The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Cayenne
Posted by Heather (Dallas, Tx) on 02/14/2015
★☆☆☆☆
I had already tried the honey with cayenne and that did not give me any comfort. I did the cayenne ( 1 tsp) in 1 8oz cup of warm/hot water and gargled what I could stand ( it was pretty hot and I am usually not bothered by spicy things). Anyways, the burning on the tongue and lips is pretty intense for about 10 minutes. It did NOT burn my throat, only the hot water did, but not the cayenne. It has been about 15 minutes since I gargled and there is no relief. I still feel the same amount of discomfort that I felt before but now with a burn from the cayenne at the back of my throat and on my lips.
Cayenne
Posted by Eddie95 (Liverpool, Uk) on 07/20/2012
★☆☆☆☆
well its a NAY from me, been trying this for a few hours cant say anything is improving except for a burning mouth. I assume this works the same as the salt water trick in that osmosis draws water out of your inflamed throat, reducing the swelling slightly, and temporarily. but it does not "kill the bug", "disinfect the disease" etc.
most of us have flu viruses. You can't kill that with salt or antibiotics or anything. The only thing that really makes swallowing less painful is just to keep eating and swallowing. It only gets really painful if you try and stop swallowing for ages. so the more spaced out your swallows, the more they will hurt.
people are saying this definitely works, because after two days the sore throat has cleared - well duh, it would probably have cleared by then anyway, most sore throats do get significantly better after about 2 days. so you can take whatever you want and give credit to that, or you can just accept your body just got rid of it the underlying cause (because our bodies are actually pretty good at sorting things out themselves! ), and the "remedies" did nothing but maybe fractional temporary relief.
Cayenne
Posted by Cooper (Arvada, Colorado) on 07/01/2012
★☆☆☆☆
not a good idea to use this. Started getting a sore throat and heard about this remedy so I tried it. I used half a teaspoon of cayenne with two tablespoons of warm water and gargled. With how hot the cayenne was I spit it out immidiately and it left my throat burning worse then before. do not use unless you have a very high heat tolerance in your throat and mouth.
Cayenne
Posted by Sickly (Los Angeles, Ca) on 02/29/2012
★☆☆☆☆
Did not work for me, my throat burns really badly, not strep, no fever, but so much pain in my throat and congestion in head. I tried this last night and today, it did not work. I did the amounts mentioned here with warm water and poured it into the back of my throat and gargled 15 seconds, repeated until I finished the glasses. It felt better for a few minutes, which happens when I gargle with hot salt water anyways, and then mostly my mouth just hurt from the spice and my throat is still in the same amount of pain. It did not help for more than a few minutes, even gargling a glass every 15 minutes for an hour didn't do anything besides clear up my sinuses for a bit.
Cayenne
Posted by Someone (Somewhere, Magic Fairy Land) on 02/04/2012
★☆☆☆☆
DO NOT USE!!!!! I tried this, with warm water and about a tsp of cayenne, and now not only does my throat hurt more than it did before, but my mouth is on fire too!!!!! Once again I repeat, DO NOT USE!!
Cayenne
Posted by Bob (England, Bristol) on 09/02/2011
★☆☆☆☆
It taste more horrid then you can imagine.
Cayenne
Posted by Ericka (Chicago, Il) on 07/18/2011
★☆☆☆☆
Monday 7/18/11
I have a really bad sore throat. No fever. Hellish pain when I swallow and horrific background pain on roof of mouth and throat.5:55 Drinking 1 cup water with a tablespoon of honey a teaspoon of lemon juice and 7 shakes of cayenne
6:11 Just finished the concoction and no noticeable difference
6:55 Gargled the cayenne followed with salt water gargle about 7 times in a row with cayenne about 10 seconds each time burned like hell I could not take it anymore. At 7:15 I will go down to the 1/4 teaspoon per cup of water. Still no relief to speak of but I am going to keep it up for at least two days
7:25 Just finished a cayenne gargle 1/4 teaspoon in a cup of water actually used measuring cup and spoon this time much more tolerable. Did the whole cup 10 seconds at time followed with a salt water gargle no relief still hurts crazy bad to swallow.
7:43 Just finished a cayenne gargle same formula as last time no saltwater gargle afterward. Put a little salt in the mix though still in a lot of pain when I swallow getting rid of some mucus some one cough up was bloody.
8:03 Just finished the gargle again no noticeable difference. Make sure to oil your lips with any oil that you have to avoid burning them.
8:05 Starting another round of the lemon juice concoction from 5:55 only this time with 1/4 tablespoon of cayenne after which I will switch to every 30 min on the gargle
9:13 Going to bed drank all of the concoction that I could stand no more gargle tonight still feel horrible.
Cayenne
Posted by Sue (Alameda, Ca) on 03/11/2011
★☆☆☆☆
I spent all day yesterday gargling with cayenne and drinking hot water with cayenne & ACV (it didn't taste as bad as I feared). Unfortunately, though, over 24 hours later, my sore throat persists. I even went to the doctor for a rapid strep test, which came back negative, so I do just have a cold. I wish the cayenne had worked for me since it seems to have been a miracle cure for so many others!
