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.
Cranberry
Posted by cameron (seattle, washington/U.S.A) on 03/19/2009
★★★★★
Ok I've had a sore throat for a while and i like to drink cranberry juice i don't often get sick but l tried warm cranberry for my sore throat and it worked wonders. Drink more than just 1 glass keep drinking it. it might sting a lot (scale to 1-10 a 7) but it makes the pain of swallowing go away after that =D
Hot Sauce
Posted by Mark (Cambridge, Ontario) on 03/17/2009
★★★★★
i tried this one with Franks with cayanne in it.it w orked great five drops in a cup of luke warm water. and presto no sore throat.
Hot Sauce
Posted by Mike (Detroit, Michigan) on 02/20/2009
★★★★★
I gargled with 3-8 ounce cups warm water with hot sauce diluted and ate some hot chicken noodle soup sprinkled with hotsauce in and my sore throat disappeared. I want to thank you and your community for great remedy.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by corie (turnersville, nj usa) on 01/30/2009
★★★★★
a glass of hot water and salt helped my sore throat. i just gargled it until the glass was empty. i did this repeatedly every few hours or so. i also found that hot tea with honey and lemon works but not as long as the salt water. the tea just tastes better. vitamin water helps keep the sore throat away for a couple of hours. i would drink a bottle of it over the course of 1 to 2 hours after doing one of the remedies. ricolas dont work that well but they do help coughs and sometimes congestion it really depends on the flavor you get.
for post coughing pain i tried this really weird concoction but it worked. i used skim milk (don't use any other milk but skim or you will get flem) and a pinch of cinnamon. it helped with the pain you get after you have been coughing for a few hours.
Acid Reflux Connection
Posted by Bonny (Nassau, Bahamas) on 03/15/2010
Vocal help suggestions anyone?
3 months ago what I thought was a discomfort in throat & neck from maybe too much singing is still with me after 4 different antibiotics, numerous tests & 2 scopes from ENT doctors. One thought it was acid reflux due to the inflammed appearance where the oesophagus meets the voice box....10 days on omeprazole made me feel worse . The next gave me anti-inflammatories which seemed to help but once stopped, the raw feeling & sensitivity on right side of throat returned. I cannot even speak for long without a strained feeling, nevermind sing.......any suggestions, this is so depressing.......
Stop Talking
Posted by Ann-Taylor (Private, Caliornia) on 01/12/2009
★★★★★
I've had a sore throat for at least 2 or 3 days. At that time every time I stood up I would get very dizzy and everything would turn black for 2 or 3 seconds. It it hurt when I swallowed, the pain came from the right side of my throat. I've looked up the information I was going to maybe buy some Cayenne Pepper but later on, I stopped talking for at least 6 hours STRAIGHT. It helped a lot, although this information may not help for some other people with worse sore throat. Although, I did eat and drink. All I didn't do was not to talk just kept my mind busy on something else.
Coconut Oil
Posted by Pam (Chicago, Ill.) on 09/02/2012
Can you be more specific how to use.
Vinegar
Posted by Tory (Jackson, California) on 12/21/2008
★★★★★
I'm suffering from the worst sore throat I've EVER had, and I'm 51. I read all the cures and the most posted about Apple cider & vinegar, so I didn't have any vinegar here, but I did have these pickled garlic pieces, I chewed one and drank some juice from it, its the first I've had relief in 4 days!!!
Mouthwash
Posted by Christina (Tallahassee, Florida) on 12/08/2008
★★★★★
I tried gargling mouthwash for my sore throat and it worked right away. My throat started to hurt a little while after but its much more tollerable now that I can actually swallow! I used about a cm over the line inside the cap of the mouthwash.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Erica (NYC, NY) on 11/28/2008
★★★★☆
apple cider vinegar, lavender oil, peppermint tea, sea salt
I read through the blog and pulled everything i could find in the cupboard. Yesterday felt my throat starting to swell and woke up in the middle of the night with left throat gland / lymph node really painful and hard to swallow.
Ended up gargling warm water with apple cider vinegar, lemon and honey, then drank a cup of water with 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. drank 3 cups of peppermint tea with lemon and honey, applied lavender oil to the glad with a warm water press for a few minutes, also sprayed echinacea/tea tree oil in my throat and even drank a glass of water with sea salt.
