As a child, I dealt with recurring strep infections. It’s what lead me to having to surgically remove my tonsils and adenoids at the age of 10. I know all too well the frustration of having strep return over and over again. But it was even more stressful when it started happening to my own children. We had a 6 month period where strep infections were returning each month. Strep can be dangerous and can negatively impact the brain and the body. This is why I searched high and low to figure out WHY it was happening to us and HOW to stop recurring strep infections from happening. I stumbled upon some research and a solution that has completely helped us stop recurring strep infections in our home. The relief I have had as a Mother is palpable. I wanted to share my findings and experience incase others are going through the same cycle as we were.
* This post may include affiliate links. This means that products purchased from certain links will generate a small commission (At no extra cost to you). As always, I will only recommend brands that have passed my seal of approval and that I truly love. Thank you for supporting this little holistic space on the internet. *
The Problem: When Strep Just Won’t Go Away
It is very common that once the strep cycle begins, it keeps coming back uninvited. This is how it happened for us and I knew it was somehow linked to my experiences in childhood. In fact, the more I dug into the research, the more I realized that this predisposition to recurring strep gets passed down from parents. My kids showing similar patterns of strep. In addition to that, a few years back I had gut testing show high levels of strep bacteria living within my gut. It was a good indication that the overload of strep bacteria from my childhood never completely left my body. Because of these dots being connected, it was not overly surprising to me that my children were experiencing the same susceptibility to strep infection. We tend to pass some of our pathogen load down to our offspring, particularly as Mothers. But it was heartbreaking to experience with my own kids.
My stress levels hit high every time one of my children came to me with complaints of a sore throat. I immediately went into panic mode, a common reaction amongst parents who can’t get out of the illness cycle. I would spend hours in clinic waiting rooms for strep tests. I also spent hours on google and pubmed trying to figure out what I could do to stop this cycle. I learned a lot and I tried different things but ultimately only one thing worked in the end. We haven’t had a single strep infection in our home since implementing this simple step over a a year ago. It was such a relief as we were on a steady cycle of strep returning every other month.
So I’m here to walk you through my experience and the research behind it. This is for those who are going through similar experiences but it’s also a gold mine of information to keep incase this cycle begins happening to you. We didn’t have a single case of strep in our home until my eldest was 8, so it came as a surprise. I thought my children were free and clear of this nasty throat infection that I was plagued with as a child. Now that I was in the depths of this with my own kids, I would have loved to have had someone point me to this solution from the start.
At first, I came across an article from a blogger who had similar issues with her own children experiencing strep over and over again. She explained how strep likes to hide out in biofilms within the gut to avoid being killed off by antibiotics or herbs. This quiet colonization is what inevitably leads to strep recurring in an individual. So while treatment often irradicates the symptoms and the overburden of bacteria, it doesn’t typically get all of them.
This was aligning with what I had read myself so I was excited to hear that someone else seemed to have a well thought out solution. She mentioned that her Mother was a Naturopath and that she had suggested using a specific type of digestive enzyme to break up the hidden strep bacteria within the gut. This solution sounded promising so I ordered a bottle of the enzymes that were suggested. Unfortunately, I saw no difference with this method and my child continued to get strep. I gave this solution time as all things require but it just did not work for us. Perhaps it was the fact that it wasn’t reaching all of the hidden bacteria or it was taking more time to bust the biofilms. But since we continued to experience repeat infections, I knew we were in a bit of a rat race trying to bust down the biofilms quickly enough to lower the pathogenic load. It seemed we never got ahead of it. I’ve been in the health world long enough to know that one solution may work for some but not others. This could be helpful in certain situations but in our own situation I knew I had to keep digging.
Oral Probiotics to stop recurring Strep Infections
During one of my tireless late night pubmed searches, I came across literature on a specific strain of probiotic called Streptococcus Salivarius K-12. This strain was shown to be low in those who suffer from repeat strep A infections. It was listed as an “oral probiotic” which means this particular strain primarily populates the ear, nose and throat cavities. Research was showing that those who experienced repeat bacterial infections of the throat, nose and ears were often deficient in this particular probiotic colony. Essentially, this ‘good bacteria’ helped balance out the ecosystem within the Ear, nose and throat which made it more difficult for ‘bad bacteria’ like strep A to colonize and create illness.
