Soothe Your Sore Throat Naturally with Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne

Posted by Terri (Brisbane, Australia) on 10/28/2008
★★★★★

Thanks to Karen from Pennsylvania (10/15/2008) I think I've discovered the ultimate Aussie version of this amazing cure! This poster mentioned mixing the cayenne with bullion. I adapted the suggestion by mixing a scant 1/4 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper (extra hot) with one teaspoon of Vegemite in near boiling water. Yes, my lips and mouth burned, but it was far more palatable than straight water & cayenne. I'm still sipping it as I write this and 90 minutes after taking my first dose, the swollen throat that kept me awake last night and in pain all day is 70% better.

Like others, I intend to persist. The side benefit of this mix is that Vegemite (a yeast extract similar to Marmite/Promite) is a rich source of vitamin B. A teaspoon of Vegemite mixed with hot water is a popular old cold & flu remedy. Thanks to all for their feedback and variations.

PS: Remember to stir before every sip. If you have trouble tolerating the burning sensation on your lips and don't have Vaseline at hand, try sipping it through a straw.

Cayenne

Posted by Teresa (Hopewell, NJ) on 10/28/2008
★★★★★

Hi! I recently tried the Cayenne pepper remedy for a sore throat and found it really did relieve the pain. First I tried it mixed with just water, about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon in a small galss of water. I gargled and also sipped the solution and found it did numb the pain. The next morning I felt much better and took another "dose" this time mixed with vegetable juice, and now the soreness is just about gone! Thanks!

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 Gmong (Anchorage, AK USA) on 10/27/2008

Ella, the cayenne pepper works for most people, but not for everyone. When I first started taking cayenne pepper I'd add about 1/4 teaspoon to 4 oz. of orange juice (with the pulp). The sugar in the pulp neutralized the "hot" taste in the pepper, and made it into a slightly tangy and refreshing drink. My husband has a very weak stomach, and cannot eat spicy foods and he was able to drink this.

From the very little I've read it seems that either salt or sugar will neutralize a large portion of the pain that a person may experience when eating cayenne pepper.

But the cayenne pepper remedy is not for everyone, there are some side effects that certain people experience if they take too large of a dose (dizziness, for example), and for some people it simply doesn't help at all.

Cayenne

Posted by Gmong (Anchorage, AK USA) on 10/29/2008

For people with weak stomachs, try taking 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper with 6-8 oz orange juice and see how it works. It's been so long since I've used this remedy that I was confused on the recipe a bit. I can take the 1/4 teaspoon with 4 oz of orange juice successfully and need to take it in that dosage to see progress. DH needs 1/8 teaspoon with 6-8 oz.

Cayenne

Posted by TM (Medford, NY) on 10/22/2008
★★★★★

I woke up this morning with a killer sore throat. Tried a salt water gargle, chloraseptic (which worked temporarily). So when I googled sore throat remedies I found your site. seeing all the positive results for cayenne pepper I gave it a try. I mixed up a tea spoonful in a V8 and sipped at it. I have to say it really worked. I am now able to talk with no throat pain. thank you very much and keep up the good work.

Cayenne

Posted by Tricia (Paw Paw, Michigan) on 10/19/2008
★★★☆☆

WORKED TEMPORARILY

Cayenne Pepper (sore throat)

I had such a sore throat. I couldn't even swallow or breathe. I heard about this method, so I added 1/4 teaspoon to water about three-five times a day for three days and drank it. It definitely worked temporarily. For about 3 hours after I drank it, breathing and swallowing weren't even a problem. Eventually though, it would come back.

After I had had this problem for a week and had been trying the pepper remedy for three days, I went to the doctor. I didn't have strep throat, but she put me on an antibiotic and THAT made it go away.

All in all, for me cayenne peppers were good for temporary relief, but they were not a cure for my sore throat.

Cayenne

Posted by Frank (Morgan Hill, CA) on 10/15/2008
★★★★★

I am shocked by cayenne pepper results. Thank you for publishing results. I am an Architect. On Monday evening I was unable to talk due to sore throat. Today is Wednesday and I am near 100%. I have been keeping cayenne pepper in my briefcase because it works so well. I felt obligated to find this site a second time to say thank you.

Cayenne

Posted by Karen (Birdsboro, Pennsylvania) on 10/15/2008
★★★★★

I read about using cayanne pepper on this website and decided to try it as I always get sore throats when the weather changes. My doctor always tells me to gargle with salt water but it only gives temporary relief at best.

Since I like bullion I decided to make really strong bullion (2 cubes to 1 cup of water) to take the place of the salt water and then added cayanne pepper 1/8th tsp. That way I could keep sipping it and swallowing it rather than spitting it out.

I couldn't believe how quickly this worked and have been using this ever since.

