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A reader, Lindsay, recently shared her story with me. She had tested positive twice in a row on a Group B strep test while pregnant. Not wanting antibiotics during labor, she decided to use the following combination of natural treatments to become GBS negative. A third test shows that it worked!
Please understand this is for informational purposes only. It’s not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure anything. This is just one reader’s story of what worked for her.
Group B Strep Natural Remedy
Lindsay says: I am not sure which of this actually worked, or if it was a combination, but I was able to get a negative culture after recieving 2 positive urine cultures, which my midwife said she had never seen before. I had been using the following for 10 days when I tested. I recommend buying good quality organic, food sourced vitamins.
Each morning:
- 50 billion good quality probiotic
- Garlic Extract Capsule (5mg)
- Astragalus Capsule (800mg)
- 4000+ IU Vitamin D
- 1 tsp (500 mg) powdered whole food vitamin C (mixed in orange juice)
- 3-4 tsp cranberry concentrate (mixed in orange juice)
- 10 drops GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) – after 2 weeks I started doinig GSE only once/day
Each evening:
- Repeat the morning supplements, plus
- 1 Cup Echinacea Tea*
- 1900 mg Burdock Root capsule
*Only use Echinacea for 2 weeks, then have a 2 week break, resuming on this schedule if desired. Echinacea loses efficacy after 2 weeks.
Daily “Other”:
- 1-2 tsp Garlic Honey Elixer: 1/2 C. Honey, 1/4 C. Apple Cider Vinegar (Braggs), 1/2 BULB fresh garlic. Puree in a blender, and store in fridge. Have a chaser ready (I did yogurt), this stuff is stout! There is no risk of harm to a baby from having too much garlic so take as much of this as you can handle without worry.
- Insert Vaginally 1 peeled garlic clove overnight for 2 weeks, then once/week until delivery. Thread a sterile string through the clove and tie for easy removal in the AM - I used unwaxed, plain, organic silk dental floss. I also cut notches in the clove for max potency, but some find this stings or burns, which I did not.
- I also inserted 1 capsule of the probiotic vaginally during the day randomly over the 2 week period. However, be sure you don’t do this within a few days of the test as it can give a false positive result
- Vaginal flush (not douche) Apple Cider Vinegar – 1oz ACV + 4-6 OZ warm water to dilute, using a periwash bottle (I got mine from my midwife). Once Daily for 7 Days.
I also ate a diet low in sugar and grain, and included lots of plain, organic yogurt.
In addition to this remedy, I was taking my normal vitamins – Prenatal Multi, Omega 3 fish oil, Iron, Folic Acid and Cal/Mag/Zinc. Drink plenty of purified water.
Thanks, Lindsay!
Why This Can Help
Lindsay’s recommendations are in line with what we know about bringing bacteria back into balance in the body. Garlic is a potent anti-viral and has been known to help women test negative on GBS tests before (even though it is a bacteria, not viral). Consuming large doses of probiotics also helps the system to overcome bad bacteria naturally by replacing it with good bacteria.
Large doses of vitamin A, C, and D are known to boost immune function strongly, which can help the body to bring itself back into balance and health naturally.
Grapefruit seed extract and other herbal supplements are potent natural antibiotics.
In addition to this list, you may choose to add milk kefir (some say this has more beneficial strains of bacteria than yogurt and actually helps to re-colonize the gut properly) and coconut oil (which is a strong anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral).
Have you ever used a particular remedy or program to test GBS negative? What worked for you?
i took probiotics for several weeks before my test and mine was negative. i hadn’t tested for it before though, so i may have been clear to begin with. i just did it as a precaution.
Can’t get the link to work?
I tested positive with my first test (at 8 weeks pregnant) and then a couple of weeks before i went into labor, I tested negative. Yay! (I thought) My Dr. told me that “to be safe rather than sorry, for the baby’s sake” I needed to go ahead and get the antibiotics. I was not informed enough to fight him but I wish I had. I have no idea what I did (if anything) to test positive but I’m planning not to have antibiotics if I have another baby.
Having a ride in an ambulance with a baby running fever and not being able to”find” a vein to start antibiotics – The antibiotics during labor isn’t scary at all!! And my daughter tested NEG -
I’ve never tested positive, but when I tested negative I took high doses of probiotics and ate lots of yogurt for 2 weeks prior. Also, I was told that sex the night before the test is helpful. So, that was my regimen. I will do something similar this time and maybe add in some garlic.
Wow — an impressive sample of one! Please google Wren’s story for a more accurate picture of the efficacy of garlic in the treatment of GBS.
Lydia, I have read it. We (my family and hopefully my audience) do NOT make our health decisions based on scare tactics. Wren’s story is tragic and unfortunate, but she had such a high GBS count that she tested strongly positive and was given antibiotics early in her pregnancy (I believe — I don’t remember if she took antibiotics or not, but I thought so). At the end she only changed to using garlic — never retested (which this woman has), never changed her diet or tried herbs. Therein lies the problem.
Anyway, regardless, Wren’s story, while terrible, is JUST ONE STORY. What you are saying here is because one story ended badly (a story with several issues, as I’ve pointed out), all women should freak out and just get the antibiotics. No. We make decisions based on facts. If a woman can try several different interventions and then RE-TEST and be negative, then she and her midwife can make a decision about whether or not they think this is safe. This is information for women looking for another option.
In the future, if you post comments that are intended as scare tactics and not adding to the discussion, I will not post them. I don’t entertain that kind of nonsense.
I really feel the need to chime in here to inform everyone of how serious GBS is. In 99% of cases, it isn’t, and these tips really are wonderful. However, I think maybe there should’ve been a disclaimer or something letting your readers know that, unfortunately, the 1% happens. I’m glad you posted the protocol, but there are people in the homebirth community who have lost babies to GBS sepsis because they (or worse, their midwives) did not take the threat that GBS presents seriously. YMMV, but in very rare cases, abx can save lives.
Amy, you are correct that GBS can be very serious. I would recommend that any woman who chooses to follow these tips get re-tested so that she knows her GBS status going into her birth, and is aware of signs to look for in the new baby. This is especially important if a woman’s water breaks early in labor. Always discuss your options with a trained medical professional and make decisions with that professional about what is best for your situation. This is all for informational purposes only, as stated in the original post.
Only 5mg of garlic? What kind of garlic was used? That seems like a very small dose to me.
I have been struggling with recurrent GBS in my urine now for several months, during which time we have also suffered a miscarriage – have no idea if it was related, but it could have been. I appreciate these tips and will try to incorporate some of them into my regimen. However, I would also like to point out a word of caution. Since being introduced to the world of GBS and through the research I have done, I have come to realize how tragic GBS infection in a newborn is – absolutely heartbreaking – the stories will bring you to tears. I get frustrated when I hear women who are largely against medications talk about taking steps to “test negative”, and then disregard the rest of the pregnancy. If you are going to take steps to actually rid or lower your GBS counts FOR THE DURATION of your pregnancy that is a great; however, I believe it is foolish and putting your baby at risk to take these steps simply to get a negative test several weeks away from the delivery date, and then quit.