This particular strain was discovered as a solution to bacterial infections through studying the oral microbiome of a child who had never once experienced a bacterial infection like strep A. As it turns out, most individuals who aren’t prone to strep infections almost always have adequate levels of this probiotic in their oral cavity naturally. Those who DID suffer from these infections often did NOT have adequate levels to fend off any invading bacteria such as strep A. So by conclusion, it would make sense to supplement with Streptococcus Salivarius BLIS K-12 probiotic in those who are displaying repeat infections of the nose, throat and ears.
I was intrigued, so I kept digging..
Connecting the Dots + Solving Health Puzzles: How to stop recurring strep infections
According to a study that looked at the anti-inflammatory properties of Streptococcus Salivarius BLIS K-12, this probiotic is “one of the first colonizers of the human oral cavity and gut after birth and therefore may contribute to the establishment of immune homeostasis and regulation of host inflammatory responses” (Kaci, G., et. al 2014). This made me wonder about my Children’s births. Not only did I myself likely not have a good colony of K-12 as someone who experienced strep continuously, but my births were FAST. Rapid births equate to less time spent in the birth canal by baby. The birth canal is where you receive the good bacteria and probiotics from your Mother to prime your immune system. Is it possible that my rapid births provided less time to colonize the babies in good bacteria created the deficiency? Is this also true for those who experience C-sections where babies spend no time in the birth canal? This is another topic for another day, but I love to address some of the connections made in my head when I am digging through health topics and my own experiences. Putting together these puzzle pieces is always so amusing to me as I come from a medical research background in University. The body and how it works is truly a puzzle.
Then came the solidifying factor that made me think this solution would be the one for us. I stumbled across an article that connected some more dots as it pertained to some tooth decay that was occurring for my children. The recent article by Poorni, S., et. al (2022) showed that the probiotic strain (S. Salivarius K12 as well as M18) which were successful antagonists against the strep bacteria that caused sore throat infections, were ALSO successful against the strep bacteria found within the mouth that can cause tooth decay! This was my light bulb moment. My children had been dealing with repeat strep infection AND they were ALSO each dealing with tooth decay. Could this inherent lack of S. Salivarius in their oral cavity be the solution to all of these problems? So many dots were connecting. I felt a sense of relief and excitement that I had potentially stumbled upon the solution I had been so desperate for.
The Solution: Streptococcus Salivarius BLIS K-12 to stop recurring strep infections
Turns out, oral probiotics WAS the solution to stop recurring strep infections in our home.
It can take a few months for the good bacteria to colonize the oral cavity after you begin taking them. But, since we began giving these to our children we haven’t had ONE strep infection for well over a year now. These little tablets I give my children each day completely changed our life. We went from suffering with painful strep throat infections every 20-30 days and the anxiety that came along with it, to living completely normal again.
Not to mention, the oral probiotics that contain S. Salivarius (BLIS K-12) are often very tasty and easy for kids to take!! They are tablets meant to melt in your mouth so it can better colonize the oral cavity and they are relatively inexpensive. Since implementing them, we have also noticed a reduction in the number of respiratory infections we experience in our home as well. I feel so much calmer sending my children to school and I no longer panic if they’re around those who are sick. Something I started doing when we couldn’t get out of the illness cycle for some time. And as expected, an article written by Kaci, Et. al (2014) found that “several S. Salivarius’ strains isolated from the human pharynx are able to interfere with respiratory pathogens”. You can read more about how we support respiratory infections and stop lingering coughs HERE. And the other supplement I give my children to support their immune systems HERE. But the reduction we’ve seen in respiratory illnesses coming through our home makes complete sense. It has research backing our anecdotal evidence. I love a good study but I also love personal reviews and lived experience. When the two mesh together they form some serious evidence based information.
We saw so many benefits from this one change and I knew sharing my story would help other in similar situations. I know all too well the panic and stress that is caused by watching your children when they’re constantly sick. In fact, our Doctor had advised that the next time we experienced a strep infection that year that he would suggest referring to an ENT to discuss surgical tonsil removal. I am certain that without this solution, we would have been led down that path. And while there are certainly situations that call for intervention, I am glad we were able to steer away from surgery. Taking oral probiotics is certainly less risky, in fact it comes with side BENEFITS rather than side effects. Side effects would have surely been experienced after going under general anesthesia for a tonsil and/or adenoid removal. I am so grateful we were able to take our own path, keep tonsils intact and experience improved health in my children.