Sounds a bit much? Probably... but it's only been an hour and a half and I think the swelling is definitely reducing, i'm definitely feeling a lot better and not as worried thats for sure. I think a lot may be psychological too - the more stuff you take for it, the more you think it will heal and so it does. So make sure to stay positive. :)
White Pepper
Posted by Mary Ann (Rural, South Africa) on 11/03/2008
★★★★★
Thank you for your miracle site. Being pensioners money is an affliction in itself. What joy to find this site. Well here is my small contribution.
Re-aligning a dropped little tongue. At the onset of a bout of sore throat or flu, the small tongue seems to drop back into the throat, affecting the ability to swollow. and is also very uncomfortable, almost worse than the flu its self. Take a small amount of pepper, preferbly white pepper, on the very tip of a round tipped knife and carefully dab onto the tip of the little tongue. This will pull the tongue back into position.
I tell anyone who will listen about this amazing site.
Tequila
Posted by Jacob (Costa Mesa, Ca) on 10/26/2008
★★★★★
I have very sensitive sinuses. I cannot, in my entire life, recall a year where I did not get to enjoy the wonders of a sinus infection. For me this means, among other things, lots and lots of very sore throats. A few years ago I was informed of an unorthodox sounding homeopathic remedy which I tried and have had tremendous success with.
What strikes me as odd is that this remedy is not at all featured on your sore throat article as a popular solution.
At the time I was working in a bar as a bouncer and between the yelling that is necessary to control a crowd and the sore throat I had even breathing had become a labored process. I asked the bartender what she did in these situations. She told me that she drank a shot of tequila and had learned to do so from one of our cooks, Luciano (Lucy for short.) I thought she was messing with me and didnt appreciate it. So I approached Lucy when she wasnt around and asked him. He told me about the tequila. He is a notorious joker, so I still didn't believe. I asked our other cook Pedro, and he also told me he would take a shot of tequila. It was just too much, so I figured I'd do it just to prove them wrong. I know that you prefer to keep your website label free, but they were pretty insistant that I use Patron, and I will explain why in a moment. Patron is very pungent, but the silver label is incredibly smooth as tequila goes, and that is pretty much the only reason to use it above other tequilas. I have used Cuervo as a cheap alternative and had similar success, the Patron is just more pleasant going down. As a rule drinking is a bad idea with a sore throat because it will dehydrate you and aggravate the condition and further your discomfort. If you can keep it to just ONE shot though the results are amazing.
That night, and every time I have had a sore throat worth treating since then, the shot of tequila worked miracles. Relief within about a minute, and by the next morning my throat felt good enough to let me yell again. I took another shot the following night and it was all cleared up by the next day. I get predictably similar results every time I repeat this remedy. I must stress that keeping yourself to just 1 or 2 shots is PARAMOUNT. A sore throat is not a good reason to go out and have a night of binge drinking. You will regret it.
I also understand that this remedy might not be practical depending on your religeon. You will, however, find that most religeons are quite tolerant of using mind affecting drugs when it is done so in a medical capacity. I myself subscribe to a religeon that prohibits me from drinking, smoking, or imbibing anything that might limit my ability to function in any way. But even I am allowed to take vicodin when disabled by headaches or tequila when rendered mute by a sore throat.
Tequila
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 10/27/2008 392 posts
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
Tequila is long known to help sore throat in some cases, but it won't stop recurrence of sore throat. The reason for sore throat is virus or bacteria. So even a beer with plenty of tabasco sauce or halbenero pepper sauce may actually kill the sore throat too. Even a lemon juice with tabasco sauce or hot sauce also worked just as well without the alcohol. In certain cases very sore throat infection runs deep into the throat, the alcohol reaches the pathogens quicker killing them. But it can't be used frequently and I used only in extreme circumstances when alcohol is actually added. The reason is that alcohol also destroys the immune system in the process and takes days to recover because it cause the body to be metabolically acidosis. The other issue is alcohol has a tendency to be addictive to some people and then they start rationalizing for their continued use. I have found people who use alcohol added sore throat remedy will have a high recurrence rate compared to a lemon, baking soda or hydrogen peroxide, for the simple reason that alcohol also harms healthy cells and hence it lower's the body's immune system.
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Posted by Tracy (Dearborn, MI) on 10/16/2008
★★★★★
Cayenne Pepper is great for circulation, but when something is 'hot' like a sore throat, don't you want to cool it? I use Grapefruit Seed Extract now - known for killing the strep virus (and I had strep 6 times in one year and hated taking antibiotics) ... so I was on a quest. Anyways, GSE turns out to be a Godsend, kills internal bugs without biotics... great thing! Brush teeth to kill sore throats - or gargle, if more severe. Great thing is, it numbs it. Raw throat, however, can't seem to snuff. What do you to when your 7 year old has a terrible raw throat and can't swallow? Darn!
