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 Shari (Loveland, Co, Usa) on 04/14/2011
★★★★★
Thanks everyone! I had a terrible sore throat, but the doctor said no strep. So I gargled with cayenne and warm water yesterday, about 5 times during the day, and it is almost gone this morning.
Cayenne
Posted by Thatsmyboys (Lake Charles, La) on 04/12/2011
★★★★★
I used a little over 1/8 tsp in 1 cup of warm water to gargle when I noticed white spots on the back of my throat of course the throat pain was the dead give away. I gargled (not swallowing) in small sips the entire cup, it burned a little (not enough where I couldnt stand it). I did a second cup of the same repeating, 30 min after first gargle, already the pain is subsiding and I can swallow without tears! Thanks..
Cayenne
Posted by Louise (Boca Raton, Fl) on 03/30/2011
★★★★★
Brillaint cure for a sore throat! Felt better within minutes! Just mix a teaspoon or so into 6 oz of water and gargle it. I recommend very warm water. Wear some kind of chapstick so it doesn't burn your lips.
Cayenne
Posted by Dougler (London, On, Canada) on 09/07/2011
just tried it out. I dont have a sore throat, I do have a mouth that feels like its on fire.
Cayenne
Posted by Lindsay (Chicago, Il, Usa) on 03/10/2011
★★★★★
I cannot believe how fast this cure worked. I had a sore, very swollen throat while traveling overseas, I was prescribed some Augmentin (antibiotic) and within a few days it went away. The problem arose when I relapsed after I got home and had no more antibiotics. My regular sore throat cure of gargling with ACV in warm water didn't seem to help, though it has cured every other sore throat I've had in the last 15 years. It hurt to swollow my own saliva when I started gargling with the cayenne pepper (1 tsp in 16 oz of warm water). It didn't seem to help much after just the first glass, but after three in 24 hours, almost all symptoms were gone. It worked much faster than the Augmentin the doctor prescribed, and the sore throat stayed away this time (a month has now passed). I also support other reviewers' suggestion to put on chapstick first. I expected the unpleasant burning sensation to be much stronger than it was, but it was mostly just on my lips when I didn't use chapstick.
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 Joe (Rochester, Ny) on 03/24/2011
★★★★★
WOW I am writing this right now eating some chicken soup LOADED with Cayenne. I have had such a bad sore throat it hurt to swallow my own saliva. I lost sleep. I am currently on good ole Penicillin but after 2 days I have no real notice in the pain in my throat lessening. I love spicy food but had no idea this would help so much. In the 10 minutes I have been eating this soup I have gone from barely able to swallow to able to swallow and having a pain about 3/10. I have been gargling the broth before swallowing it. I am really amazed. I tried salt water, warm milk and honey, throat spray, cough drops, gargling cough syrup (recommended by my doctor). I am going to recommend this to my family and friends!
Cayenne
Posted by Michelle (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) on 03/28/2011
★★★★★
Hallelujah! Works like a miracle. Normally I take some medicine when my glands get swollen and a throat infection is on his way, but happily the stores were closed already this time, so I needed to find an alternative on my online bible earth clinic and the cayenne peper works perfectly. Great tip. Thanks
Cayenne
Posted by Nanjoy (Minneapolis, Mn) on 03/09/2011
★★★★★
I have been using cayenne pepper for treatment for "burning mouth syndrome". I can't believe that I didn't think about it for a sore throat. I am mixing up a cold apple juice with cayenne now. Cayenne pepper can be put into coffee or tea. It's really a great thing!! Thanks!!
Cayenne
Posted by Ln (Portland, Or, Usa) on 02/10/2011
★★★★★
I don't normally get bad sore throats, but after six days of relentless pain and increasing loss of sleep, I knew I had a problem. My usual tricks of honey/lemon/hot water and raw garlic did not cure as usual. I worried I had the dreaded strep throat, and loathed to take antibiotics. On the verge of calling my physician, I did one last search on alternative cures for strep and landed at Earth Clinic's site.
I immediately took 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne in 8 oz of warm water and began to gargle. I repeated 15 minutes later, and then every couple of hours. I found I needed to swallow just a bit to get to the pain deep in my throat. The relief was gradual for me, but after 24 hours, the pain was almost completely gone! I am still amazed by my rapid recovery: I went from feeling that the pain would never subside to back to work and cheerful in 24 hours. Incredible! I will remember this remedy for myself and my family, and come back to this site often. Thanks to all for sharing your stories. I find these personal testimonies reassuring and extremely helpful.
