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If you’ve ever wondered why some people get strep throat over and over and over again, sometimes even just days after a strep infection was supposedly eradicated with antibiotics, here’s the likely answer as explained by old-time MDs who practiced medicine before the modern love affair with prescription drugs got its start.
Most people are far too quick to run and get a prescription for antibiotics and never give their immune system a chance to build any resistance whatsoever. Most never consider the use of home remedies for strep throat either.
Conventional doctors today do a great job of scaring people out of their minds about the possibility of rheumatic fever/heart damage from allowing the body to deal with a strep throat infection unmedicated. However, the truth is, the risk of complications from strep throat is very small for healthy people who have no issues with their immune system. Even WebMD used to state (before pharmaceutical industry pressure forced a change in language to only mention antibiotics) that strep throat will go away on its own with or without treatment in 3-7 days.
I’ve written before about the one and only case of strep throat I ever had. It occurred when I was 15 and I am ever so grateful my MD father loved me enough to let me fight through it and win without antibiotics. The result? I’ve never ever gotten strep throat again despite repeated exposures. One exposure was in very close quarters – a college roommate had strep throat and I still didn’t contract it! What’s even more interesting is that none of my children have ever had strep either despite multiple exposures from friends and classmates.
I obviously built up a strong resistance to strep throat at a young age and have been blessed with never having to suffer with it again by allowing my body to fight through it naturally. It’s also quite possible I passed on my immunity to my children via breastfeeding, although that is obviously just an educated guess on my part.
The article I wrote on my personal strep throat story has invited both ridicule and applause over the past couple of years. Some folks have angrily emailed me saying I am crazy and putting people’s lives in danger by suggesting that forgoing meds for strep is the best way to go if one is in good health.
For others, the article triggered an “aha moment” with more than just a few deciding once and for all to stare down the strep throat demon and win!
One such inspiring story crossed my inbox recently and the strep throat victim was none other than professional singer Martin DeBourge!
Here’s what Martin had to say:
As a singer, getting strep throat every single year is not only frustrating, but vocally debilitating! So when it hit again this year, and I felt it coming on, I decided a new course of action was in order.
I spent a day researching. The one article that really rang true for me was on your website about whether antibiotics for strep are really necessary. You talked about how you “muscled through it” when you had strep throat as a teenager, and how your body may have even built an immunity against it.
That sounded great to me! But, I am well aware of the massive pain strep throat can cause. Just swallowing fluid is excruciating, let alone solid foods. So I needed a sort of “healthy second opinion”.
I called fellow friend and vocalist David Katz in New York. I knew he was an herbalist, but most importantly, he would understand my plight as a singer needing to do what’s best for my pipes. He runs a website and has an herbal product line JUST for singers, so I knew he was the right guy.
He ALSO encouraged me to steer clear of the antibiotics and gave me a few suggestions to “get through it”.
I braced myself for at least 10 days of bed ridden fever, throat swelling and sickness. Like I said, I’ve been through this numerous times before, so I knew what I was in for. I didn’t clear my singing schedule though, hoping for the best.
To my amazement, the strep “spots” started clearing within a couple days. I had my voice back in 36 hours! I was floored… and convinced.
Martin kept a daily log of his strep throat home remedies adventure outlined below. Hopefully, it will inspire more than just a few others to take the leap themselves.
Effective Strep Throat Home Remedies
Martin’s holistic strep throat treatment consisted of the following ingredients which he consumed at a rate of ½ teaspoon every 30 minutes to an hour.
- Use a mortar & pestle to mash up 3 cloves of fresh garlic (sources). If the raw garlic is too hot for you or you’re concerned about the odor potential, use homemade pickled garlic instead. Do not use commercial pickled garlic as it has no therapeutic value.
- Mix in half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (sources).
- Mix in raw honey (manuka honey is the most potent. Be wary what brand you buy as most manuka honey is fake. Get UMF certified 15+) to taste which has healing properties of its own (sources).
Martin also gargled with raw apple cider vinegar diluted with some water 3x per day (sources). Although Martin didn’t use it, adding small cups of bone broth to the regimen would have helped speed healing as well.
Note that some people like to gargle with colloidal silver, which also works well. However, note that this remedy will kill the good bacteria in your throat area as well as the bad, potentially contributing to more problems down the road from unbalanced mouth, throat, and sinuses flora.
Below is Martin’s daily journal logging his progress to a cure.
Using Home Remedies for Strep Throat: A Daily Journal
10/6 – Sunday afternoon – felt “something” in throat. Still sang well at rehearsal.
10/7 – Monday morning – “something” became more prominent and I began the research into what I felt was inevitably the strep bacteria attacking my throat.
