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More parents seem to be making an effort in recent years to limit antibiotic exposure for their children. This is due to concerns about how this may impact long term health or contribute to increased susceptibility to deadly superbugs such as C-Diff. Treating strep throat without meds remains a glaring exception to this trend.
It seems that whenever a doctor diagnoses a child or even an adult with strep throat, there is no question that they require an immediate round of antibiotics. Even those who typically avoid meds and follow a more holistic lifestyle seem to fall into this trap.Â
Strep Throat Symptoms
There is no doubt that strep throat is a serious infection. It is a bacterial infection and involves severe inflammation of the throat and tonsils. Typical signs of strep throat include:
- Sudden, severe sore throat
- Fever higher than 101°F/ 38 °C
- Pain when swallowing
- Pale colored spots on the back of a bright red throat
Some people suffering from strep throat will also get swollen lymph glands in their neck. Others experience vomiting or a red skin rash.
How Long Does Strep Throat Last?
Strep throat will only last 3 to 7 days with or without treatment. Doctors usually treat strep throat with antibiotics even though they will not make you well any faster. Strep throat contagiousness will continue for 24 hours once antibiotics are started. With no treatment, strep throat continues to be contagious until symptoms resolve.
In response to the persistent overuse of antibiotics for strep throat, the journal Canadian Family Physician states:
… symptoms caused by a bacterial sore throat [strep] fail to clear much faster when treated with antibiotics than they would if left alone.
It is certainly easier and quicker to hand out prescriptions every time than to explain and reassure. Each time we do this, however, we reinforce patients’ fears.
Do family physicians have to declare a conflict of interest in answering these questions? If we were to lower ourselves to examining the vulgar subject of money, it is certainly in our financial interest to keep many patients scared enough to rush to our offices whenever they get sore throats.
In view of the large number of antibiotics prescribed for sore throats, perhaps it is time to review whether we should be using such treatment for strep throat infections at all.
Is Strep Throat Overmedicated?
Mmmm.
Sounds like the idea of not administering antibiotics for strep throat may not be as crazy as it first sounds. Are doctors overmedicating strep throat just like they overmedicate ear infections, colds and sinus/respiratory infections?
A round of antibiotics has the potential to cause permanent damage to the gut flora. This, in turn, has a lifelong impact on overall immunity to both chronic and acute illness. Skipping those antibiotic pills altogether may prove in the long run to be the smartest approach of all.
Do You Have to Get Antibiotics for Strep Throat?
In light of the fact that every round of antibiotics potentially damages the gut in a manner than can never be 100% repaired, I think questioning the automatic use of antibiotics for every single case of strep is worth consideration. While some people clearly need meds, they are not necessary for everyone even if the suggestion may seem ludicrous at first.
The complications of strep throat are, after all, extremely serious. However, they are also rare especially for a healthy person with no autoimmune issues. Scarlet fever, inflammation of the kidney, or rheumatic fever which could permanently damage the heart are all remote possibilities.
I dated a guy in high school who was deaf in one ear from Scarlet fever (who is ironically now a MD). I am in no way kidding myself about how serious complications from strep throat can be by questioning whether antibiotics are truly needed for this type of infection.
My Experience with Untreated Strep Throat
My serious doubts about the wisdom of using antibiotics for strep throat go back to my one and only experience with this infection the summer I turned 15.  Strep was by far the worst sore throat I’ve ever had and the pain when I swallowed was almost unbearable to endure.
My Father, a Family Physician, made the decision not to put me on any antibiotics and let me ride it out under my own power. My Dad wasn’t into herbs or anything so I didn’t have any alternative treatments administered either.
The infection lasted over a week … my memory remembers a full two weeks but it might have been a few days shy of that.
I lost several pounds during that illness as I could only endure swallowing liquids the entire time. I pretty much subsisted on vanilla milkshakes from the ice cream shop down the road for the duration of that awful infection and I still got well under my own power with no complications.
The interesting thing is that I seem to have developed an immunity to strep ever since. I’ve never had strep throat ever again in 35+ years. This is despite repeated exposures at close range. During college, I even had a roommate with strep and didn’t get sick. This despite eating pretty rotten cafeteria food and lots of sugary foods. This no doubt suppressed my immune function considerably.
Is it possible that allowing the body to fight off strep throat naturally on its own confers partial or total immunity?
I’ve often considered this possibility over the years. My personal belief is that yes, it is very much possible to develop an immunity to strep throat. Certainly, though, my anecdotal story does not in any way provide sufficient evidence.
I can say with certainty that if and when any of my children (or myself) ever came down with strep throat, hands down I would without question skip the antibiotics.
Why?
Developing Strep Throat Immunity (yes, it’s possible!)
The reason is that folks who take antibiotics for strep throat seem to get it over and over and over again. Sometimes they get strep throat again within mere days or weeks from the previous infection. Have you noticed this vicious cycle too?
Wouldn’t it be a far better and healthier approach to fight it off one time and be done with it possibly for the rest of your life?