Cayenne
Posted by Voide (Bay Area, Ca) on 02/19/2011
★★★★★
For over a week I had a sore throat that went from bad to worse, and then to -- oh no, I'm going to need to go on antibiotics, which I avoid like the plague. Like everyone else, I searched on-line and found this site, and the cayenne treatment. Using powder form, I made a tea, on the strong side. I noticed quick relief, however the soreness returned. Hours later I prepared a second cup, sipped and gargled and continued to do so on and off throughout the day. That first night I went to bed thinking, this isn't working my throat still hurts. And my glands were enlarged and tender. The next day I awoke and my throat was still raw. I added alot of cayenne powder to a bowl of soup for breakfast and felt better by the bottom of the bowl. Again, throughout the second day I drank the tea. And that evening I went to bed with just a mild sore throat. The morning after the second day of treatment my discomfort, both throat and gland, have nearly vanished. I started the morning with mint tea with honey but plan on doing a third day of cayenne tea. This has been my first homeopathic experience.
Note: Be patient, consider how when taking antibiotics it takes 2-3 days until you feel better. At first I hated the taste and even felt sick to my stomach. I gutted it out and quickly grew to like the taste and the nausea passed.
Cayenne
Posted by Jennifer (Visalia, Ca) on 10/27/2010
★★★★★
Yesterday I came down with the common virus going around. Sore throat and cough. No fever. I tried drinking asv/lemon/honey very soothing but with no obvious results. I came on earthclinic and read about cayenne pepper. WOW!! ONE gargle and the pain was gone!! I really have never seen anything work so quickly as this. Today still no sore throat but the chest congestion became painful. I decided to continue to trust in the cayenne so I poured a glass of juice and added two sprinkle of pepper and drank it this time. Another WOW! All of the discomfort went away. I now have a 99.9 fever that I learned after reading that the cayenne warms up the body as it is healing. AWESOME! Thank you all for sharing!!
Cayenne
Posted by Lina (Tucson, Az) on 11/13/2010
Wow, I did not know this about Cayenne. I was getting a soar throat a couple of days ago and it is now gone and I wasn't sure why. But at the same time it started I made hot cocoa which I always add chili pepper to and I used Cayenne and now it's gone.
Cayenne
Posted by Cool Daddy Dre (The Bean, Ma) on 03/04/2011
Wow I read how so many of you get better within 24 hours and I couldn't believe it. Then I read more and saw the some of you where better within a few hours. I still couldn't believe it, but I wanted to try it but wasn't too sure if I should. Then I saw that some people where better in less then 1 hour. I was like wow, omg. Then I read more and saw the people began feeling better instantly!! Then I was like double wow with a double omg and a star, now I know I got to try this because now I know it will work. So I began mixing this recipe and was better before I even tried it. Like literally while I was like mixing it up. OMG WOW!!! It's amazing! I will use the heavy metal remedy that another person wrote that like makes it so lie I don't even get sick anymore. I know heavy metals are dangerous to the body but just think how like even more dangerous to whatever it is that makes me sick. I going to be extra strong now that I don't eat any HFCS or corn in general because that's not what good people do anymore.
Cayenne
Posted by Michelle (Southern Indiana, In, Usa) on 10/07/2010
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the tip on cayenne! I had been suffering with a horrible raw sore throat for four days solid, and tried salt water gargles, cough drops, sore throat spray, cold medicines, nothing was working! Then I found this site and the overwhelming recommendations for cayenne. So I heated up some broth and added some cayenne and drank it. It worked great!! I instantly started feeling better!! I brought some with me to work to drink throughout the day yesterday and I feel soooo much better! I'm almost 100% now, after just one day! Thank you for this great tip!
P. S. Just wanted to add that someone else had mentioned here that viruses feed on sugar, so I also cut out sugary things completely (except for fruit) and that made a huge difference! When I ate a sweet, my throat immediately felt horrible. So definitely cut out the sweets completely, and let the cayenne do its work!
Cayenne
Posted by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 10/08/2010
Be careful with fruit too! Fructose is even worse than sugar and many people are not aware of that!
Cayenne
Posted by Susan (Franklin Square , Ny, Usa) on 10/19/2010
★★★★★
This is amazing. I awoke with a severe sore throat this morning and tried the usual hot water/salt, peroxide, honey etc. I was desperate, so looked for another home remedy and this worked. I have gargled 3 times tonight, and my throat burns when I do, but 10 minutes later it feels so much better. So glad I found this site!
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 Ellen (Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada) on 11/13/2010
I have a homemade drink that I have used many times to eliminate sore throats which is my hot lemonade mixture. Use hot water as you would in making tea and put the juice of one lemon in with a dash of cayenne pepper (probably around 1/20 tsp. ) Then sweeten it with liquid stevia to taste. If you add more cayenne for medicinal purposes, then simple add more stevia to neutralize the taste of the cayenne pepper. Everytime I use this drink (although I will have several in a day) the next day I feel 100% better. Good luck, Ellen
Cayenne
Posted by Thomas (New York, Ny) on 09/06/2010
This was a fantastic cure.