Cayenne

Posted by Don (Southwest, Michigan, USA) on 10/10/2008
★★★★★

The dry sharp painful sore throat that is going around this fall (2008) seems to respond to cayenne pepper and garlic tea. At least it worked for me. . The garlic powder is optional but you must use the cayenne. Put 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper powder and 1/8 tsp. garlic powder into a mug of hot hot water. Sip it slowly to let the brew linger at the back of the throat before swallowing. Keep the cayenne circulated in the water while drinking. Take it about every hour or so until the pain is gone. It only took three cups for my sore throat to dissappear. Note: I notice that some people use orange juice to cool the pepper. To me, the warmth of the water and the pepper is soothing and part of the healing process.

Cayenne

Posted by Julie (Chapin, IA) on 10/09/2008
★★★★★

Cayenne Peper cured my sore throat. I must admit I was skeptical, but I decided to give it a try. I had such a sore throat that was working it's way into my right ear yesterday. I have had this since Monday and could barely stand it, so I looked up home remedies for sore throat and this website came up. I gargled once at 1pm yesterday and again at 7pm. I woke up this morning and it there was still just a small throb and pain so I gargled again this morning. By 11 am it was gone. I could swallow without pain in my throat or ear!

Cayenne

Posted by Dana (Toronto, ON) on 10/02/2008
★★★★★

Yesterday I could barely speak, my throat was so raw. I tried gargling with warm salt water, but that didn't work for long. I then put a generous squirt of lemon juice into 1/2 cup of water and drank that, and it worked for much longer than the salt water, but my sore throat did return. So I went online and found this cayenne pepper tea remedy. At that point, I was ready to try anything.

So last night, I drank 3 cups of this tea, and had one big cup this morning. My sore throat is pretty much gone, although there's a wee bit still lingering. To erradicate it completely, I will drink another glass or two tonight. Unfortunately for my family and co-workers, I can now yabber on in my usual manner, once again.

Cayenne

Posted by Kelly (Scanton, pa) on 10/02/2008
★★★★★

I had a really bad sore throat that started yesterday and I could hardly swallow without bracing myself for the pain. I had my husband buy some cayenne pepper for me and drank a 1/4 tsp in 6 oz of orange juice and gargled 1/4 tsp in warm water twice more, waiting about 15 minutes in between. I went to sleep after taking some medicine and got a decent night sleep. I have slight pain in the back of my throat today, I have not taken any more meds, I have gargled the pepper twice more. I have no other symptoms except I am really tired and have a slight pain in my throat. I think it would have been a lot worse without the cayenne pepper.

Cayenne

Posted by Beau (Calgary, AB) on 10/02/2008
★★★★★

I was just reading about Cayenne pepper being the super awesome end-all cure to the sore throat. I'd have to agree.

Years ago, I had a very swollen, dry sore throat. I hadn't eaten anything for six days, except warm tea. I was feeling excrutiatingly hungry, but the thought of swallowing anything made me gag. For some reason, I went crazy and poured myself a small glass of Mott's Clamato EXTRA SPICY which is spiced using tabasco peppers.

Seconds after drinking the first sip, my sore throat was numbed, and replaced with a warm tingling sensation from the spice. I continued to drink small amounts throughout the day, and went to bed with little pain and had an amazing sleep. I awoke the next morning with a very dull pain and no where near the swelling. I was able to eat, and speaking wasn't excrutiating.

Since then, every time I've had a swollen sore throat, I'll sip a tall glass of the Mott's and the next morning it will be gone.

Cayenne

Posted by J-man (Springfield, IL) on 09/27/2008
★★★★★

Cayenne Pepper cured my sore throat in seconds.

Cayenne

Posted by lalalou (Houston, Texas, Harris co.) on 05/07/2009
★★★★★

I got up at 4:00AM with the worst allergy sore throat I had developed the evening before. I avoid the use of salt. What was I to do? I clicked on the computer and typed in sore throat cure. J-man I got the same result you did with Cayenne Pepper gargle. I had no ACV so I used 4 teasp lemon juice, 4 teasp honey and !/2 teasp Cayenne Pepper in a 8oz drinking glass. I microwaved it for one minuet, strained it and began to gargle. I felt relief at once. Good job

Cayenne

Posted by Ross (Scottsdale, AZ) on 09/27/2008
★★★★★

After having a bad sore throat for the past 3 days and trying the common things like, hot tea, gargling with salt water, lots of rest, over the counter items nothing was working. I searched this site and found out about Cayenne. I made the following:

1 cup of hot water
1 tea bag
1/4 teaspoon of Cayenne
2 teaspoons of honey
mixed it up and sipped the hot tea with cayenne.
Hard to believe but most of the pain in my throat went away after just drinking half of the cup. I will finish and repeat with another 3 cups as recommended. Thx to everyone out there.

Cayenne

Posted by Nathaniel (Mankato, MN, USA) on 09/25/2008
★★★★★

Wow! I started getting a nasty sore throat last night and haven't slept more than 20 minutes in the last 24 hours or so because of it, not to mention that I haven't been able to talk for the last 12 hours or so. I had tried ibruprophen, aspirin, Tylenol, cough drops, tea with honey, gargling salt water, and some throat spray and this is the only thing that's worked! It is a little uncomfortable, but like someone else said the pain from the cayenne pepper is so much more tolerable than the pain of the sore throat. I'll have to remember this one! Thanks!