Strep Throat question

When I was a kid I had strp throat all the time.  I was on this med and that med, and it would clear up, only to come back again a few weeks later.  It wasn’t until I was 22 and married that my new doctor, while going through my files asked if I had ever, to my knowledge, recieved a negative strep culture.  I didn’t think I had.  I was feeling fine and dandy, so he swabbed me and I was positive!  I was a carrier of strep all that time and no one ever caught on.  And because my body was always busy fighting off the strep, I was always sick with this sickness and that sickness.  Once they put me on a boatload of antibiotics and I was able to get a negative test, I was the healthiest I had ever been!  So it might be a good idea to test her while she is feeling well, to see if she is a carrier.

DO be careful with strep.  I know repeated infections are a pain and I like to give natural methods a try sometimes myself, but I do not mess around with this bacteria.  IF you do not manage to knock out the strep infection, there are risks of very serious complications that you do NOT want.  I just mention this because I know of several people who HAVE contracted rheumatic fever and one glomerulonephritis because of untreated strep.  These are relatively rare now, since we have antibiotics, but they DO still occur.  I would consider consulting a doctor who is friendly to natural methods (I have an osteopath I like who is willing to try various things) but he does not play dice with strep and I’d really hate to run the risks myself.  This is one nasty bug.  I think God gave us antibiotics for just such diseases. 

I am not trying to go against the question here, but if he is getting this often, you might seriously consider getting his tonsils out.  My dd got strep once in July, and by January had had it 8 times, often getting complications of bronchitis and sinus/ear infections.  That January she had all four at the same time.  She kept getting strep so we had to get them out, took us months to get her well enough long enough to do it.  It was a very scary time for us.

To second Bookworm:  Be careful with it.  It can go to a person’s heart and other organs quickly and do very serious damage.  My point of telling this is not to freak you out, but it can and does harbor itself away! Our ENT specialist said that the strep bacteria can linger in the tonsils and continue to grow, making the tonsils swell up (getting the adnoids as well) and a child can suffocate or choke to death if not treated…with each round of strep the tonsils are usually larger anyway since they try to out-build the infection.  Since my dd’s have come out, she hasn’t had strep once.  I’d rather have them out then worry constantly about her and be on the antibiotics so much.  She devoloped allergic reactions to 2 of the 5 major antibiotic families during this time.  It is serious stuff.  

In the meantime, make sure he is getting some really good probiotics to help heal and replace the good bacteria that helps kill the yucky ones.  I am not against natural remedies, but this is one bug I am very very cautious with.

My 5-year-old daughter had strep 8 times last winter after contracting Epstein Barr earlier in the summer. We tried antibiotics repeatedly and many holistic remedies, and she saw six different specialists at some of the best hospitals in the US–she was so very sick. The strep did indeed settle in her tonsils and she not only lost her hearing for almost three months, but her throat was so tightly closed that she had emergency surgery to remove her tonsils the day after Easter this year. Rheumatic Fever is a valid worry and it is not as uncommon as most people think it is these days. Once she healed from the surgery she is 100% better. She was even diagnosed with Lupus at one point due to how incredibly sick she was from the constant strep infection … as benign as strep can appear, it can be awfully dangerous. Just my mother hen two cents. 🙂

Dh is a pharmacist, and while we do mostly natural things here (I even make our own echinacea, salves, etc.) strep is one thing dh doesn’t fool around with, especially if it is a recurring thing.  We haven’t had antibiotics in years, thankfully, but there’s a time and place for them.  Lots of probiotics as you’re doing, broths, etc. as have been mentioned, but I’d try to get to the bottom of it, finding the root and digging it up.

yes , It is very serious. I have almost died a couple of times. I use to get strep when I was about that age. My mom couldn’t take me to the doctor. My grandmother thankfully knew I was sick and took me. Being very dehydrated from not being able to swallow the doctor told her if I wouldn’t have seen him that day I would have been in the hospital or the morgue that very next day. I was to weak to even care what happened to me. I had streap probably 7 or 8 times another year so I was a carrier. I know it can be very dangerous. Whenever I loose weight it seems I am more suseptible to getting it. Last time I got it I was out of town and it hit me within a few hours. My friends were up all night listening to my breathing because they were afraid I was going to die before we got back home. It can come on all of a sudden and can be very deadly. My point is don’t wait. If you see your child lathargic then you know get them to the doctor or hospital. It is serious even if it doesn’t seem to be and they are talking to you. If they can’t swallow water then they will be dehydrated. Remember if they are on antibiotics then they need to put the good flora back in their stomachs or they can continue to get it over and over because their immune  system is low. Yogurt is a good idea when taking antibiotics. I also wash the door knobs and light switches and switch the to paper towels to keep from reinfestation. Even the bedding and pillows can reinfect. I use odoban it kills strep germs. Most cleaners don’t. kill strep. this is what I do. hope it helps….:)

I didn’t read all the posts but I decided to bring my son to a Naturopath when he started to get sick too many times, 3 strep and 2 other infections the same winter. i was concern that he would build resistance to the antibiotics.

She did treat him for Strep and it went away.

I think it it worth to find a good Naturopath, someone that can be recommended.

I clean toothbrushes w/hydrogen Peroxide or boiling water everyday when my kids are sick.