Most people would have experienced sore throat on more occasions than
one, a condition characterised by scratchy throat that feels irritated.
However, not all sore throat is strep throat, a condition that is
caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes. The difference between
sore throat and strep throat is the cause of sore throat – while sore
throat could be attributed to any number of bacteria or viruses that
result in infection and inflammation of the throat, accompanied by other
symptoms and possibly leading to secondary complications, strep throat
is specifically caused by the strain of bacteria alone and not by
viruses.
Causes of Strep Throat
As noted, strep throat is caused by the strain of bacteria called
Streptococcus pyogenes, leading to infection, inflammation and pain in
the throat. In general, strep throat may not be characterised by throat
congestion or cough. Strep throat is the most common in children aged
between 5 and 15, though adults are also susceptible to the throat
infection. Strep throat causes include the transmission of infection
from one person to the other either through physical contact with nasal
secretion or infected saliva being the medium. Strep throat is most
commonly spread among members of the same family or those who reside in
close vicinity.
Symptoms of Strep Throat
It depends on the person as well as the quantum of infection, whether
symptoms of strep throat or mild or they turn out to be much worse. The
symptoms usually show up in a gap of 2 – 5 days after the infection has
occurred, which include any or many of the following:
- Fever, chills and general feeling of being unwell
- Sore throat or redness of throat, often characterised by white patches
- Loss of appetite and the inability of taste buds to pick up tastes
- Swollen lymph nodes along the neck, accompanied by difficulty in swallowing
- Feelings of nausea and headache
Home Remedies For Strep Throat
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper, also known as guinea spice or red pepper, is known
for its numerous health benefits and healing properties, coming in handy
as one of the particularly useful home remedies for strep throat.
Cayenne pepper is high in nutrition, with good amounts of vitamins
ranging from Vitamin A, C, E, K and B6, along with reasonable content of
manganese and fibre. Cayenne pepper is high in a compound called
capsaicin, which has been of tremendous use in pain reduction and in
controlling inflammation, along with its abilities in reducing and
healing ulcers.
It is to be noted that Vitamin A is known to be a healer, capable
of treating wounds, a property that is held in high regard when it
comes to the healing of epithelial tissues found in the mucous membranes
along the lungs, air passages and the throat. Both of these properties
come to the rescue of people suffering from symptoms of strep throat. It
is capsaicin present in cayenne pepper that again helps in curing strep
throat on account of its anti-inflammatory properties.
Further, the high levels of beta-carotene and vitamin A in cayenne
pepper, as could be seen by its bright red colour, are known to be the
perfect boost to the immune system. Cayenne pepper also helps in
relieving nagging irritation of the throat and the respiratory tract as
could be witnessed in the case of strep throat. Cayenne pepper could be
consumed as hot tea, which plays a role in relieving of the congestion
of the mucous membranes along the throat, helping as one of the
effective home remedies for strep throat.
Honey
Honey has been scientifically studied and found to have imense health
benefits in all its varieties. Some of the common varieties of honey,
Manuka honey as well as Rewarewa honey, have been found to have
effective anti-bacterial properties under various conditions, and honey
has been found to be particularly effective against Streptococcus
pyogenes, the strain of bacteria that are known to cause strep throat.
Honey is an anti-microbial agent and is also an effective cleanser, with
abilities to repair damaged cells and tissues.
This combination of health benefits of honey is used as one of
the home remedies for strep throat, where honey plays an active role in
repairing damaged cells along the lining of the throat. Anothert
important property of honey that deserves mention is that of its being a
natural humectant, able to provide the right kind of moisture that the
throat deserves, especially in the light of dryness caused by strep
throat. You could make the mosyt of honey’s ability as a home remedy for
strep throat by mixing a teaspoon of honey in warm water and letting
the solution ease down the throat, providing relief from strep throat.
a.Caution with Honey for strep throat: Despite all
the natural goodness of honey, there have been reports of the presence
of clostridium botulinum, a strain bacteria that causes Botulism in
infants. For this reason, it is recommended not to administer honey to
infants under the age of 12 months. Honey, however, is safe to consume
in the case of adults.