10/7 – Monday early afternoon – visit to doctor for regular checkup and asking about an unrelated pulled muscle. He checked my throat (routinely) and said nothing. It didn’t matter if he had, I would have just went through the motions of accepting an antibiotic prescription, but not taking it – I had already made up my mind to do something “different”.
10/7 – Monday afternoon – found information on The Healthy Home Economist about beating strep with no meds. Followed up with a phone call to David Aaron Katz. Became convinced that I will muscle through it with home remedies. As per David’s suggestion, I started by sucking/chewing on cloves of garlic – 5 of them before the day was out!
10/7 – Monday evening – attempted to sing. Did not go well, highs were very strained.
10/8 – Tuesday morning – throat uncomfortableness, but quick mirror check didn’t seem to reveal anything overly red. Driving son to school is when I looked in rear view mirror and noticed two white spots. Strep confirmed.
10/8 – Tuesday later morning – started a cycle of garlic chewing with a mixture of raw honey & cayenne pepper every half hour (concoction detailed below). First two administers I experienced upset stomach, but became very tired and slept most afternoon.
10/8 – Tuesday afternoon – continued garlic/honey/cayenne mixture every half hour during awake times.
10/8 – Tuesday early evening. Headaches persisted, but still had an appetite. Gargled with ACV – that was a bit painful.
10/8 – Tuesday evening. Continued with mixture until I went to sleep. Noticed a third spot very far back and lower behind the tongue. May have always been there, but this is the first I noticed.
10/9 – Wednesday early morning – Awoke with a sore throat, a bit difficult to swallow. Gargled and drank 16 fl oz water with 2 tbs of ACV & Raw Honey. Checked throat under light, saw the same three spots.
10/9 – Wednesday afternoon – no stomach issues, and the sore throat lessened considerably throughout the day. Still uncomfortable, but I can definitely eat.
10/9 – Wednesday early evening – third spot undetected, second one lessening. First one still prominent, but definitely all good signs. Also, I noticed I am not all that drained and exhausted – which I attributed to the garlic intake.
10/10 – Thursday early morning – woke up with slightly less of a sore throat. Gargled and drank 16oz water with ACV & Honey. Throat under light still shows the one stubborn spot, hard to tell, but it could be a tiny bit less in size.
10/11 – Thursday afternoon – Was told by my wife that she can’t bear with my garlic breath another day… no worries, that third spot is definitely reduced in size. I decided that come morning, I will just do Apple Cider Vinegar. Besides, I had a karaoke gig this night and needed to not smell like garlic for the customers.
10/12 – Friday Morning – Spot free. Wow. Not a single spot, throat back to normal. I decided to slowly warm up the voice as I had a singing engagement to prepare for on Saturday.
10/13 – Saturday evening – voice 100%. Throat clean as a whistle. In all my years (year after year) getting strep throat, I have NEVER bounced back this quick – not to mention getting through it without antibiotics.
10/15 – UPDATE: I made a facebook post about this a few days ago, simply saying that I kicked strep to the curb without the use of antibiotics. I have over 1400 followers on my profile, so I certainly expected varying comments. One particular comment jumped out at me… “make sure you really got rid of it, it typically comes back within a couple days if you didn’t eradicate it”.
Well……… it’s not back!
Congratulations Martin on the amazing success of your strep throat remedy! Please keep us updated on your progress, but my bet is that you won’t ever be taking antibiotics for strep throat again, and you may very well never even have it again!
Have you always wondered how to get rid of strep throat without meds? Have you ever muscled through it under your own power using one or more strep throat home remedies? If so, what remedies did you use and have you experienced immunity to strep throat since? Please chime in with the strep throat cures which worked for you below.
Want to connect with Martin? These links below will point you in the right direction:
(youtube) www.youtube.com/martindebourge
(bio) www.15hifi.com/site/martindebourge
More Information
Remedy for Sore Throat (fast acting)
How to Repair Your Gut After Antibiotics
Why Antibiotics Today Could Threaten Your Life Tomorrow
Best Natural Antibiotics and How to Use Them
Fever Blisters Home Remedy
Oregano oil destroys strep! My daughter came down with strep the day before we were to be flying to South America, and antibiotics were not going to be an option for us. I read a lab study about someone accidentally dripping oregano into a petri dish with the strep bacteria in it, and it decimated the strep! with nothing to lose, I tilted my daughters head back and dropped a few drops directly on her tonsils/back of throat. Did this 3 times (every 4 hours) and she started to feel better. By morning, no spots, no fever, no pain! We continued having her take oregano oil capsules for the first few days of our trip too, just to make sure. It worked like a charm!!!
