Essential Oil for Strep Throat.

Essential oil for strep throat

Essential oils are distilled from the leaves, bark, stems, and flowers of plants. They may help promote healing by killing germs and reducing inflammation.

The medical benefits of essential oils are controversial. However, studies show the following essential oils can be an effective alternative to over-the-counter medications for treating the symptoms of strep throat:

thyme

lavender

tea tree

wild carrot, eucalyptus, and rosemary blend

eucalyptus

lemon

peppermint

ginger

garlic

Ingesting these oils isn’t recommended. They can be inhaled or diluted with oil and added to a bath. Explore more about using these essential oils to treat a sore throat.

Strep throat vs. cold

Most common colds are caused by a virus, while a bacterial infection causes strep throat.

If you have a common cold, you usually have symptoms such as coughing, a runny nose, and hoarseness. These symptoms, especially coughing, are not common with strep throat.

When your throat is sore due to a cold, the pain usually develops gradually and disappears in a couple of days. The pain from strep throat can occur suddenly. It’s more severe and can persist for days.

Colds typically clear up on their own without the need for medical treatment. To prevent complications, like rheumatic fever, antibiotics are usually prescribed to treat strep throat.

Strep throat vs. mono

Infectious mononucleosis, commonly known as mono (or “the kissing disease”) is a disease that’s often caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It usually affects teenagers and young adults.

Just like strep throat, mono symptoms can include a sore throat, fever, and swollen lymph glands. But unlike a strep throat that’s caused by a bacterial infection, mono is a viral infection. It isn’t treated with antibiotics.

Your doctor can perform tests to determine whether your sore throat is due to mono.

Strep throat recovery

To reduce your risk of complications, contact your doctor if your strep throat symptoms don’t improve within 48 hours of taking an antibiotic. They may need to prescribe a different antibiotic to fight the infection.

If it’s left untreated, strep throat can cause serious complications. These may include:

ear infection

sinusitis

rheumatic fever, which is an inflammatory disease that affects the joints, the heart, and the skin

poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, which is an inflammation of the kidneys

mastoiditis, which is an infection of the mastoid bone in the skull

scarlet fever, which occurs when toxins created by the strep infection cause a scarlet-colored rash to develop on different parts of the body

guttate psoriasis, which is a condition that causes small, red teardrop-shaped spots to appear on the body

peritonsillar abscess, which is a pus-filled infection that develops in the back of the tonsils

Outlook

You should start to feel better within a couple of days after beginning treatment for strep throat.

If you don’t have a fever, you can return to work or school 24 hours after beginning the antibiotic.