Antiobiotics are evil! Sore throat chaos...

[piratess]

Well, not really, but it seems that I have new illnesses because of them.

I have a sore throat all of a sudden. At first I thought it was the weather changing (thank the Goddess!) but alas, a strange sore on my tongue says differently. I looked this up in by Better Health through Natural Healing book and this is typically a side effect of antibiotics. Trouble is, there are no recommendations of cures. Any suggestions?

All I can think to do is gargle occasionally with warm salt water and to drink hot tea with lemon and honey.

[Meadhbh]

Combine one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and three tablespoons of clover honey in a glass of warm water. Gargle as often as necessary. Betony is a useful astringent which reduces inflammation. Make a tea and use as a gargle. Or another remedy is to add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to 1 cup of boiling water; stir well and sip slowly. Boil some pomegranate rinds and drink as a tea.

[Brightshores]

Which antibiotic are you on?

Several years ago, my husband had a sore throat, for which he started taking antibiotics. He was on Biaxin (clarithromycin - common name). The antibiotics gave him many, many cankersores in his mouth and throat; it was insanely painful and he could only eat baby food for a few days. It also messed up his blood tests...

If you're on something like that, I would strongly suggest you go back to your doctor, have him run a CBC and a CMP, and think about changing your medication.

As far as natural cures... I have an aromatherapy treatment I would use for something like that, but it uses 6 different oils, and if you don't already have them, it would be ridiculously expensive to go out and get them all. If you do aromatherapy, though, PM me or ask, and I'll send you the recipe or post it on the thread. The hot tea and honey thing is a great idea... another thing I've used that works well is a mug of hot water, in which you've dissolved a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of rosewater (which you can find in gourmet stores, health food stores, some supermarkets, and Middle Eastern groceries.)
Hope you feel better soon! :boquet:

[Amber Wynd]

This thread is very timely. I've been on antibiotics for the past week for a sinus infection. I had no idea the sore on my tongue might be from that. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Sev]

Well, not really, but it seems that I have new illnesses because of them.

I have a sore throat all of a sudden. At first I thought it was the weather changing (thank the Goddess!) but alas, a strange sore on my tongue says differently. I looked this up in by Better Health through Natural Healing book and this is typically a side effect of antibiotics. Trouble is, there are no recommendations of cures. Any suggestions?

All I can think to do is gargle occasionally with warm salt water and to drink hot tea with lemon and honey.

Eat yogurt with live cultures. Often, antibiotics cause a depletion of normal flora, and you can wind up getting things like thrush or yeast infections or other opportunistic, annoying little things. The bacteria in the yogurt can help prevent this by colonizing your system temporarily and taking up the niches that would otherwise be exploited by more harmful organisms.

[Agaliha]

Also wanted to add: DO NOT stop the anti-biotics on your own. Wait till your DR tells you to.

Stopping them without the full course of treatment leads to resistant bacteria. For you and for everyone else.
That means your infection will not go away, but will get worse. And medicines might not help.
And there is a chance that your anti-biotic resistant germs are caught by someone else, who in turn will not be able to get rid of them.

Making sure you complete the course of treatement is very important. Unless you have an allergy.
Ask your DR about the sores and see what s/he says. Unless it's really serious, they probably want you to stick with it.

I've had to take anti-biotics for my many ear infections, side effects are normal, but the key to beating the infection is to keep taking them.
The only time I had to stop anti-biotics (this was for another illness) was when I found out I was allergic to Sulfa. If I took more I'd have probably have anaphylaxis.

[piratess]

Which antibiotic are you on?

I was taking bactrim for a UTI, and I am done with the medication. Now I just have the after effects to deal with! Eeeeep! I will try some more of these tea blends. Thank you!!

[piratess]

Also wanted to add: DO NOT stop the anti-biotics on your own. Wait till your DR tells you to.

I have finished taking my medicine and took the full dose. Thank you for mentioning though. I've heard of really bad effects from not finishing antibiotics. Anyhow, my sore throat did not happen until afterward, so if I was allergic to something I did not show it until later.

[AoibhellFaeryMoon]

I am NOT a fan of antibiotics, and only take them if other remedies won't help.

I am allergic to both penicillin AND sulpha, so the only antibiotics available for me to use are the ones given to immune compromised patients, and they cost $80 for a week's worth.

[Semele]

Get some of the yogurt in the green container..Activa or something like that. Good stuff for the fungus problems.

[PoisonIvy]

Whenever I have a sore throat I drink an infusion of sage with lemon and honey once in the morning and once before bed. Sore throat goes bye bye in no time. Sage is an awesome healing herb!

[phyrefly]

AoibhellFaeryMoon,

Scientifically (sans capitalism), I would be interested in your penicillin allergy. Fungal Penicillin species in relation to coffee biospheres, show the capability of ochratoxin production by the fungus, and the possibility of being vectored in the beans themselves. This situation offers interesting comparisons in the pharmacy of human allergy responses.

Recent news about H5N1 avian influenza's affinity for the throat (Yahoo Groups:Acarology) implicate the constituents from Prunella vulgaris. This plant has a traditional history of being used as a gargle. The mention of sinus in this thread: at least one avian influenza virus entry point in ducks (Mallards) is the ethmoid sinus.