I have written about tonsillitis in a previous blog, so if you want to look at more remedies, then the link to that blog is at the end.
I want to focus specifically on ‘Strep Throat’ here. It is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus Pyogenes. Strep throat tends to have a quick onset, so comes on very quickly.
Symptoms include:
Fever, painful throat, swollen tonsils, difficulty swallowing, pus on tonsils, loss of appetite,
fatigue, swelling of the glands in your neck and tiny red spots on the roof of the mouth at the back.
In children there might be nausea, vomiting and headache as well.
It is highly contagious, and can lead to complications.
In homeopathy, we always go by the symptoms experienced by a person in order to find appropriate remedies. It is no different for Strep Throat. How the symptoms are experienced is key to a successful prescription, NOT the diagnosis.
Remedies to consider are:
BELLADONNA
A Belladonna Strep Throat will come on fast. There will be a burning throbbing fever which radiates heat especially from the head, but the feet will be icy cold. The skin will feel dry and hot, and alternate with feeling sweaty and moist.
The throat will be angry looking, raw, very red and feel worse on the right hand side. There will be a scraping sensation in the throat which will feel dry, lumpy. The pain is severe and stitching with radiation to the right ear. There is a constant desire to swallow.
Look out for the following which will indicate it’s use:
- Symptoms can come on after the head gets wet.
- Children can become obstinate and difficult and can be angry rather than scared.
- Hot red flushed face and bright glaring eyes.
- Agitated and restless
- Delirious
- Strawberry tongue
- Worse: 3am and 3pm, light, noise
- Better: resting in bed
APIS
The face will be red and puffy, the tonsils will be fiery red and inflamed with possible ulceration. The pains will be burning and stinging. The symptoms will be right sided and move from right to left. The mouth and throat will be very dry with no thirst. The throat will feel heavy, swollen with a sensation of a fish-bone in the throat.
Look out for:
- The tongue being fiery red.
- Burning fever with chilliness and drowsiness.
- Worse for: touch, pressure, heat, evening, sleep
- Better for: cold drinks, open air
BARYTA CARB
This remedy is good for recurrent swollen tonsils in someone who catches colds easily. The tonsils suppurate (pus), with burning pains and an inflamed raw throat. There is a sensation of a plug in the throat, worse when swallowing solids. Can only swallow liquids.
Look out for:
- Worse for: empty swallowing, cold air, damp weather
- A tendency to catch colds and a sensitivity to the cold
- Swollen glands in neck, under jaw and ears
- Increased salivation
CALC IOD
This is a small remedy with an affinity for glands which have a tendency to swell. The tonsils are enlarged and filled with pockets or crypts. They may look like a honeycomb. Children may be chubby and overweight. The tonsils will be very painful, and colds will be accompanied with a profuse yellow discharge.
Keep an eye out for:
- Profuse perspiration
- Ravenous hunger, yet loses weight
- Desires cold food
- Easily fatigued
- Worse: at night, cold weather, heat of bed
- Better: open air
STREPTOCOCCINUM
This remedy is a nosode. It is beneficial in a fever associated with Strep Throat, and for chronic sore throats associated with the streptococcal infection. The onset is sudden and violent. The tonsils are big, infected and purulent (pus).
Other symptoms to bear in mind:
- Thirstlessness
- Loss of appetite
- Strawberry tongue
- Laryngitis
- Worse: wet weather
Please have a look at my earlier blog for more remedies on tonsillitis
Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you found it useful. If you are considering whether homeopathy is worth exploring for yourself or your family just now, feel free to schedule a free introductory call with me to see how I work and to ask questions: