Did you find yourself with a positive strep test? My friend, Beth from fit2be.com, did and this is the natural strep throat protocol her naturopathic doctor had her follow.
Guest Post by Beth Learn:
After trying to fight off a strange sore throat and low fever with my normal attack-plan of elderberry, extra vitamin C, extra fruit, and honeyed garlic and ginger, I knew something wasn’t right.
I ended up with a positive rapid strep test so I knew I needed to do something.
Well, with my “natural protocol”, just 12 days after getting that dreaded positive results, I got a negative swab and was cleared!
What’s more, unlike most of my friends who’ve had strep and report feeling lousy for a month afterward, I came away from strep with loads of energy, a trimmer tummy, and greater faith in my body’s ability to heal with natural methods.
You can read a journal-style rundown below, taken from my FB page as I updated my friend and family, but first LET ME BE CLEAR:
This is NOT an anti-antibiotics post.
My own daughter who was born with full-blown bladder reflux in her ureters on both sides is alive and avoided an extra surgery THANKS to several antibiotics, so I’m grateful they exist when necessary. However, I’m convinced that the 2.5 years my daughter spent on antibiotics to save her kidneys throughout chronic infections {she had bilateral reflux that required surgery at age 4} is responsible for many of her current gut issues and will possibly haunt her the rest of her life.
Being so deep in the fitness and health community as the founder of fit2b.com, I can’t help but stay on top of current research and movements, and what’s coming across my feeds more and more these days is the simple truth that we have “anti’d” ourselves into more sickness, not less. We have to remember that anti-biotics are a bit like chemotherapy: the drugs kill everything in their path not just the cancer. Again, I’m not anti-chemo or anti-antibiotics. I know for a fact that strep still warrants antibiotics… I was just curious to see if I could beat it the old-fashioned way before labs and synthetically manufactured, mass-produced prescription drugs became the norm.
My specialty is essentially “gut” health, and my website fit2b.com provides diastasis-aware “TummySafe” wholesome workouts for the whole family, so I know a LOT about the gut and its relationship to our health. It can take over 2 years to rebuild a gut that is void of healthy flora and GOOD bacteria, and that is only through a very careful diet (i.e. GAPS, etc.) Knowing how intrinsic the gut is to the REST of our health makes me very leery of sacrificing it to fight one bug. Especially since I’ve practiced extended breastfeeding and I milk a goat every day and make my own kombucha and kefir ALL with a focused eye on repairing my daughter’s gut! I love how my belly feels lately too, though, so I didn’t want to lose that!
Again, I’m grateful that pharmaceuticals exist, but plant-based medicines still exist too, and I personally believe we should turn to them first and only use synthetic meds as a last resort. Imagine how much fewer resistances we would build up for when we truly need lab-based medicine, if we would only use what’s often growing right under our feet {or what’s available from the local herbalist or naturopath}.
My Natural Strep Throat Remedy Protocol:
I followed my ND’s protocol of:
- fresh crushed garlic and veggies in organic chicken broth
- massaging my lymph nodes every time I thought of it with phytolacca oil carrying Fit2B on Your Skin‘s “Shield” EO blend, taking 3 dropperfuls 3x/day of tincture blend: echinacea, hydrastis, phytolacca, elderberry, eluthero, and commiphoza… altogether tasting like paint (Blech)!
- epsom salt bath once per day
- double Vit C 3x/day and ACV in my water
- And NO processed sugar until clear of strep.
Now remember – Please do not use this self-diagnose or do this on your own. This is the prescription of a highly trained and qualified naturopathic doctor who checked me over, tested me, and told me to follow this to a T. Here’s my journal from Facebook…
May 21: So much for my photo shoot with Choose Growth today for my DVD covers, since I’m pretty sure the don’t want whatever bug I picked up on the airplane last weekend. Going to my naturopath this a.m. to find out what I’m coming down with since this is NOT a regular cold. Super sore throat, low fever, swollen nodes in my neck, feel like my head is going to fall off, headache, no appetite, slept a lot yesterday PLUS knowing that I took my regular regimen of quadruple dosing elderberry – which has stopped every other bug we’ve had in its tracks this year – yet I still woke up feeling worse, I’m hauling myself in #stayAWAY I even did a garlic/honey/cayenne SPICY drink last night just to get through our live chat in Fit2B and … yeah, crashed right after it was over! Oy!
Later Comment: Fever at ND’s was 100.9 … am now on super heavy duty herbal regimen (tinctures I didn’t have and EO’s that I do have thanks to Karyn Hartley) and triple vitamin C for the next 3-4 days. If that doesn’t kick it, and I still test positive on Monday, she will put me on antibiotics. Love her approach! She even checked my boy to be sure he doesn’t have it. Home now and going to lay low … We caught it early, and I’m happy to try things that won’t wipe out my gut all over again.
May 22: If you’re waiting on something from me this week, well, I’m running behind since I was diagnosed with Strep today after having all the signs all day yesterday. NOT FUN. It was all I could do to stumble down the drive to meet Sissy’s bus! But the doc said to get as much sun as I could handle for the Vitamin D… And for the record, when your doctor keeps gasping at what she sees in your throat and how fast the test shows positive and commenting how terrible you look… Yeah, I’m going back to bed. Early
May 23: Energy and appetite are returning today but throat is still hella sore! If you know me, you know that’s pretty sore! I am following my ND’s protocol of fresh crushed garlic in organic chicken broth, massaging my lymph nodes every time I think of it with phytolacca oil carrying Karyn Hartley’s “Shield” EO blend, taking 3 dropperfuls 3x/day of tincture blend: echinacea, hydrastis, phytolacca, elderberry, eluthero, and commiphoza (sp?) which tastes like paint! Also epsom salt bath once per day, double Vit C 3x/day and ACV in my water. She warned me it can take a few days for the herbs to kill it and if it doesn’t, then we have to do antibiotics or risk greater problems… Pete is home for the weekend and Monday, and I’m laying low. Emphasis on laying. Everything I read about natural vs synthetic said either way I would feel better within 24-48 hours. So far that’s holding true! But I’m not out of the woods yet. Incidentally, so far this has only cost me $100 out of pocket (doc visit, test, and remedies) without insurance.
May 24: These “witch doctors” as some might call them are super knowledgeable, and I’m feeling MUCH better just 48 hours after seeing doc. I will go in for another test on Tuesday if I still feel good to test if its gone. If I turn for the worse, we will wipe out my healthy gut to save me from strep as a last resort. Someone asked what ACV is, and here is what I said: apple cider vinegar … seriously one of the most miraculous things ever. Like coconut oil it has medicinal, cooking, and cleaning purposes! Feeling even better today (sure did sweat a lot in the night) with almost all soreness gone but still white dots.
May 27: Got a call from ND this morning, checking on me, and she ordered me to keep up the regimen for another couple days since people don’t usually turn around as quickly as I did. She said it normally takes 7 days with the natural route, but she wasn’t surprised that I healed so fast. Spots are gone. Fever gone. Soreness gone. Now to deal with these allergies.
June 2: Update: I’m negative for strep as of today! Got the official swab this morning. It nearly took me out again last week when I gave into the temptation to put a little sugar in my coffee and have a few dried apricots. Bottom line, strep loves processed sugar and the sugar in dried fruits. If you want to avoid strep (or kill it if you think you have it) you have to go sugar-free for a while. And you have to really focus in on taking care of yourself: hot epsom salt baths every day, neck massages several times a day with oils, super healthy foods, eucalyptus steams with your head under a towel, and whatever nasty herbal tincture your doctor orders. What I love is that I spent 12 days basically pampering myself and getting lots of quiet time. I feel energized and ready to take on the world again, and my skinny jeans fit better to boot! This is so different than just popping pills and still eating crap. I’m not opposed to antibiotics, and I was willing to go on them if I got a positive read today, but I’m symptom free and negative!!! I had her swab the boy while I was there, but he’s negative and just cutting molars Do you know what I’m realized about going the “self-care” route for dealing with this Strep Throat diagnosis? That spending the past 48 hours nurturing my body with hot epsom salt baths, yummy soups, loads of fruit, essential oil-infused coconut oil neck massages, loads of vitamin C, and lots of alone time (okay and one very GNARLY herbal tincture blend 3x/day) has me feeling absolutely wonderful and reconnected. My skin is glowing, my mood is peaceful, and I feel so in tune! Oh and my throat hasn’t hurt for several hours now.
Final thoughts: Finding your own ND (it’s not as hard as you think, they’re just not listed in the same places as MDs) is crucial to safely managing your health, and a good one won’t hesitate to go the medical route if necessary. My ND is also an ob/gyn and midwife who laughed when I jokingly called her prescription a “hippy scrip,” but I wasn’t laughing as I waited for what I assumed would be a high price to fulfill the order next door at the town apothecary with a licensed herbalist. As it turned out, the whole visit plus the herbal tincture, oils, and other stuff came to less than $100…
