly whether you have a strep or sore throat. Ideally, you want to take home remedies which you will learn about as you read more of this article. You don’t want to take antibiotics because of the potential to develop resistance to the drugs.
A List Of Remedies That You Can Take To Alleviate Your Strep Throat
Elderberry
This berry has properties that can combat viruses and bacteria. Scientific research has indicated that elderberry can reduce certain kinds of symptoms that are associated with the lungs and throat.
The researchers were seeing on what would occur if people who were flying regularly consumed elderberry. People who fly regularly are at a higher risk of developing respiratory problems. The people who consumed the elderberry reported less respiratory issues compared to the placebo group.
More research would be need to done in this area, but there’s no harm in consuming some elderberries compared to the benefit you will receive. It’s a low risk option compared to an inconvenient problem that you have.
Elderberry comes in a variety of forms. You can consume it as tea, take pills, powder, and even liquid form. It really depends on what kind of form you prefer. It still works just as well.
Echinacea
Echinacea is an herb that is commonly used to prevent the cold from occurring. Scientific research indicates that Echinacea has a wide variety of powerful health benefits. It can boost your immune system, which is a very good thing if you want to fight off viral and bacterial infections.
There’s something called phytochemicals that are within Echinacea, that has been shown to ward off bacteria and viruses from penetrating the cells in your body.
The Echinacea is also useful to reduce your pain and reduce any form of swelling that’s within your throat. It also has anti-inflammatory properties. You can take Echinacea in any form including: tea, capsule, powder, and liquid form. It’s recommended that you take Echinacea as it’s very powerful stuff.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C has properties that can boost your immune system immensely. It can also repair any damage that’s present in your throat and reduce the probability of your developing all sorts of illnesses out there in the world.
It’s recommended to take 1000-1500 mg of vitamin C if you feel like infection is coming your way. 4000-6000 mg of vitamin C is recommended if you want to eliminate the infection completely and you think it’s already there at full force.
It’s recommended that you take some kind of supplement for vitamin C as it can be hard to consume the required intake to eliminate your problem. You can also consume foods such as oranges, strawberries, and kiwi in order to get a dosage of vitamin C. If you have issues with swallowing stuff, smoothies are a great way to address that problem.
Vitamin D
Scientific research has indicated that people, who have a deficiency in vitamin D, have an increased risk of developing respiratory problems. Vitamin D plays a critical role in boosting your immune system. Your immune system has many properties to fight off bacteria because that’s the job that it does.
You can receive vitamin D exposure by getting more sunlight. You can also eat liver, eggs, tuna, cheese, and salmon in order to get additional vitamin D into your system. Getting sunlight is the best possible way to get more vitamin D in your life though.
Honey
Eating more honey can allow you to have more antioxidants into your system. Antioxidants play a huge role in strengthening your immune system, which makes it great to combating your strep throat.
Scientists in Asia have found that honey has antibacterial properties. These properties allow a shield to be formed in your throat. This allows you to better combat the strep throat and even allows you to prevent it from occurring in the future. It’s recommended that you consume raw honey in order to fight off your strep throat.
Tea
Drinking tea is an excellent option if you want to help out your throat. Tea has been drunk for centuries in order to alleviate many of man’s problems. It’s no surprise that it can assist you with reducing your throat pain and infection. It’s recommended that you drink chamomile tea and/or dandelion tea.
Both of these teas have lots of antioxidants and other minerals that will reduce inflammation in the throat, reduce pain, and so forth. You can’t go wrong with drinking one of man’s oldest beverages.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Drinking apple cider vinegar is one of the easiest ways to combat your strep throat. The acetic acid that is present in apple cider vinegar is the primary component that assists you with this battle. Acetic kills off bad bacteria within your system, and encourages the growth of probiotics.
Probiotics are considered a good thing as they provide a wide range of benefits to your body. Apple Cider Vinegar can be considered a natural antibiotic. It’s one of the strongest tools out there and should be something you consume first. It’s significantly much better than taking prescribed antibiotics first.
Bone Broth
Bone broth is an excellent food that you can eat to treat your strep throat. It assists with keeping you hydrated and provides much needed vitamins/minerals within your body to keep you healthy.
It’s convenient to eat and tasty for many as well. Bone broth contains a wide range of minerals such as: magnesium, calcium, silicon, sulphur, chondroitin, glucosamine, and so much more.
If you wanted these minerals in individual form, it would cost you a pretty penny compared to just consuming the bone broth. People usually take these minerals in individual form, in order to treat problems such as joint pain and excess swelling.
A concern that people might have is that it takes too long to prepare bone broth. You can try consuming protein powder from bone broth.