Lemon
The true lemon fans would vouch for the goodness that this charming
energetic fruit can bring to the table. For starters, you may want to
consider the enormity of vitamin content that lemon could release into
the syste, ranging from Vitamins A and E, the complete set of B complex
vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, Vitamin B6,
Vitamin B12 as well as pantothenic acid. Of course, there is no dearth
of minerals in the citrus fruit, considering the amount of iron, sodium,
calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, manganese and
selenium that lie within the humble fruit.
The healing powers of lemon are derived from the list of vitamins
and minerals mentioned, apart from the anti-oxidant properties
bestowed, which play an important role in controlling free radicals that
would otherwise have caused damage to tissues. In terms of strep
throat, it is the anti-oxidant properties as well as the antibiotic and
the anti-inflammatory effects that provide a soothing feeling to the
affected parts of the throat, providing good measures of relief from
inflammations, one of the chief symptoms of strep throat. Lemon could be
squeezed on to a glass of warm water that has its load of honey added
on to it, so that you could benefit from the combined goodness of lemon
and honey as home remedies for strep throat.
Black Pepper
You may not get a better substitute for black pepper, which doubles
up as one of the prominent spices in the kitchen, apart from proving to
be one of the widely used home remedies for strep throat. Black pepper
derives its healing powers from the range of vitamins that have made
black pepper their home, including the likes of Vitamin A, vitamin K and
reasonable quantities of Vitamin C, and from the list of minerals such
as calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium, as well as iron
sodium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium and fluoride that are found in
good quantities in the tiny corns.
The prominent properties of black pepper that make it an
effective home remedy for strep throat include its anti-bacterial
properties that work on the Streptococcus bacteria to good effect. The
diaphoretic properties induce sweating, which could relieve of the
symptoms of fever as is often associated with strep throat, even as the
anti-oxidant properties make black pepper a potent weapon against the
damaging effects of free radicals on the body.
The effectiveness of black pepper as one of the home remedies for
strep throat could be leveraged by adding black pepper powder to hot
vegetable soups, which have positive effects on the damaged throat
conditions anyway. You could also consume powdered black pepper by
adding it to hot water and complementing the solution with a squeeze of
lemon, letting it down the throat and watching the symptoms of strep
throat disappear.
Holy Basil/Tulsi For Strep Throat
Holy Basil, or Tulsi, as it is known in India, has been widely
prescribed in the Ayurvedic system of medicine, proving to be one of the
trusted and tested remedies for many health problems, including the
ones related to the gastrointestinal tract and the respiratory system.
One of the primary effects of holy basil leaves as home remedies for
Strep throat would be as immune system enhancers – regular consumption
of holy basil leaves gets the immune system up a few notches, helping
the body’s mechanism gear up to the challenge and fire on all cylinders
against bacteria causing infectious conditions.
The leaves are also known for their anti-inflammatory properties,
thanks to the essential oils of holy basil leaves that do the job in
treatment of strep throat. You could also benefit from the anti-oxidant
properties of holy basis leaves, derived from the polyphenols and
flavanoids that make them potent and vital in protection of body cells
and tissues from the effects of free radicals. Further, the rich vitamin
A content in Tulsi, known for its ability to aid tissue regeneration,
helps in the repair and reconstruction of the epithelial lining of the
mucous membrane in the throat.
Home remedies for strep throat should include boiling of holy
basil leaves in a glass of water for a few minutes, and then consuming
the concoction while it is still warm and of a drinkable temperature,
letting the natural goodness of Tulsi leaves get to work and repair the
damaged parts of your throat. The antibacterial properties of holy basil
leaves send the bacteria packing while the regenerative effects help in
restoring normalcy.
Raisins
If someone had warned you to stay away from sweets while you pursued
home remedies for strep throat, you could rank raisins among the top of
the list of exceptions, along with honey. With high levels of energy and
lots of sweet to its taste, raisins are much more than what their
appearance and wrinkled build could possibly suggest. The concentrations
of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, folate, Vitamin E, thiamine, riboflavin,
niacin, Vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid couple with minerals such as
potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, fluoride, sodium, iron,
copper, zinc, selenium, iron and manganese to provide rich sources of
nutrients.