My retired MD Dad is of the philosophy that if you give the body a crutch every time it gets ill, it will always expect and demand that crutch. This results in immunity getting weaker over time. I have witnessed the truth of this philosophy through observation. Those who have the tendency to over-medicate their illnesses whether it be with antibiotics or (gasp) even natural remedies can unwittingly experience a downside.
Attempting to squelch illness at the first sign of a sniffle, for example, is not a wise approach in my opinion even if nontoxic.
The immune system stays strong when it is allowed to fight and defeat an illness with no interference. Ideally, rest and nourishment only (including frequent mugs of homemade bone broth or soups made with it) should be provided.
Now, I do think that much consideration needs to be given to the health of the individual before forgoing the meds. A child with autoimmune issues who is not eating well in the first place probably should just take the antibiotics.
On the other hand, a robust healthy child with no autoimmune illness who is consuming an excellent diet has a superb chance of handling the infection well with no intervention.
My Daughter’s Experience with Untreated Strep Throat
Recently, my preteen daughter came down with strep. She is my youngest child, and this was the first time any of my three children had ever had strep throat.
Given that she is healthy with no underlying health issues, my husband and I decided to ride it out. We treated her with natural antibiotics only.
The result?
She recovered completely within 48 hours. In fact, the white spots on her throat disappeared in less than 12 hours once we started treatments. We used garlic, raw manuka honey, and turmeric several times a day.
It will be interesting to see if she ever gets strep throat again. My bet is that she won’t. She will likely develop partial or total lifelong immunity just like I did when I recovered at age 15 from untreated strep.
UPDATE
It’s been nearly four years including a very bad flu season with no recurrence of strep for my daughter. It’s looking good for her having developed natural immunity.
Have you recovered from strep throat with no antibiotics needed? Did you develop a strep throat immunity afterward? Please let us know your experience in the comments section.
References
Canadian Family Physician, Should we treat strep throat with antibiotics?
More Information
How to Repair Your Gut After Antibiotics
Why Antibiotics Today Could Threaten Your Life Tomorrow
I’m so glad I read this before trying to go to a minute clinic to spend money I dont have. When I was little my mom would rush us to the doctors office for the slightest sniffle. And we’d always wind up with some antibiotic. I’m slowly learning that’s not the way to do it. I hardly get sick anyway. But recently I’ve had an ear infection. And now step. I guess the waits not all too bad.
http://www.webmd.com/news/20050705/strep-linked-to-neurological-conditions
Thought I’d share this information. It is something I just heard and started researching. As our 8 year old son suddenly has some neurological symptoms. I had no idea that strep throat could cause issues like this.
I am sorry but why would you want to withhold antibiotics if a child etc. has diagnosed strep throat? Having REAL and diagnosed strep throat, with fevers reaching past 101 F, white spots on the tonsils, inability to swallow, and general malaise throughout the body is AGONY in addition to being dangerous. If you have the means to acquire antibiotics for your children, why wouldn’t you attempt to end their suffering as soon as possible? I’m all for certain holistic methods, but when it comes to strep, rolling the dice and hoping for a home remedy to kick in and help may not be the best idea. I think it is fantastic that some of you have seemingly overcome strep with holistic means, but please do not encourage this notion that leaving strep untreated is ideal. Additionally, some of you seem to think that a fever is ALWAYS beneficial to the body, which is incorrect. A LOW-GRADE (99-100ish) monitored fever is the body’s natural defense to infection because bacteria etc. usually have a specific temperature range wherein they can live. However, usually fevers that accompany strep throat are beyond that and are induced suddenly within the 101.5-104 range, and in that case the body is experiencing HYPERTHERMIA which is dangerous on a number of different levels. Enzymes within the body denature and lose function past a certain point, and the hypothalamus in the brain no longer can control the body’s out of control temp set-point. I guess what I am trying to say is that holistic methods are all well and good, but make sure you are making an informed and researched decision before administering any type of care! (Nursing student over here)
Because the effects of antibiotics damage gut health for at least 2 years and possibly longer. Taking antibiotics even a single round of them damages health for a long period of time and if the child will most likely get well without them anyway, why not go that route. If a child is immunocompromised already, then do the meds, but for a healthy child, i personally choose to skip them.
Sometimes you can get over strep without meds, sometimes not. It’s not something you want to gamble with. Once the damage is done, it’s done. My son has asymptomatic strep several times a year which results in pandas. It has to be treated. I had strep a lot til i was 13 then tonsils out.
Every person and every strep infection is different. This is not a yes or no question.
This is all hilarious if you ask me. Its the time old question of should I take medicine. Some people are normally healthy but they get strep and their throat closes up causing a trip to the ER. I had strep and thought I was going to die from the fever and chills that went on for 3 days and the throat pain, I couldn’t eat or DRINK because of how severe it was. I couldn’t even swallow my own salvia. I’m not an unhealthy person, I’ve never smoked or drank, slightly overweight, but not obese, but sometimes it does require medicine. I didn’t get better until 48 hours of being on antibiotics. I’ve never had strep in my whole life until now and I am 29 years old. I think the idea that medicine is bad for us is a joke. And let’s try it out on our children who cares if they have to suffer, right? Let them suffer for no real reason and who knows maybe they’ll go deaf or blind or end up with seizures. My friends little boy at age 3 got strep which is super rare. And they didn’t medicate him at first because the test came back as false negative. He ended up with a fever that caused brain damage and now he has epilepsy. So, take your chances…good idea.
