What is “strep throat” exactly?
What is “strep” exactly? Well, strep is a bacteria we all have present in our bodies. When you come down with strep throat, you have caught a virus that causes an overgrowth of the strep bacteria.
Simply said, when you “get strep throat,” two things seem to be happening:
Your body has a virus that affects your throat, and
This virus allows an overgrowth of the strep bacteria.
You know you feel awful when it strikes, so what can you do? The good news is that natural care options help your body fight its way back to health.
Why does strep spread so quickly?
A virus is famous for spreading quickly from person to person—this is why it’s common to see several students in a class out with strep throat all within the same timeframe. The combination of dry indoor air (bacteria and viruses love to live and thrive in a dry throat versus the body’s natural coating), dehydration, stress, loss of sleep, close playing proximity, and a lack of fresh outdoor air can amp up the presence and spread of virus-induced strep.
A culture or swab test can be faulty information to go by for several reasons. First, the strep bacteria growth can fluctuate from moment to moment. So depending on where they swab and where the strep is growing, a “little strep” in a culture does not necessarily mean a minimal infection. A swap test only gives the result for that specific swabbed area, which may not be the area the strep is growing.
How can natural care help the body fight strep throat?
We want to support the body to beat both the strep bacteria and the underlying virus. With natural care, we commonly see results by gargling liquid zinc to help fight the virus and Colloidal Silver to reduce the strep bacteria growth (we carry both of these supplements at the clinic).
2-4 times a day
Mix a 1/2 tsp of liquid zinc with one Tbs of water, gargle for 20 seconds and swallow
Take a Tbs of ASAP Colloidal Silver (no water), gargle for 20 seconds, and spit out
If that’s not enough, we may use dietary supplements and traditional Chinese herbs to further support the body’s ability to clear viral content and reduce strep amounts.
There’s nothing wrong with choosing an antibiotic to fight strep if that’s what you are most comfortable doing. Just know that the antibiotic will only treat the strep bacteria—not the virus behind it. Also, antibiotics are tough on the digestive system because they cool the stomach. So taking ginger* to warm your digestion WHILE TAKING THE ANTIBIOTIC can significantly help your stomach and reduce rebound infections.
If you’ve gone the antibiotic route, AFTER YOU COMPLETE THE ANTIBIOTICS consider finding a probiotic to help rebuild your stomach bacteria. The best probiotic fit varies from person to person. We have several options here at the clinic, but an appointment with Dr. Brad will help ensure you find the best fit for your body.
If you or your child get strep throat often, mention that at your next appointment.
For those not under Dr. Brad's care, follow the throat gargle instructions. For some, supporting the throat directly with zinc and silver can be enough as their body takes care of the virus.
For those who need more, attend the next Hope Class and get started under Dr. Brad's care so he can support clearing the underlying virus. Another option is to get in with our Chinese Medicine Specialist, Wells Bovard.
*Taking ginger. You can work more ginger into your diet by dicing up fresh ginger and adding it to hot water to make your own ginger tea. Add some honey or a dash cinnamon to that cup of tea, yum!
Photo credit.