Cayenne
Posted by Teslin (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 07/12/2010
★★★★★
Hi everyone! I am thirteen years old and I have had strep throat for 2 days. Nothing would help and then when I tried the cayenne pepper thing it got a lot better almost immediately! This is what I did: First I gargled with Cayenne Pepper and warm water and then right afterwards gargled with salt and warm water and then washed it all down with water. I did that two times. About half an hour ago I was almost crying my throat hurt so much and now it only hurts a little. It is certainly worth doing because it really works! I would really suggest it! Teslin
Cayenne
Posted by Monique (Middletown, Ct) on 06/24/2010
★★★★★
Cayenne Pepper eradicated my sore throat!!
Hi, Okay-I went home to try this remedy yesterday. Within 5 minutes my sore throat was gone and hasn't returned!!
Thank you Earth Clinic for doing what you do
Cayenne
Posted by Kathrine (The Colony, Texas) on 04/29/2010
★★★★★
Nobody will believe me BUT yesterday I read all these comments and decided to try the cayenne pepper. I have had a seriously congested nose & head for a week with a sore throat. Last night I made a big dish of spaghetti with sauce. I sprinkled a load of cayenne peper on it. This morning I was so much better. Honestly!! I feel better! I now have a bit of a cough but it's productive. I had more spaghettie with cayenne for lunch, coughed a lot but am doing much better overall! I had tried all sorts of meds and nothing was touching this.
Cayenne
Posted by Sarah (Palmdale, Ca) on 04/16/2010
★★★★★
I had the worst sore throat I'd ever experienced for six days. After trying throat sprays, lozenges of many kinds, tea, hot water, gargling with salt, etc. I had given up and was wondering if I would ever get relief (and some sleep!)
I mixed 1 teaspoon of cayenne with 8 oz. of hot water, put some chapstick on my lips (as others said it would help...and it did) and gargled with the concoction. Like many others I swallowed a bit, because I couldn't get it deep into my throat by gargling. I tried this twice for about 30 seconds each gargle, then waited 15 minutes and gargled again.
I'm not cured, but I feel 90% better. At a minimum, I know I will get some sleep tonight. I will keep gargling and hopefully be better soon!
Cayenne
Posted by Can (Mill Valley, Ca) on 04/10/2010
★★★★★
I had tried the gargling with hot water and cayenne and it didn't work as immediate as I needed.. haha but I did try sprinkling DRY cayenne on the back of my tongue and it worked!!!
Cayenne
Posted by Ynos420 (Lakewood, Ca, Usa) on 04/03/2010
★★★★★
Hello...I just wanted to let you all know that Cayenne Pepper works great! I had a really bad sore throat. It was so bad that it hurt even to swallow my own saliva! I went to the doctor thinking that I would get some relief! I saw the doctor and she told me that it was a viral sore throat and prescribed me a pain killer that I could gargle with. I tried it and it worked, but not well enough to where I was at least able to drink water.
After becoming increasingly irritated that not only was the trip to the doctor a waste of time, but so was the perscription. I started getting desperate for some sort of relief. So I did a google search for "best cure for a viral sore throat", and this site came up as the first result. There were an overwhelming 325 positive responses to this treatment. I figured I am willing to do ANYTHING to get some sort of relief. I went down to the local store and purchased Cayenne pepper for $.79. Got home got a cup of warm water and a teaspoon of the pepper, gargled twice, it was really spicy, but not unbearable (but it still no worse than having the sore throat). Afterward I immediatley felt better!
It still hurts a little, but it is 90% better than before.
This is a great site and I will use it from now on before I make a trip to the doctors! Keep up the good work!!! You guys ROCK!!!
Cayenne
Posted by Jerry (Harpster, Oh) on 04/06/2010
★★★★★
Yes it really works I had a sore throat for a couple days and did the gargled with it a couple times and within an hour i felt alot better got to love the home remedies this is a great site everyone should try it for there great remedies
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 Ericka (Chicago, Il) on 07/19/2011
I feel much better now and cayanne might be partially credited I posted the whole regimen that I did last night with the cayanne I also did 3 homeopathic things bought a super strong garlic supplement and a goldenseal throat spray. I also took advil according to the box for the pain early this morning and I no longer need it. I filled my antibiotic perscription but I will not use it so overall I change my answer to a sort of YEA
Cayenne
Posted by Soph (Pdx, Oregon) on 04/01/2010
★★★★★
I had the worst sore throat of my life I was sure it was strep, but tested negative. I put vaseline on my lips to coat them to avoid the burn then I mixed lemon juice in maple syrup( master cleanse) with as much cayenne pepper as I could stand and started drinking it throughout the day. Wow I felt so much better I could sleep in peace