Raisins have derived their antibacterial and antibiotic
properties from polyphenolic phytonutrients, which make them eligible to
be made into syrup as home remedies for strep throat – crush 50 grams
of raisins in water with added brown sugar, heat the mixture and let it
cool down to form home-made syrup to be taken at the rate of a teaspoon
or two at bed time as soothing home remedies for strep throat.
Ginger
One of the best things to have happened to mankind when it comes to
home remedies for strep throat is the advent of ginger into the arena of
treatment. Strep throat is known to respond well to ginger, given the
healing powers of ginger that are derived from the compound called
gingerols. These compounds give ginger its anti-inflammatory properties,
while the essential oils in ginger have bestowed the root with
tremendous anti-oxidant properties that ensure that the free radicals
are curtailed in their destructive mission.
While the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger clear the throat
of all mucous accumulation that causes irritation apart from serving to
stop the bacteria in their steps, the muscle relaxing properties of
ginger also make it an ideal choice among home remedies for strep throat
by relaxing the throat muscles that would already have been parched on
account of the infection and inflammation. From a nutrition point of
view, ginger has rich levels of vitamin A, C, E and B complex vitamins,
along with reserves of potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, iron,
sodium, zinc, manganese and selenium that provide all the vital powers
needed for ginger to act firmly and decisively in bidding adieu to the
streptococcus range of bacteria.
An easy way to include the goodness of ginger in your system would be
to slice the ginger root up and add to boiling cup of tea, letting the
essence of ginger ooze into the tea and seep into your system. If you
love tantalising taste of lemon, you could add a squeeze of the citrus
fruit, which could lend its own set of antibacterial, anti-inflammatory
and anti-oxidant properties to the teat to relieve the symptoms of strep
throat, fast and secure.
a.Precaution with Ginger: While no doubt may be cast
on the effectiveness of ginger as a home remedy for strep throat, you
may refrain from adding a lot of the rather pungent root to your diet,
which could lead to heartburns and acidity otherwise. Consuming ginger
in moderation would be good both on your throat as well as on your
digestive system.
Fenugreek, Black Pepper And Ginger
Sometimes, it takes more than one to give the results expected of the
ingredients – and you could gladly include the health benefits of
fenugreek, black pepper and ginger as one of the effective home remedies
for strep throat. Fenugreek seeds are known for their anti-oxidant
properties, which they enjoy on account of the high levels of vitamin A
and vitamin C in the seeds, both of which are known to reign in the
harmful effects of free radicals and hence, protect body tissues.
Further, fenugreek seeds are also high in B complex range of
vitamins, apart from being repositories of minerals such as potassium,
phosphorous, magnesium and calcium, along with a good deal of fibre
content. You could use fenugreek seeds as standalone entities when it
comes to home remedies for strep throat, by soaking a few of the seeds
overnight in a glass of water and consuming the seeds with the water
when you have woken up the next morning.
Alternatively, you may also want to include the vitality of black
pepper as well as the virility of the pungent root, ginger, to your
recipe of home remedies for strep throat, by incorporating them into a
solution based out of the good old fenugreek seeds. You may want to soak
fenugreek seeds in a glass of water overnight, even as you add a bunch
of around 5 black pepper corns and a pinch of ginger powder to the mix.
Boil the mix with the three ingredients for 5 – 10 minutes, steep it for
a while and consume the potent mixture to leverage the combined
goodness of the three essential ingredients as treatment for strep
throat.
Other Home Remedies For Strep Throat
Mango Bark
The fluid that you could extract out of the mango bark may not have
mattered much to you as you played around the trees, climbed on them and
jumped over, apart from having drawn your attention as the ‘sticky
something’ that you would rather avoid. However, mango bark is often
used as one of the useful home remedies for strep throat.
You could grind mango bark, get the extract out and add it to ten
parts of warm water, which would then turn out to be useful as a throat
gargle. The extract could also be applied on to the affected areas of
the throat for relief from strep throat. Another option available would
be to get the mango bark extract to apply uniformly on the outside of
the neck, while you still continue with the gargle to relieve of the
symptoms of strep throat.