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Jane (Grove City, OH, USA) on 10/14/2008
★★★★★
Listerine. It cures your throat sores immediately, doesn't taste gross, and it makes your breath smell better. Use the amount you usually do for mouthwash rinsing, or if you haven't used it before use about one tablespoon. Gargle it as far back as you can without swallowing it. It really takes away the burn!
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Jennifer (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) on 02/04/2009
★★★★☆
I used anticeptic mouthwash during the first day I noticed an irrated throat. I used the normal amount stated on the bottle for mouthwash but I made sure to allow it to reach the far back of my throat. It does help it to immediately feel better, but I wouldn't say that it cured my ailment. I have had a sore throat for several days and today I tried both Cayenne, and later ACV straight with honey like a shot. Just now I tried the salt water gargle. All have helped but we will see how fast I recover.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Andrew (Lansing, Michigan) on 04/18/2009
★★★★☆
when i heard that listerine worked, i tried gurgling it in my mouth a couple times. It works but it doesnt cure your sore throat completely. It makes your throat feel alot better. And it gives you a fresh breath.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Lea (Wabash, In) on 12/16/2009
★☆☆☆☆
The Antiseptic mouth wash work slightly for me when I treid this. I think relief in that area the mouthwash was able to reach lasted for a total of 5ish minutes. I have an extreme sore throat which from what I've read sounds like it could be strep or Mono. Though I've had both tests done for it, saddly it isn't either but a bad viral one. Salt Water provided more relief for me than mouthwash.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Emily (Cape Coral, Florida, United States) on 07/16/2010
★★★★★
I had a really bad sore throat and my friend was supposed to come over later. I read this, ran upstairs, and started to gargle. To be honest I didn't check how much I used, but I would assume it was about two tablespoons. As soon as I started gargling I started to feel better. It definantly worked for me.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Gerald (Columbus, Ohio) on 04/22/2011
Listerine will help with a sore throat, but only a little. The reason for that is the fact that you are not swallowing the listerine. So basically you are only treating the upper part of the throat. The other remedys are having you swallow some of the concoction so the entire throat is being treated.
Basically, for any sore throat remedy to be really effective it needs to be something you swallow, and be something that clings to the surface of the throat tissues after you have swallowed so it continues to work even after you have finished gargling/swallowing. Thats why pepper works well.... the particles cling to the mouth and throat.
Horseradish
Posted by Lynn (Albany, Georgia) on 09/30/2008
★★★★★
Cayeene Pepper will cure your sore throat. Living in the south we are more prone to allergy related problems and believe in grandmas remedies. My cure for sinus and sore throat problems is a spoonful of horseradish, coated with Lousianna Hot Sauce (made from cayenne pepper) and take it till you feel better. I usually eat about 3 heaping spoonfuls every hour till it is gone. Usually gone by the next day.
Urine Therapy
Posted by Dianna (Austin, TX) on 08/25/2008
★★★★★
hello! i wanted to write that when i read about urine therapy someone it made sense to me and i tried it. at first i just tried putting morning pee on my hands and face and i could really tell the difference - my skin looks way younger when i do this and i do not get pimples unless i stop! i am 48 and just starting menopause and was having terrible acne for the first time in years and this really helped. then i got a sore throat and decided to try the universal remedy after other remedies didn't seem to be helping. well, when i put 4 drops of the universal remedy under my tongue - within a few minutes my throat felt better! also i found that if i sniffed a couple of drops of fresh urine in my nose that my stuffed up nose would clear up almost immediately! this works folks! i am amazed!
i even have my boyfriend peeing on his feet when he has foot fungus now. he was skeptical - but it worked for him too!
also i put a drop in my eyes when they are red and/or itchy and get relief.
try it! it is free and it won't hurt you - it is yours.
dianna
EC: Read more about Urine Therapy here.
Mouthwash
Posted by Jonathan (Rocklin, CA) on 08/07/2008
★★★★★
Anteseptic mouthwash gargled on the back of the throat effectively relieves mild to severe soar throat pain. This method also shortens the length of an average soar throat. I have told many friends about this method and have received it's praise every time!
