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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
Has anyone ever heard of gargling with “alum” for strep throat? It was recommended by an Ayurvedic doctor and I have a friend who insists that she used it for her entire family instead of using antibiotics for strep . I have not been able to find much information about it online.
My intention is to use natural alternatives when I get strep . NO one mentioned the fever. I run 102.5 when I have strep and can barley function. Does strep affect people in different ways. My 3 year old grandson, my adult son ( his father) myself , all were together for the weekend. We all came down with strep 3 days later. My husband, daughter in law, and the baby did not. we all had a raging fever . I could not get up from the bed and slept for for 12 hours with a sore gland and neck and about 10 pus spots on each tonsil . I was so sick I was begging for the antibiotic despite being a person who normally does not take meds and tries to do everything natural. My question is the FEVER- does anyone get the raging high fevers?
A fever is an important tool the body uses to fight off infection. Bringing it down makes it more likely you will need antibiotics to recover. Here are some of the ways I manage fevers in my home … I’ve never brought down a fever ever in 20 years raising 3 kids. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/fevers-are-fabulous-how-to-manage-them-without-meds/
Unfortunately, untreated strep can lead to rheumatic fever. My daughter had strep throat with unusual symptoms- fever for one day and hip pain. It developed into Sydenham’s chorea and rheumatic fever. The panic when my 5 year old daughter was waking up screaming in the middle of the night and her body jerking involuntarily so much she couldn’t even sit upright on the floor! We will ALWAYS do antibiotics for strep because of this. If my daughter catches it again she could develop pediatric heart disease. She will be on daily penicillin until she’s 40 years old. It’s not worth the risk with kids. Get the antibiotics if there’s a sore throat and fever. Get a swab if there’s fever and joint pain.
I am a 40 year old female, and tested positive for strep this morning. I started feeling bad 2 days ago. My doctor told me that it was my decision to take antibiotics or not. I thought you always had to take them with step, but after talking to her and doing my own research I think I would like to try to get better using homeopathic methods. My biggest concern is that I have 2 young boys, 5.5 and 7 years old, and I’m around families and kids regularly. Is it true that without the antibiotics I will be contagious 2-3 weeks? I don’t want to be the cause of anyone else sick. Thanks for any advice!
HI there, I’m also doing a remedy similar to this but my silver is 50ppm so im worried to give that much. All I can give is 1/2 teaspoon per day. What is your ppm for your silver?
It’s a long story how I came up with this strep throat cure recipe after years of suffering. I used to sing a lot and would get strep throat about twice a year or more. One time I had to get a (strong dose) shot of antibiotics in my buttock at the emergency room, my step throat got so bad!
I want to share a recipe I personally used to cure my (and family members) strep throat. I recommend doing this right away, not waiting for the strep throat to get really bad.
All you need is a bottle of Swedish bitters (I prefer Dr. Theiss brand or nature works) and a dropper.
Right before you get into bed (after you brushed your teeth), pour approximately 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup (doesn’t have to be measuring cup) of room temperature water and add a teaspoon of Swedish bitters.
Lay flat on your back, stick your tongue out, and drop the mixture directly in your throat, on your tonsils with the dropper. Swallow 1-3 drops at a time. This procedure will take you about 10-20 minutes to do. You can’t eat or drink anything for 6+ hours after you do this! You have to repeat this for at least 7 evening in a row, even if it feels like the strep throat is gone. You can do this for up to 10 days before taking a break.
For little kids (2-4 years), give 1/4 of this mixture. Kids ages 5-8, give 1/2 of this mixture. Kids 9-12, can get 3/4 of this mixture. Kids over 13 years can get adult dosage of the whole mixture. Do not exceed these proportions, especially if you have a weak stomach. Drink about a cup of water before you do this procedure, but no drinking afterwards. I dilute it more when I give it to my kids.
If the mixture tastes too bitter (especially for fussy kids), you can add more water to dilute it (you can do a proportion of 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon Swedish bitters), but will need to consume more mixture, which is time consuming having to drop tiny amounts down your throat.
Some important notes: It’s very important to make sure you do this right before you’re asleep in bed. Make sure to dilute the Swedish bitters with the water proportion, or you can burn/injure your throat and stomach if not diluted! Gargling with this mixture will not work. It’s important to swallow 1-3 drops at a time. The more often you swallow, the better! Not all Swedish bitters are equal. Try to get Dr. Theiss or Nature Works Swedish bitters brand. The Swedish bitters needs to have a herbal smell (not alcohol smell) to it and can have a tiny amount of herbs coating on bottom of glass bottle. No eating or drinking afterwards for about 6 hours after this. And continue doing this for 7-10 days (nights) in a row!! If you don’t do it enough (because it felt like you’re cured), the strep could come back with great force that will take longer to get rid off.
So if you feel like your throat doesn’t hurt any longer, still continue this for another 5 days, not exceeding 10 days in total treatment.
This works 100% on me and my family. There’s people (relatives) that didn’t believe me this would work, but called back to thank me for this amazing recipe to cure strep or sore throat. The only negative part about this is that not everyone (especially adults) can stand having this mixture dropping down their throat while they are laying flat on their back with their tongue out!! But I think this is better than having to eat so much garlic all the time!
I never give my kids a bath when they are sick. Especially if the have a fever- no matter what! I stopped giving them baths when my mom told me it’s not good to give a bath to sick child especially when there’s a fever going on (as with most strep throat).
I noticed my children get well faster.
Can you elaborate on why it would be bad to give baths when kids are sick? I’m interested! I thought giving a bath with mineral salts was good.
I just chop up garlic really small and put it in a spoon and tell them to “swallow it” (a little chewing) and then drink water. I have a 5 year old. He doesn’t like it, but he will do it. We’ve been drinking mixed honey and acv with my 8 year old. He and I both have the symptoms (sore neck and throat), but no fever. We are also taking elderberry and using lots of oils.
Good luck.
My girl has had recurring strep in the past 6 months and after 4 times, I quit going the antibiotic route. It just made me think she was getting sicker (especially after the doctor told us the antibiotic wasn’t for the strep- it’s for the possible complication of heart problems from rheumatic fever, which is very rare!). I began a strict routine as soon as she started complaining about anything relating to a sore throat (also didn’t take her back in because they want to move toward a tonsillectomy): for Days 1-3, 1/2 tsp colloidal silver and 1 tsp elderberry syrup every hour (religiously!! Do not stop even when feeling better! I did once and her symptoms came back more severely a few days later); also high doses of Vitamin C and epsom salt baths (easy because she likes baths when she’s sick- just stick 2 cups of the salts in and make sure the soak is at least 20 minutes long). Days 4-10, colloidal silver/elderberry 3 times a day. We are doing this right now, on Day 3, and she feels much better but I’m still keeping her home from school to administer the hourly items. This is a much easier method for kids than the one listed above; although if I were to get strep, I may still go the garlic/cayenne pepper/honey route.
Jenn, how did she do with this treatment?
Thanks for the advice now my strep throat is gone !