Strep throat is of major concern among kids because they are unable to eat well for many days, because of which their nutrition suffers. It can however be resolved quickly using home remedies.
No matter what throat issue you are faced with, honey is the champion of all remedies. It is a marvelous cure for strep throat.
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3. Honey and Grated Garlic
Garlic can be used to get rid of strep throat quickly. Here is the recipe.
- Ingredients
Honey ( raw and organic is best )
Garlic cloves
- Directions / How to use
Take 1 tablespoon honey. Take 2 cloves of garlic and grate them finely. Mix them with the honey. Take 1/2 tablespoon of this mixture every 1 hour. It should start to provide relief from strep throat in just a day and can completely cure it.
- Why it works ?
Garlic as we know is a powerful natural antibiotic. It kills the strep throat causing bacteria, providing relief from the symptoms of strep throat.
4. Cayenne pepper gargle
Cayenne pepper is an effective home remedy for a strep throat, one that has been utilized by Native Americans for many centuries. You can use it as a throat gargle to get relief from the strep throat.
- Ingredients
Cayenne pepper powder
Salt
Water
- Directions / How to use
Take 1/2 tablespoon salt and 1/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper and add to 1 large glass ( approx 300 ml ) of warm water. Stir it very well and then use it to gargle your mouth and throat. Bear as long as you can and then spit it away.
- Why it works ?
Cayenne pepper remarkably improves the blood flow to the throat region. Blood brings with it infection fighting antibodies and all the other soldiers of immune system. Salt is a mild antibiotic. It reduces some of the swelling in the lymph nodes and tonsils.
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5. Warm The Throat
Take a cotton washcloth and put it in hot water. Gently apply this over your throat through gentle patting. It should provide much needed relief from the symptoms of strep throat.
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6. Feast on Vitamin C rich foods
The idea is to eat foods that are rich in Vitamin C. It may not be possible for you to get all the foods, but you should eat large quantities of the food that is available.
Foods that are very high in Vitamin C are -
- Rosehips ( you can make them into tea )
- Indian gooseberry
- Camu camu
- Pepper
- Guavas
- Oranges
- Mangoes
and most other citrus fruits like lemon, limes, tangerines.
How it works ?
Vitamin C possibly improves the effectiveness of immune system, especially if you are taking much more than the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. Your strep throat may completely heal in a week's time or even faster.
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6. Drink Echinacea Tea
Echinacea is a wonderful booster of the immune system. Drinking tea made from fresh echinacea flowers or the dried form available in herbal stores. It is known to help you from staying away from cold.
7. Avoid artificial sweeteners
The sugar added in processed food or the refined sugar that we eat is known to reduce or even stop the effectiveness of our immune system. If a kid or toddler is suffering from strep throat, keep him or her away from sugary foods as much as possible. You can give cinnamon as a sweetener for foods and drinks.
8. Demulcents for relief from redness and inflammation
Demulcent is a category of foods / herbs which have the ability to coat the mucus membrane and reduce inflammation drastically. These are some of the foods that can produce this effect are -
- Licorice root
- Slippery elm bark
- Marshmallow
These are very commonly employed in a sore throat.
9. Drink this herbal tea
Take green tea leaves, add ginger and cinnamon. Make this tea and drink it. One can experience relief from pain due to strep throat.
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10. Eat ice cream
When you have inflamed tonsils, it is perhaps time to eat cold things, like ice cream. It relieves pain for a long time after eating just one ice cream. Kids love to eat them and it is a great way to relieve pain due to inflamed tonsils.
But, as I mentioned it can reduce the immune system performance, so make sure it is used sparingly. You can also make ice cream at home with much less sugar than the commercial ones.
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11. Eat pomegranates
This fruits helps in healing the throat. It has got powerful infection fighting properties. Plus it is sweet to coat the throat and provide relief.
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12. Sage
Make a sage tea by steeping sage leaves in water. Add some salt to taste and drink it slowly. As sage flows through the throat, it would provide immense relief. Sage has traditionally been used for throat complaints and is good for laryngitis.
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13. Onion
This recipe is somewhat different. Take an onion. Grate it and clean it under running cold water. Now, mix some salt, honey , black pepper and mayonnaise. Use it as a dip for some snacks and eat it.
13. Drink apple cider vinegar
Just like the numerous conditions which can be treated with ACV, strep throat is one of them. Add enough water to dilute the strong acid in ACV and then drink it very slowly.
14. Black currants
Eat black currants to your content. They are great against strep throat. Possibly because of the high Vitamin C content in them.
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It is important to acknowledge that strep throat is more problematic than a normal sore throat. If the strep throat doesn't resolve in a few days, then one should consult a doctor. There is a risk of developing complications like
ear infections and
sinusitis.
Will sore throat remedies work for strep throat ? They may or may not. There is hardly any harm in trying home remedies and see if they provide relief.
Some more home remedies for strep throat.
- External massage : This remedy requires essential oil of thyme.Add few drops to olive oil and massage the throat and back of the jaw ( that is near the glands ). This will sink in and provide relief.
- Mullein is a herbal remedy for sore throat which can work against strep throat.
Strep throat is highly contagious infection. If it occurs to one person in your family, then it can happen to someone else pretty quickly. Strep throat is not something to meddle with for long periods of time. It is a bacterial infection which can cause major complications if left untreated. The inflammation it causes can progress to cause a rheumatic fever. In very late stages, the bacteria may enter into deeper structures within the throat or anywhere else in the body. This can even be fatal. So, if the home remedies are not providing sufficient relief and the infection is worsening, one should promptly seek treatment.