I have to say I think this is a pretty dumb idea. While, I am not completely into medications, I think going without every time you have it (or once in a life time), is a little risky. I almost went def when I was in the 5th grade because of this infection, to the point where steroids were necessary. I remember seeing the doctor once a day for 1 straight week. In no way does it offer immunity. Think about it, you went until age 15 without having strep once.. don’t you think that is coincidental? No, the fact is some people mistake a sore throat for strep, it’s just less severe than the one you had at 15.. I can say that since 5th grade I have never had step since, and I can promise you, it has NOTHING to do with immunity. It is not a disease that lingers in the body, once you have it that’s that.. It’s something you get from other people, and in most cases you will never realize that is the problem unless it is a severe issue. While, no, I don’t think antibiotics are necessary in every case, it’s a little bias to tell people not to go that route, they could end up worse than you..
Oh boy where to start. Well, Rheumatic fever at 11 because of undetected strep. If you detect please treat it. Not with garlic or honey but something that will stop it before it can damage heart valves. An additional note. Strep comes in many varieties strains. Not all strains are capable of causing Rheumatic, Scarlett fever or kidney damage.
Basically though many types may cause illness it may resolve fine. It may also not resolve fine. It is a low chance of getting the especially dangerous strains, but you will regret it if you don’t treat it and end up in the hospital . You are basically playing Russian roulette with your health. Having gotten the loaded chamber I’d opt for the penicillin any day
Im actually sitting in the hospital so i had time to read ALL the comments lol. Well, over the years i have become more inclined to homeopathic remedies but do alot of research first before following blindly. I haven’t gotten antibiotic for strep in several years tho i have gotten it mutliple times inthe last few years. Previously i had decided to” ride it out” but that was because i didn’t know any toher way of treating it. This weekend my 4 year old gets sick.. we don’t have insurance yet… in the process. I monitored her, took her temp, gave her tylenol. I kissed. Her on the lips. 2 days later i wake up with swollen tonsils and immediately knew what she had. However that day she said her throat stopped hurting, but she had a rash all over her body. I had scarlet fever at 3 that almost killed me. Took her to the dr and she tested negative for strep and that the rash was viral. So i thought. Well maybe i don’t have strep thenand its just something else. So for the next two went to work a hroat kept getting worse and worse. So go online to look for natural remedies for strep, becaui will take my baby to the dr if she needs it, but if i can manage i wont go with no insurance. I. Try the the garlic/honey/cayenne pepper that alot of people swoe by and aftre 3 or 4 times i couldn’t stand the taste so i gave up. Then i tried cayenne pepper mixed with chicken broth and drank it. The i tried tonsil baths with hydrogen peroxide. I can’t gargle because of exteme gag reflex. That seemed to help a bit. I also tried eating lemons. Stung my mouth a bit but felt like it was working. 2 days of this. I was took weak to go out and get the oils mentioned, though i will def get for future use. After the eating some lemon i took a nap. When i woke my right side was completely gone. No swelling or pain. But starngely my left side was huge as ever. So i kept eating a bit. Of lemon and doing hydrogen peroxide. Kept getting worse, till finally i just got some ibuprofen to help with pain. I was taling 800mg but that lasted less than two hours! Now i know the side effects of this and aslo know max dose in 24 hours is 3200mg. So but to me the pain was too much. Then the next day it got worse so i made a tea of echinacea and ginger root and honey. Too sips and i was in tears. The past 3 days before i could eat or drink or swallow my own spit. Carried a spit cup around with me. Couldn’t sleep either.or talk. Now some people say i am an idiot for not going to hospital say what you may. We r poor sorry and that’s unfortunately were we are at and yes i have applied for medicaide no luck yet. So after the tea incident i was in tears because at the point the pain was excruciating. So he’s had enough and takes me to ER. They said i did have strep but also an abscess in my throat that would not be treated by meds or antibiotics. Also. Doesn’t respond to ibuprofen that’s why mine didn’t help. Could only remove it surgically. That abscess is my top 3 worst pains ever. So my advice is yes the natural stuff does work as it knocked out one tonsil but because i waited so long an abscess had started to form and was too late for the other. So make your decisione either way as soon as you have symptoms and don’t wait like i did! Now im in hospital with bigger bill and still no insurance Jim.some people may need the antibiotics i howvwer will continue to opt out when i can, even for strep. I will just start asap when i feel it. And an abscess can still form with antibiotics, so my lack of abx was not necessarily the cause of it. I have really bad tonsils. And the inability to withould kisses from my sick little girl. Funny thing is husband didn’t even get sick.they had to cut through my tonsils to get to the abscess and drain. Yes it hurt but not as bad as the abscess itself