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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 was recently diagnosed with type A strep. I have a lot of allergies to medications so my doc put me on Clindamycin – a med I’ve taken before & have been known to tolerate. Well I wound up with an allergic reaction to that. Went to hospital and they said to stop the med – told me not to take anything. Aside from the few odd white spots (that have been there for 4 days) I don’t really have any strep symptoms.
I guess there has to be one in every crowd, however I find I must disagree on withholding antibiotics for strep throat. I contacted strep throat when I was 11 years old. I was a pretty typically healthy kid who didn’t like missing school and since It occurred over Easter vacation and I was “feeling better” by the following school week I avoided a doctor’s visit and the ensuing meds. I subsequently was hospitalized for 21 days with a severe bout of rheumatic fever which left me with heart damage (and a very altered lifestyle for a number of years)
Note-my strep was not teated with antibiotics. None the less…..
18 years later when I was expecting my first child strep throat was making the rounds at my workplace and I contracted it again. Determined not to medicate my unborn baby I suffered through horrible throat pain and fever (not realizing at the time that high fever can also be harmful to unborn babies), but eventually I got over my strep throat…or so I thought. By the time my baby was 7 months old I had lost a lot of weight, was quite fatigued all the time, and was having joint pain. The blood tests confirmed I had strep in my blood stream, which had the ability to damage the liver. Everyone must make their own medical decisions, but personally I would never withhold antibiotics from my children for strep—for other things yes–but i feel the possible complications from strep make the medications a must for me.
Claudia
agree! The complications aren’t as rare as the post suggests and when you yourself have suffered the complications or know someone who has, it’s life changing! I’m sorry, but this post is majorly flawed!
It’s so nice to read an article about something I, too, have experienced. So many people think I’m crazy! About six years ago I came down with strep throat — I knew what it was based on symptoms because I had it numerous times growing up and that was always the *one* illness for which my parents allowed antibiotics. Because of my job, I could not get in to see the doctor for five days. By the time I made it, I was told that they could not give me antibiotics! My body was already healing itself, and so even though I had all the symptoms and could be tested, I was no longer sick enough. I was told just go back home, drink fluids and use cough drops if my throat was really in pain (to which I responded “That’s what I’ve been doing all week!”). Three days later I was fine. On my own. No antibiotics needed. And it was yet another reason for me to stay clear of doctors’ offices!
I totally agree with no antibiotics for strep throat. Although using my own remedy helped all my sons get over strep throat faster with no side affects. My remedy is a gargle made from 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper mixed with four to six ounces of warm water. Gargle three times a day. It tastes like hot apple cider. I used this the first time when my sons were in grade school and came home from school one by one with strep throat. I kept them all at home for three days; they gargled; rested ate normally but removed all the dairy. I could not believe the difference in their throats just after one day of the gargling. Since then (1990s), I was not one to get a antibiotic prescription filled. My sons are all grown now and still do not use antibiotics; plus they never had strep throat again after that first time.
My brother-in-law was diagnosed with nephritis (a kidney disorder) in his early teens. My in-laws believe it was caused by untreated strep throat. He controls it through diet and herbs, but it is never going to go away. His kidneys pretty much shut down for periods of time due to stress (physical or mental). I should also note my in-laws were not following a WAPF diet when he was diagnosed.
I got strep this spring along with all my kids after not having had it for about 15 yrs. I had it numerous times as a child. Usually once a year. Well this time i treated it with echinacea, garlic, colloidal silver, chicken broth etc. It passed. And then I got a UTI shortly after that and treated it at home again. Then only a couple of weeks later I got strep throat again. It was hideous. My throat was so swollen I woke up choking in the middle of the night on my uvula. So I gave up and went to the Dr and got abx. I felt incredible on the abx. Soo good. But two days after the abx ended my throat was swollen again. This time throat cultures were negative for strep. I was told I probably had mono. So here I am. It’s fall. I am still battling a swollen throat. I have to take at least 3-4 tblsp of coconut oil day to keep the swelling in check to some degree. I am so depressed over this. I don’t eat crap. I eat several cups of bone broth daily with garlic, coconut oil, kimchi and raw egg yolk in it. I’m hanging in there. But I don’t have my relatively good health back. I say relatively because I have experienced an over all decline in health to some degree since my daughters birth 15 mo ago.
I have never had strep. On Dec 29, 2010, I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. On Dec 31st, I was in the ER with a sever kidney infection. I was unable to urinate and they had to put a cathter in. 800 cc of urine was collected. The OB on call fought for me to keep my baby with me. They said I needed to stay because my temp wasn’t staying down. It was 104.7 initially. They tried to say it was a uterine infection because I had a homebirth but that was ruled out. The next day at about 3pm my baby girl turned gray. She was rushed to the ER and they had her life flighted to the children’s hospital. At the hospital I was at, they had no clue what caused my infection. At children’s the infectious disease docs discovered it was Group A strep (same bacteria that causes strep throat). She had the scarlet fever rash all over her. I had it just on my belly but I thought it was heat rash. My daughter aspirated the bacteria at birth. She only had 25% function of her lungs, kidneys were failing and heart was becoming weaker. she had 2 surgeries, one to put a lung catheter in and the other for a central line. She turned septic and was in PICU for a week and a total of 13 days at the hospital. I was in the hospital for 5 days. Praise the Lord she lived and it’s like nothing ever happened. Shes now nursing like a champ. GAS is a nasty bug. Antibiotics saved our lives. There is a 3% survival rate once you turn septic, which she did. Overuse of antibiotics have made these bugs that could be easily treated into super bugs. Oh and my throat did start hurting in the hospital but they gave me antibiotics so fast, the tests they did came up negative.
If your children survive to adulthood it’s going to be a miracle.