You are absolutely correct about oregano oil. I use many of the essential oils for natural remedies and Essential Oregano oil also kills gastritis bacteria fast! A few drops in a large glass of water twice a day and also rubbed with some olive oil on the stomach, or ear area if an ear infection, will heal it in no time!!! I also use ImmuPower and Thieves from Young Living Oils at the first sign of any illness and they work powerfully!
don’t ever ever ever put oregano oil UNdiluted – directly into an ear canal for ear ache. . . . I once set myself on fire 🙂 I was in terrible pain with my ear ache and out of desperation I dumped several un-cut drops of Oregano right into my ear . . . . . burned like fire . . . but the ear ache did clear right up. Oregano oil is an amazing remedy. I will always be sure to use it properly & not jump the gun as I did that time!!! I catch on eventually.
we use many of these remedies for soar throats and such & rarely need a doctor visit. I also have a compromised immune system & these things work!
Awesome post! Being a mom of many, things can be easily passed around the family. We used to use the sucking of garlic, warm salt water, honey, lemon,cayenne, ginger drink. NOW, I am happy to say, we have found something that works Quick! We take ambrotose(glyconutrients) and suck on an immunostart. Which beefs up your immune system. Now, the kids are like’ I can’t even be sick around here,”
Thank goodness for the natural remedies- but even better is a natural preventative! The strep bacteria cannot live in an oxygenated environment—so at the first hint of sore throat gargle with hydrogen peroxide, straight is best, but also is effective if cut with a bit of water. You will foam like a “mad dog” when you gargle, but you will literally kill the strep bacteria and not develop any further sore throat. I learned this from a biology professor colleague (thanks Bill Landry!) years ago. My daughter was 12 and had had annual bouts of strep since early childhood, usually passing it on to at least one or more members of the family. Once we started using Hydrogen Peroxide – virtually NO ONE in our family has had strep throat since and it has been 24 years and counting!! and Laura— young children can do this and they laugh about it while they do— Our daughter is now 36 and uses this preventative with her little ones that range in age from 27 months to 7 years. Hydrogen peroxide does not taste bad- it has a somewhat “stale water” taste. The kids don’t mind it at all and if they swallow it, the worst that happens are some hilariously big burps! We typically gargled about 2 to 3 times a few hours apart and that’s usually all that was needed. It is truly an amazing preventative!!!
I keep reading about ‘food grade’ hydrogen peroxide – I have my doubts that’s the one you pick up from the drugstore shelf, is it?
Doubt it Helen. Food grade is typically 35%, and store shelf is 3.5% – food grade HAS TO BE DILUTED or it will give you a chemical burn (of sorts). Many people use food grade H2O2 as parts of a natural cancer treatment protocol, candida killer, etc. It super oxygenates your blood and kills many pathogens when ingested (DILUTED in water…as in 2-25 drops per 8 oz)
DO NOT PUT FOOD GRADE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE ON OR IN ANY PART OF YOUR BODY!!!!!
Food grade is 35% in most cases and will cause instant chemical burns even on your hands. I don’t even know how badly it will damage the soft tissue in your mouth.
DO NOT use food grade. Get the 3% stuff from the store and dilute it down to 1.5%.
1.5% is safe. 35% IS NOT SAFE.
Why is it called food grade if it isn’t for ingesting? Is it to wash food? Honest questions.
Yes! My daughter had strep a few years back, when she was about five. I told her that we had 24 hours to try something and if not, we would have to go to the doctor and get some medicine like she saw other kids taking a lot. She had never — and still thank g-d has not — had any allopathic meds and only a few herbs here and there. I told her that if she wanted to stay free of medicines with this situation that she would have to drink a spicy drink. A lot. She agreed. So we made her orange juice with cayenne (fresh squeezed oj with just regular culinary organic cayenne powder). I had her take a few sips every half hour or hour or so throughout the day. And chase it with bread.
By the next morning her strep — which had been really intense looking — was basically completely gone.
Since then, we have never had a situation like that so far, thank g-d. But anytime we go near anything at all like that, we just do a few cayenne frescas and we are good to go.
Best,
Mama Flora
ps. keep in mind that if you need it, the cayenne will sting. but it stings as it heals, so with each subsequent dose, it should sting less than the dose before…
I agree that antibiotics are greatly overused and should be avoided whenever possible. Perhaps I would be more in sympathy with your post were it not for my family history. My paternal grandfather died of complications from strep throat before I was born, and my mother’s sister developed rheumatic fever at the age of five and nearly died. There are a number of indications that at least some of us do have compromised immune systems–I developed appendicitis at the age of two and nearly died; one sister had multiple serious health problems as a child; and my youngest sister came down with spinal meningitis at the age of 18 months and nearly died. I think I’ve had strep throat only once, when I was in college and the doctor told me it was the worst case he’d ever seen. So I don’t take risks. I have taken antibiotics for pneumonia twice and, most recently, for Lyme disease. I hate taking them, but although I take care of myself and am generally quite healthy, I do it when the risks of not taking them include extremely serious health problems or death.