Gargle Warm Water With Salt
Adding a tablespoon of rock salt to lukewarm water and using it as a
throat gargle, swishing it around the mouth to expose the surface areas
of the buccal cavity to the salt solution is one of the well-respected
and most effective home remedies for strep throat. Repeating the
treatment twice or thrice a day would go a long way in relieving of the
symptoms of strep throat.
Fluid Consumption And Strep Throat
Strep throat would leave your throat dry and parched; the best
antidote for dryness is moisture, which you could ensure by having a lot
of fluid consumption to go with your other home remedies for strep
throat. You could opt for hot fluids, such as hot water or a cup of hot
milk, which would soothe the irritation associated with strep throat.
Turmeric
The humble bright yellow turmeric powder would serve as one of the
most effective home remedies for strep throat, given the ability of
turmeric to cure a host of medical conditions and turnout out to be
useful in the treatment of strep throat on account of its anti-oxidant
properties and anti-bacterial benefits.
Turmeric could be ground into powder or it could be purchased as
such, and half a teaspoon of the powder could be added to a glass of
warm water or a cup of hot milk. A variation of the home remedy for
strep throat would be to add a teaspoon of honey to the mixture in water
or in milk and sip it for effective moisturising of the throat, even as
the healing powers of turmeric and honey would combine to provide fast
relief from strep throat.
Green Tea
Green tea has long been the favourite among health advocates and
enthusiasts, with some of the health benefits of green tea having to do
with its anti-oxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. Green tea has
been effective in the treatment of fever and flu-like conditions and is
also found to be good to go in terms of home remedies for strep throat.
Green tea could be used for strep throat by simply adding a bag of green
tea to a cup of boiling water, letting the essence of green tea seep
into the solution and drinking the concoction for good relief from strep
throat. On the other hand, you could also use green tea as an effective
gargle for strep throat, letting the hot decoction provide soothing
relief from the conditions.
a.Caution with Green Tea: There have been
adverse reactions associated with consumption of green tea and
pregnancy, since green tea has been found to lead to drop in folic acid
levels, which could, in turn, cause birth defects such as spina bifida
and a condition called anencephaly. Pregnant women and those who are
trying to conceive should refrain from consuming regular and large
quantities of green tea to avoid such possibilities of neural tube
complications.
Onion
One of the commonly available ingredients that could turn out to
be one of the most effective home remedies for strep throat is onion.
Onions are pungent and the chemicals present in onions have the
capability to provide relief from the symptoms of strep throat. When you
grind an onion peel into paste and make it moist with lemon juice and
honey, you would have made a potent composition that could drive strep
throat away.
Avoid Sugar
Stay as far away as possible from sugar and sweets when you pursue
home remedies for strep throat, as the first reaction that they would
trigger would be throat irritation, which could aggravate conditions of
strep throat.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon has had a place for itself reserved among the list of home
remedies for strep throat, apart from being known for its ability to
spice things up and add a lot of flavour to cuisine. While cinnamon is
used as whole spice in food, it could be used as cinnamon powder for
relief from strep throat – all it takes is to add a teaspoon of cinnamon
powder to a cup of boiling water, letting it boil for around 10 – 15
minutes to get the essence and the healing powers of cinnamon seep into
the solution.
Adding a teaspoon of honey to the mixture after it has cooled
down to appropriate warmth good enough to drink would help, not just in
terms of taste but in adding the goodness of honey to cure strep throat.
Garlic
Garlic brings much to the table, in terms of health benefits of
garlic with its antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and antibiotic
properties. Of these, it is the antibacterial property that would come
in handy in terms of home remedies for strep throat, in acting stern and
sure on the streptococcus strain of bacteria. A couple of garlic cloves
chewed raw would soak your throat with the essence of garlic, providing
effective relief from strep throat.
Another option would be to crush garlic clove and make a paste of
it in honey, to be consumed on a regular basis as you could watch the
symptoms subside. Another aspect of health benefits of garlic that would
be relevant to home remedies for strep throat would be the ability of
the bulb to boost the efficiency of the human immune system – if you
could make it a habit to include garlic in your diet, you may well be
able to stay out of the clutches of not just strep throat but a lot more
of health conditions.