That method is much quicker to do and will give you the same healing properties. You should still learn how to prepare bone broth when you can though. It’s really delicious and good for you!
Use Peppermint Oil
Peppermint is one of the best essential oils out there if you want to get rid of your strep throat. Scientific research indicates that it reduces a significant number of people who have swelling in the throat.
This is why peppermint oil is commonly used for people who have issues with their respiratory systems. The primary component that makes peppermint oil so good is menthol. The menthol is what makes you feel relaxed and soothed.
You can take the oil via liquid form or if you want you could have it as a mouthwash or in a bath. Whatever you choose can work.
Use Lemon Oil
Lemon oil has been found to have strong antibacterial properties. It also has a secondary function of cleaning out nasty toxins that are present in your body. The current scientific research indicates that lemon oil is good at warding off potential bacterial growth in your body.
It can even defeat bacteria that show signs of resisting antibiotics that are present in your body. In order to get exposure to lemon oil, it’s recommended that you add couple drops of oil in water or some other kind of beverage.
Use Thyme Oil
Research has indicated that thyme oil is good at boosting your immune system and your breathing systems. The research shows that thyme oil can limit and defeat 120 different kinds of bacteria.
It’s a good tool to fight different kinds of bacteria out there. The oil has been tested with people who have infections in their throats, lungs, intestines, and so forth. Thyme oil is very effective in fighting all sorts of harmful pathogens that can enter your body.
If you want to use thyme oil, it’s best to consume it in liquid form via water or some other beverage. You can also add it when you having a bath or via mouthwash. There’s multiple ways to get exposure to thyme oil. Use whatever is convenient for you.
How To Avoid Giving The Infection To Others
It’s relatively easy to avoid spreading the infection to other people if you know how it spreads and are conscious about it. You don’t want to spread the infection to other people. You want to keep it contained.
In order to stop more people from getting your strep throat, it’s recommended that you wash your hands constantly. You can use antibacterial soap but don’t use it too much. Yes, you can build resistance to the antibacterial soap as well. Use it once and be done with it. Use it too much at your own risk.
You also want to get rid of your toothbrush. Your brush has been in constant contact with your mouth. The brush may very well be infected with strep A bacteria. You want to throw it out and get a new one in order to avoid infecting yourself again.
Wouldn’t that suck? You wait and take remedies to get rid of the strep throat, and you’re infected again because of your toothbrush. You want to get rid of all items that have had contact with your mouth. Or, at least wash them with antibacterial soap to get rid of the infection in the objects.
The next obvious thing you do is to avoid physical contact with people as much as possible. Try not to sneeze in front of other people as well as coughing. Do not share utensils and food with anybody for about 2-3 weeks. Wash all of the things that you touch frequently, that other people touch.
By taking all of these steps you will be able to successfully avoid spreading the strep throat.
Natural Strep Throat Remedies Conclusion
Strep throat is a bacterial infection that infects your throat. It’s caused by the bacteria by the name of group A Strep. 30% of all throat infections are strep throat cases. The other 70% are in the form of viral infections to the throat.
If you have a viral infection, the only solution that you have is to wait until it goes away. Antiviral medications have not advanced to the point where you can cure a virus. You can only rely on your body to fight off the virus for you. Don’t let anyone fool you.
The standard treatment for strep throat is antibiotics which can be prescribed by your doctor. Taking antibiotics cuts the recovery time in half. It’s best to avoid using antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary. Most of the time your body is good at healing itself.
There are a wide range of home remedies that you can take before you use antibiotics. This includes a variety of supplements and foods such as: vitamin C, vitamin D, peppermint oil, lemon oil, thyme oil, bone broth, apple cider vinegar, tea, honey, elderberry, and Echinacea.
Taking these foods or supplements will give you the best chances to get rid of the strep throat that is present in your body.
It’s recommended you do not take these remedies to treat if you have a viral infection. Some of these remedies have antibiotic properties and you do not want to use antibiotics on a virus.
Sometimes, doing that only makes the problem worse. Having standard things like more vitamin D, vitamin C, and consuming more tea won’t hurt you though. Read the article again and you’ll have a good indicator of the foods you need to avoid if you have a viral infection.
Preventative measures you can take to avoid getting strep throat is to wash your hands a lot, avoid touching your face a lot, and make sure you avoid touching people you suspect have strep throat.
Avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. You do not want the antibiotics to fail when you need them the most. Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem and will continue to be one for humanity.
Do not underestimate the potential of the human body. Time and rest can do wonders in order to alleviate most problems. Consult a medical professional and talk about the issue of antibiotic resistance when you are dealing with bacterial infections.
You definitely do not want to be overprescribed antibiotics when you don’t necessarily need them.
