Strep Throat Natural Remedies

I'm fairly sure strep throat is something everyone can relate to. We've all had it at one time or another in our lives. And everyone rushes to the doctor for the rapid strep test (and maybe a regular test if the rapid test is negative) and then a bunch of antibiotics. Like most illnesses, the key is how your immune system handles it, and strep throat is no different. For us Lymies, strep throat, or the side effects of it, can linger around for quite some time because our immune systems aren't capable of fighting them off.

The other issue for Lymies is something that most people take for granted: to antibiotic or not to antibiotic, depending on what treatment we're currently on. Sometimes we're already on antibiotics, but strep gets through anyway and we need to add an extra med. But sometimes we're in a rest period, where we need to let our bodies heal from all the antibiotics we've previously taken, and adding a new med during this time isn't really the best option. Of course, sometimes we have to do it anyway, because what's worse than strep throat? Strep throat that's untreated.

Up until now, like most people, I thought antibiotics was my only choice when I came down with strep throat about a month ago. As soon as I saw those tell-tale white spots on my throat, along with the other symptoms, I rushed to the phone to call my doctor.

But on the way to the phone, I spotted my Cowden products, and I took a second to think things over. There was a reason my doctor didn't want me on antibiotics right now. And I had no idea if Cowden would get messed up if I threw a bunch of antibiotics into the mix. So I thought, "I can give it a little while. I'll do some research first." I figured there had to be a way to get rid of strep throat naturally - something I'd never really thought about before.

What I came up with was that there are quite a few natural methods to get rid of strep. I'm not going to list them all because it would take forever, but I'll just tell you what I tried and why.

Essentially, I used Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar and Oil of Oregano. My reason for selecting these two was that I'd already read up on their benefits for other reasons (Lyme, candida, general wellness, etc.) and knew they worked for certain maladies. As it is, I've been taking oil of oregano regularly for a while, and when I feel a cold or something coming on, I up my dose and it gets rid of the illness quickly.

So what did I do? I increased my dose of oil of oregano and started taking apple cider vinegar. I had already been taking oil of oregano twice a day, so I went to three times a day. I gargled with some apple cider vinegar mixed into warm water, and I also drank some apple cider vinegar mixed in water twice a day. In addition, I occasionally swabbed some oil of oregano directly on the white spots on my tonsil (yes, it only infected one, and I think starting this regimen quickly kept it from ever getting to the other tonsil) using a Q-tip.

The results? Pretty amazing. The strep still had to run its course. The white spots did linger for a little more than a week, but they got smaller each day. The sore throat was manageable. It never got out of hand. I did spike a fever about four days after starting the treatment, but a fever is a way of your body telling you it's fighting something off. I took that as a good sign that my immune system was working against the strep. I kept up the oil of oregano and apple cider vinegar after the symptoms and spots disappeared, just to be safe.

In the end, I'm pretty confident that I did have strep even though it was never confirmed by a doctor, and that I beat it without antibiotics.

Oil of oregano

I'm all for homeopathic remedies, but oil of oregano has to be the most disgusting thing ever! Yesterday, my ear and throat started hurting really bad. My left tonsil was all red. I've read great things about the healing powers of oil of oregano so I thought I'd try it. Now, I don't mind some oregano on my pizza, or in sauce, but liquid concentrate straight on your tongue is just awful! I drank a ton of water to get the taste out of my mouth but that didn't work. A couple of crackers helped a little but the taste lingered for hours.

The good news is that it did help my throat feel somewhat better. At least it was tolerable for a few hours. It helped enough that I even choked down a second dose later in the evening. Today I switched to Throat Coat tea with honey.

Update 3/25/16:

I've actually been taking oil of oregano on a regular basis lately, and it does have some pretty amazing powers. It helps get rid of colds, sore throats, and numerous other issues. It's also good for candida. Thanks to all the antibiotics I've been on in recent years, I tend to get candida in my throat. Oil of oregano stops the growth and actually keeps it away.

For a while, I was choking down the liquid form, but I recently began taking it in capsules. These capsules work really well, so I'm going to keep taking them twice a day, and more as needed when I start to feel sick. The liquid probably works better for certain things, like throat issues since it goes directly to the source, but the capsules are great for everyday use. Plus, it's easier to convince my kids to take a capsule when they get sick than it is to get them to drink something with the drops in it!