Strep throat.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: Any herbal cures for Strep Throat?
From: brumstik.interaccess.com (broomstick)
Date: Sat, 24 Dec 1994 08:21:25

>Hi again,
>I got strep throat and so did my 6 year-old son (his was quite bad). Doctor prescribed broad spectrum antibiotics (as usual) We used: (and chucked the pills!)
> Echinacea - liquid form (20 drops for adults was recommended on the bottle/10 for 6yr old). 3 times a day.
> Garlic - one clove minced 3 times a day (smaller cloves for kids).
> Vitamin C - plenty (500mg 3 times a day for adults. 250 mg for kids 3/day).
> Lots of liquids. Throat coat tea (available in drug stores) for throat relief. Lemon and honey tea for cough.
>It took about a week and it was all gone.
>Let me know how it works for you.

Folks, if you want to skip the antibiotics for strep, that's fine. Fact is, if you did NOTHING AT ALL for step it would "go away" in about a week. Problem is, in a certain number of cases (depending on the particular strain of strep) in a couple of weeks either your immune system goes haywire and attacks your own body - rheumatic fever, which can lead to heart and kidney damage, among other things - or in certain varieties strep can become a chronic, low-grade infection. A person can also become a carrier - they don't suffer the effects but they can spread strep to those around them without realizing it. Granted, this is rare, but it can and does happen. Antibiotics short-circuit these processes and prevent rheumatic fever and cure carriers. It is clearly a case where PROPER (i.e. responsible) use of antibiotics can solve more problems than they cause. If you want to avoid ALL antibiotic use, fine, but at least be aware of the risk. Ask your doctor about symptoms of rheumatic fever and nephritis so if you DO suffer from these side effects you will know early and seek treatment to minimize the damage.

By all means, use herbal remedies to treat other symtoms. The one above sounds good and should I ever have the misfortune to catch strep again I will certainly give it a try.

Although strep is USUALLY a mild infection it can get out of control and should be treated seriously. And don't forget, that lovely "flesh-eating" bacteria is ALSO a variety of strep - it CAN be quite serious, so let's be careful out there.

>---Broomstick---

From: angieb.indy.net

>Although strep is USUALLY a mild infection it can get out of control and should be treated seriously.

Please, Please don't mess with Strep........I had a Strep infection that went untreated and ended up with a kidney transplant. Antibiotics are often misused in this society, I agree. But don't try to treat yourself for strep....There's no herbal cure for complete kidney failure. Be careful : )