My hope is that sharing this process and my experience will give others some information they may need to connect the dots with their own experiences related to strep, dental carries, ear infections, etc. As I mentioned above, a solution may not work for everyone. But, this solution was the ONLY one that worked for us after desperately trying many. I would never want to gate keep this information in hopes that it helps another Mother out there who is frantically scrolling in the middle of the night searching for some answers. I only wish this solution was provided to me earlier. That being said, I am forever grateful that it somehow came across my eyes during one of those frantic midnight google and pubmed searches.
Perhaps this information will also set you free and stop recurring strep infections in your home too!
How to Take Oral Probiotics
There are so many different oral probiotics out there but we like to use the oral probiotic from Hyperbiotics called PRO-Kids ENT. This probiotic also has a good oral probiotic strain for tooth decay which has also stopped for us since implementing this probiotic. It is slightly pricier for this reason but there are plenty of options for BLIS-K12 that are more affordable if this isn’t in your budget. Hyperbiotics also creates an oral probiotic for Adults called PRO Dental which contains the needed BLIS-K12 strain as well. We have had great success with the Hyper Biotics brand.
I have also personally used the NOW Oralbiotic and Swanson’s Oral probiotic formula successfully for myself when I was catching strep alongside my kids. I haven’t had another case of strep since taking these either. It is generally a good idea to give these probiotics to anyone in the family who is prone to or has been catching strep. This stops the strep bacteria at all sources and creates an extra barrier of safety for all family members. Not to mention, there are so many additional benefits to taking this strain of probiotics such as better breath, better teeth, less colds, and more. I will eventually touch on the additional benefits in a separate blog post but I wanted to address strep first and foremost as I know it is an issue for many families.
In terms of HOW we take these tablets. They are tasty tablets that dissolve in the mouth. It is recommended that you don’t swallow them but rather allow the tablet to dissolve in the mouth so the probiotics stay within the ear nose and throat cavity. We take them after brushing our teeth either in the morning or before bed time. Because they do not contain sugar and contain good bacteria for your mouth, they are actually sometimes recommended to be taken before bed so the probiotics can establish in the microbiome while you sleep. We have taken it both in morning and night after brushing with great success.
It is suggested that they take a few weeks to months to establish a good flora within the mouth and prevent infection. Our experience is that once we began taking them, we have not experienced a single case of strep since. It could have been that we lucked out on timing and did not get exposed to strep while the flora was being established but as I mentioned above, we were experiencing strep within weeks of each infection. I am confident the probiotics helped stop the cycle earlier than what is suggested but I wanted to mention the timeline incase that isn’t how quickly it works for others. I certainly wouldn’t want to cause discouragement over timeline for something that could help stop recurring strep infections successfully.
Where to find Oral Probiotics
I purchase our oral probiotics from iHerb Website HERE. I didn’t have the greatest luck finding them at our local health food stores. Many do not carry them. iHerb carries a good range of oral probiotics. They carry all three of the options I have tried myself and mentioned above. If one is out of stock, I ensure that I grab another brand to hold us over till the Hyperbiotics Kids PRO-Ent comes back in stock.
iHerb the best website in terms of price and offer good shipping rates to both the US and Canada. They often have sales happening and tend to offer discounts if you have a certain amount of products within your cart. Here are some other personal favorite products from them that helps me get cheaper shipping options and the odd discount. They have my favorite Korean skincare line called Beauty of Joseon, as well as my favorite non-toxic Sapadilla Grapefruit and Bergamot All Purpose Household Cleaning spray and the Vital Earth Humic/fulvic Multi-mineral blend that I add to my kids water bottle each day.
** PIN the image below to save this post for later **
Sources
- 1. Kaci, G., Goudercourt, D., Dennin, V., Pot, B., Doré, J., Ehrlich, S. D., Renault, P., Blottière, H. M., Daniel, C., & Delorme, C. (2014). Anti-inflammatory properties of Streptococcus salivarius, a commensal bacterium of the oral cavity and digestive tract. Applied and environmental microbiology, 80(3), 928–934. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.03133-13
- Poorni, S., Nivedhitha, M. S., Srinivasan, M., & Balasubramaniam, A. (2022). Effect of Probiotic Streptococcus salivarius K12 and M18 Lozenges on the Cariogram Parameters of Patients With High Caries Risk: A Randomised Control Trial. Cureus, 14(3), e23282. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.23282
** This article is not intended as medical advice. Please seek medical advice from your primary medical professional when required. **
No Comments