Avoid Pollution like Plague
It is important to couple home remedies for strep throat with
adequate measures to stay away from pollution, since environmental
pollution could irritate an already infected throat and aggravate the
situation further.
Maintain Cleanliness At Home/Office
Your internal environment is as important as the external one and
perhaps more so, because that’s where you spend the majority of your
time in. Ensure that your beds, pillows and curtains remain thoroughly
washed and dusted, since suspended particles in the air could pose as
much a risk to symptoms of strep throat as do the root causes of the
condition.
Talk Less
Refrain from speaking, and definitely from sermonising. Try to keep
your voice low if you have strep throat, since high decibel sounds
emanating from your throat could work contrary to home remedies for
strep throat, causing immense stress on the strained system.
Other Conditions / Treatments For Strep Throat
Go For Throat Lozenges
Throat lozenges, the commercially available ones, are good at
soothing the irritation associated with strep throat, which could be
safely resorted to, helping you manage the symptoms of strep throat.
However, scientific evidence points out towards certain home remedies
for strep throat being even more effective than the results obtained
from some of the lozenges.
Use Antiseptic Mouthwash
Herbal mouthwash is good enough to find effective relief from
symptoms of strep throat. However, if you wish, you could complement
your home remedies for strep throat by using antiseptic mouthwash to
help cure the infection and soothe the ulcers that may have formed on
account of the inflammation.
Antibiotics For Strep Throat
Strep throat responds well to antibiotics. However, antibiotics have
to be prescribed only after confirmation from tests that the condition
that you suffer is indeed that of strep throat. There are strep throat
tests that could be made, as there are throat cultures that would give
you a final confirmation on whether your condition is that of strep
throat. Treatment with antibiotics taken up after confirmation tends to
be effective; however, unnecessary administration of antibiotics would
make them ineffective over time.
The common drugs for strep throat include penicillin, amoxicillin,
cephalosporin and erythromycin. Symptoms of strep throat are likely to
be alleviated as soon as antibiotics have been administered, though it
is strongly advised to continue with the antibiotics for the prescribed
course even if the symptoms vanish, since termination of antibiotics for
strep throat before the prescribed duration is accompanied by risks of
the conditions relapsing, along with the bacteria gaining resistance to
antibiotics, making them immune to treatment in future instances.
Waiting For Recovery
One of the simple courses of action that you could take in recovery
from strep throat is to wait till the condition improves on its own –
and it does, given that strep throat tends to be self-limiting and would
run out of steam over a week’s time. However, home remedies for strep
throat would do a good job in tiding over the symptoms of strep throat,
not to mention their own effectiveness in speeding up the recovery
process. If the symptoms are not too severe, it may help to wait for the
conditions to improve, since this would rule out the necessity to go in
for antibiotics.
When
we speak of juices, we mean the liquid extracted through a juicer that,
by action of centrifugal force, is able to remove all the liquid
contained in the chosen vegetables: there is an abundance of minerals
and vitamins that are extracted together. The rest of the fibers
remaining in the juicer contain a lot of nutrients that can be mixed
with cereals, to prepare a pudding or pie filling. It can also be used
as natural fertilizer for plants in the garden or pots. We have created
this 13 vegetable juices to cure common health problems like heartburn,
insomnia, stress and others.
Age spots (also known as sun spots, liver spots, and lentigines), are
harmless, flat, yellow or brown discolorations of the skin which usually
occur on the back of the hands, neck and face of people above the age
of 40. These age spots are usually not serious, but instead are mainly
an annoyance since they can reveal a person's age. However, if you have
irregular, dark spots that increase in size or change color/texture,
have them checked by a doctor since they could be a sign of skin cancer.
Heartburn is a condition in which the liquid content of the
stomach backs up (refluxes) into the esophagus.
The most common and persistent symptom of Heartburn is a burning
sensation centered in the middle of the chest and/or throat, brought on
by stomach acid that churns up onto the lining of the esophagus.
Home Remedy for Gallstones