Great post, Sarah! We will be passing on this strep throat remedy.
Hugs,
Kim
Sarah
Interesting article. Fortunately have never had Strep throat. How would oil pulling go. I have used it in the past. Amongst other things supposed to be good for lymphatic drainage.
Sonia
wow, what an awesome story with wonderful results. Natural is definitely better to try first. If for some reason you can’t beat it, then, seek further intervention. Congrats Sarah for being an inspiration and thanks Martin for inspiring more who will ‘seek the truth’ in healing themselves….
Wow, what a great testimonial! Great idea to keep a little journal about it.
I’m wondering how to get small children to take those concoctions. I can give them honey but the garlic, cayenne and ACV? That would be a battle. Any ideas?
I also couldn’t give cayenne pepper and garlic to my 4 year old boy when he had Strep Throat. My sister, who is studying Ayurvedic, told me that cinnamon & clove is considered “natural antibiotic”. The recipe: boil some water in a small pan with 1 cinnamon stick and 10 cloves. Then simmer on low, until the colour becomes dark (tea like). I gave this “tea-drink” mixed with raw-honey through out the day (4-5 times a day). My son’s strep-throat was cleared within 3-4 days, without antibiotic. A friend also tried this ‘cinnamon-clove-honey’ tea for her son’s tonsillitis, it worked too.
Sharon, did you give a whole cup of “tea” to sip on several times a day, each cup made with 1 cinnamon stick and 10 cloves? Or did you give spoonsful throughout the day? Or??
Carmie. I give around 100-150 ml each drink (4-5 times a day). On a good day, my boy would be able to drink 500ml-600ml in total.
What I do is, I have a dedicated small pan (milk pan) just for this. I just keep topping up the pan with more water and reboil (reuse) the same cinnamon stick & clove through-out the day. Put it in the fridge overnight. The next day, I would add a new cinnamon stick & cloves to the old mixture & do the same process again. I’ll prob throw it out after 3 days.
I also dilute the mixture with water, especially when it is the 1st boil or when it’s very strong. It’s important to boil and simmer first – to get that strong ‘tea colour’. I guess this acts as a way to extract the ‘healing properties’ (so-to-speak) of the cinnamon & clove. Then, I dilute it with water. Make sure you give it warm, not cold. Lots of honey, raw honey is better. If you can’t get it, normal honey will do. Just a note on the honey, my boy is 4 years old. Not sure how old yours is.
Hope this helps. We also use it for coughs & colds. This is just what WE do at home, it works for OUR family & friends. In saying that, everybody is different and I’m not a medical doctor. All the best.
I am 67 and as child of school age my grandmother would give me a cold remedy of boiled onion and a sugary syrup….I didn’t like it but it worked.
PS grams was born in 1886 in England and didn’t like Drs.
This “tea” sounds great. I have a wee one that seems to be a strep “carrier” and has had it 3 times in as many months.
Her swabs come back negative, so I believe this will be quite helpful.
I found out last year that I am allergic to antibiotics. I have strep throat and am going to try your cinnamon clove mixture. I sure hope it works as I am miserable and have no other options. Thanks so much!
Laura- please read my post about hydrogen peroxide at the first sign of a sore throat. Our daughter was 12 and our son was 8 when we started using this- and she has used it for her children since they were wee little. The strep never gets a chance to develop- the headache and fever may persist for 24 hrs- but thats about the worst it gets.
All the best to your and your little ones!
Sarah, I LOVED this post. It got me thinking about my own history of strep infections. I used to have it almost yearly as well, sometimes more. I would always know it was strep because from the moment I didn’t feel well till I knew it was strep because I was suddenly very fevered and extremely ill was only about an hour or two. Most of the time I ended up going to the doctor quickly because I was SO miserable with vomitting, dehydration, extreme throat pain, aches and pains all over. It was awful. One time I even ended up in the hospital because I had gotten so dehydrated. Anyway, 6 years ago in December I realized I was coming down with strep, but we didn’t have any medical insurance. I did some research online an decided to battle it myself. I did take golden seal as directed for 1 week, I also ate lots of raw garlic about 4-5 cloves daily. I took our super tonic 3-4 times a day with lots of vitamin c and tried to take a cayenne/honey concoction which was very difficult for me and I wasn’t as successful at taking that. I was sick for about a week, but the worst was the first 3 days. I just realized after reading this post that I haven’t had any problem with a strep infection since. Thank you for your post and ideas for fighting it in the future.
Shelly
I take a cotton swab (Qtip) and gently scrape the white spots off of the tonsils. I figure its bateria growing back there and like a piece of fruit, I can stop it from spreading further onto the good tissue by removing it. Gargling with raw ACV (Apple cider vinegar) is also a good way to slow down the bateria.