Cayenne
Posted by Hannah (No, Michigan) on 11/12/2010
★☆☆☆☆
I'm glad this worked for so many people but it didn't work for me. I tried it last night, gargled with cayenne in warm water. It was really uncomfortable and burned the way it does when you eat something WAY too spicy (and I'm saying this as somebody who likes spicy food). Still, it wasn't bad enough to keep me from trying to several times before giving up and going to bed. I figured it might take some time to kick in.
But no... I woke up this morning and my sore throat was worse. I don't attribute it being worse to the cayenne, I think it would have gotten worse on its own. But the point is it certainly didn't help. By the way, I think my sore throat is caused by a virus. I will be getting a strep test today just in case. Maybe whether or not the cayenne will work depends on the cause of the sore throat? I also observed that most of the people commenting had had their sore throat for at least 3 or 4 days, even over week. Maybe it was ready to go away on its own?
Cayenne
Posted by xsosdid (London, Ontario) on 05/15/2009
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
Hi,
About one week ago I started having some sinus issues, and my problem was with my eyes: they ached so bad!. I started looking on the internet for cures and came upon this site, so I tried it. I have to warn people: do not EVER put pepper in your eyes. Oh my God it hurts. It was 3 AM and I was running around the house screaming. I hit our screen door and ran right through it and fell down our front stairs. I was still screaming. I didn't know where I was and all I could do was run like somebody who is on fire. I hit my neighbour's tree headfirst and was knocked unconscious, thankyou God because I couldn't feel the horrible burning any more. It was like a hundred flaming needles in my eyes. Now I am OK but it still hurts when I look at bright lights and when I shake my head "no".
My sinuses are better now, though.
Cayenne
Posted by Shelley (Sacramento, CA USA) on 03/03/2009
★☆☆☆☆
NAY....*sigh* I'm disappointed...after using the suggested (1/8 tsp.in water) cayenne pepper remedy, 4-5 times over 24 hrs. leaving my throat feeling like I'd put...umm..well, cayanne papper on it...I've had to come up with ways to stop the burning...ice, ice cream, OTC pain reliever. No relief at all... After researching the pain reducing properties of cayenne...it was rather perversely comical as I winced in burning pain during and after gargling. After all, my throat was raw and I was putting pepper on it!
Cayenne
Posted by Robert (Tequesta, Fl, USA) on 11/21/2008
★☆☆☆☆
Cayenne for sore throat. Nay: Coupled with the fact that it's a form of torture, it didn't seem to help at all. The salt water with ACV is at least bearable tho I don't know if it works yet.
Cayenne
Posted by Ella (Beaverton, Oregon United States) on 10/26/2008
★☆☆☆☆
I tried the cayenne pepper remedy, and gargled and drank it straight with water, like some other people did...It did not work at all. I gargled 5 times and drank it, it hurt so bad, but I thought it would work. It didn't. Pain and agony was all it caused me.
My advice: Do not try this with just water.
These were the measurements that I used:
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp cayenne
Thanks so much.
Cayenne
Posted by Laura (Orlando, USA) on 07/12/2008
★☆☆☆☆
I'm so glad that the cayenne pepper worked for so many sore throats out there. However, it did not seem to work for me. I was so excited about this remedy and was really hoping it would work. My husband and son had both been sick, and I finally caught whatever they had. As soon as I started gettind the sore throat, I started drinking apple cider vinegar (8oz hot water, 1 TBSP ACV, 2 TBSP honey) When that didn't help it (which it usually does) I came to this website and tried the cayenne pepper remedy. First, I tried gargling 1/4 tsp. cayenne in 4oz of warm water with honey. That felt similar to spraying the back of my throat with chloraseptic spray, but went away within five minutes or so. After that, I tried drinking it. I added 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper to my normal ACV mix, but again...short term relief only. I've been doing this for three days now, and my throat feels horrible. Hopefully I'll find something else that works for me.
Cayenne
Posted by Laura (Orlando, USA) on 07/12/2008
★☆☆☆☆
I'm so glad that the cayenne pepper worked for so many sore throats out there. However, it did not seem to work for me. I was so excited about this remedy and was really hoping it would work. My husband and son had both been sick, and I finally caught whatever they had. As soon as I started gettind the sore throat, I started drinking apple cider vinegar (8oz hot water, 1 TBSP ACV, 2 TBSP honey) When that didn't help it (which it usually does) I came to this website and tried the cayenne pepper remedy. First, I tried gargling 1/4 tsp. cayenne in 4oz of warm water with honey. That felt similar to spraying the back of my throat with chloraseptic spray, but went away within five minutes or so. After that, I tried drinking it. I added 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper to my normal ACV mix, but again...short term relief only. I've been doing this for three days now, and my throat feels horrible. Hopefully I'll find something else that works for me.
