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.
Hot Tea
Posted by Sara (Des Moines, Iowa) on 11/01/2011
★★★★★
What I do, is I take a cup of boiling hot water let it cool a little, but while it is cooling I take a little slice of lemon and squeeze some juice out of it. Then stir in raw honey, after my tea is to my "darkness" of choosing I sit outside on cool fall nights and drink my tea slowly. And you **might** be thinking "But doesn't the cold make your cold worse?" Actually it helps me because I absolutely see no help in being stuck in the air that has been polluted by my sickness.
Vicks Vapor Rub
Posted by Raymond (Kongiganak, Alaska) on 10/28/2011
Im trying this vaporrub... See if it works. Yesterday I had a bad headache. Hope it works. God blessing :)
Hot Sauce
Posted by Isaac (Champaign, Il) on 10/25/2011
★★★★★
after 2 days of sore throat, I tried a Jack Daniels, honey and Lemon juice gargle, but it didn't really work well for me (probably because I couldn't stand it long enough to gargle) then tried mouthwash about an hour later and that didn't help at all. After coming to this site I tried hotsauce and lemon juice I meant to gargle but swallowed accidently. For about 30 seconds I was in the most god awful pain ever, then I hacked up a chunk of phlegm the size of a quarter that looked like it had a tiny bit of blood it it. I was worried, but I coughed up a smaller bit that didn't have any, and hadn't seen blood since, so I think it was just from violent coughing.
Long story short, this is one of those things that hurts like hell when you first take it, but after that initial "Oh god someone kill me" reaction you start to feel much better very fast.
Zinc
Posted by Paul (Freeport, Maine) on 10/20/2011
★★★★★
I've been building my own house for several years and have been "burning the candle on both ends" for too long. I'm on the edge of exhaustion much of the time and have become susceptable to sore throats. I learned that if I keep a keen sense on how my throat is feeling, I can stop a developing sore throat by taking a 50mg zinc tablet, chew it a bit to break it up (or you crush it between two spoons), take a sip of water and gargle it well to coat the entire throat and swallow it. Kills the virus in the throat every time. The only time it doesn't work on the first dose is when I don't pay attention to the discomfort and wait a day or two. Then it takes two or three applications (over a day) for a day or two to kill the virus in the throat. The longer you wait to apply the zinc after first feeling the throat getting sore, the more doses it will take. This works folks! I RARELY ever have an oncoming sore throat develop into anything worse anymore. The zinc kills the virus it in its tracks. Absolute truth.
Turmeric, Salt
Posted by Jjg (Tallahasee, Fl) on 10/12/2011
★★★★★
Warm one cup of water for 30secs to 1 min. Put a tablespoon of turmeric powder and less than half a tablespoon of salt. Drink. Will help sore throat and prevent oncoming cold and flu or lessen symptoms.
Honey
Posted by Melanie (Tampa, Fl) on 10/05/2011
★★★★★
Pure honey works better for sore throats than anything. Honey coats the throat and instantly takes away the pain. 2 or 3 spoonsful, or just hold the bottle over your mouth and squeeze the bottle until your mouth is full of honey.
Whiskey, Honey, Lemon
Posted by Notadoctor (New York) on 09/26/2011
How about old fashioned Tylenol and Cepacol? Works every time.
Hand Therapy
Posted by Dolly (Dallas, Tx) on 09/24/2011
★★★★★
I had a really bad sore throat, so bad it hurt to swallow, talk, eat, even drink a glass of water or tea. I found this website and tried the hand therapy, I'm not sure why but I tried it and withing 3 minutes the my throat healed. No lie and I was sick for 3 days before I tried it. The pain was gone and my throat felt smoother I could swallow without wincing.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Sam Jam (Burbank, Ca) on 09/14/2011
★★★★★
I am so excited to share this with you, my dad is a health guru, and I was feeling pretty crappy last night, the pain was so bad in my throat I was tearing up, and I was finding it soo hard to swollen and I just couldn't fall to sleep with the pain. I knew I needed something healthy in my system to repair me. So I wrote on a piece of paper (as it hurt so badly to talk) please make me a magic drink dad.. I didn't really think it would take away my pains and allow me to sleep but I did think that all the healthy stuff my dad would put in it would help me to recover quicker. My dad never gets sick because every day he has drinks like the one I'm about to share with you! But OH MY did it take my pain away and make me feel AMAZINGLY better!!!! I can talk, I can swallow, the pain is barely there, I do have to have this drink about every 3 hours to keep the pain down, when I'm awake but I just sip slowly :) the drink last night relieved the pain through the night. But then I woke up I definitely felt better but symptoms were slowly coming back. So I repeated the drink and wal-ar I feel amazing again! :) so here it is! Pleeeease try it you'll be amazed!! Try using all organic ingredients if you can!!
Fresh *garlic* clove chopped up really small, lump of fresh *ginger* chopped up small, flat teaspoon of powdered *cayenne pepper* (or as much as u can handle, teaspoon of *tumeric* powder, teaspoon of *cinnamon* powder, table spoon or two of *apple cider vinegar* (or as much as u can handle) spoonful of *raw honey*, squeezed *lemon juice* mix all that together with 8oz hot water let it sit for a few mins to all infuse. If you're not used to cayenne pepper like I'm not, at first it will burn your throat a little, but to me it actually felt good, coz I feel like I was attacking the pain. :) sip slowly and after a few mins of sipping you will start to feel relief :) stir in between sips when lumps of garlic and ginger settle to the bottom, try and swallow all the ingredients down. I swear this is the best remedy I have ever tried! It started last night and im now on my first day I'm interested on seeing how quickly I recover from all this goodness I'm feeding my body!! :) My mom is making me a homemade organic soup of carrot and ginger puree, it sounds soo good :) I'm excited!! I'm a lucky one to have my family look after me when I'm sick, I'm 23 and still loving the love ;) hope this helps a lot of you like it did me!! Also if you get a chance look up the book by Louise Hay, "You Can Heal Your Life" it talks about the reasonings behinds coughs, colds, sore throats, and other ailments :) love and good healing energy to you all!! Xoxo
Whiskey, Honey, Lemon
Posted by Kaylee (Philadelphia, Pa) on 09/06/2011
★★★★★
My grandmother told me she got this remedy from her mother and passed it down to me: whiskey, honey, and lemon. Use equal parts of each and mix together. It may not sound like the most appealing thing out there, but I promise it will relieve any sore throat!
Vinegar
Posted by Naomi (Ottawa, Ontario) on 08/07/2011
★★★★★
I tried it and it worked great. I had been previously using just lemon and honey, but the vinegar made a noticable difference.
Vinegar
Posted by Jasmeena (Winnipeg, Manitoba/canada) on 07/31/2011
★★★★★
I have had the worst sore throat for the past 2 days, I couldn't even swallow because of the pain. I tried this because I was desperate. Medicine wasn't working at all. This help A WHOLE LOT. It doesn't have a bad taste and works instantly. The pain has gone down by a million.
Hot Tea
Posted by Saida (Nyc, Ny) on 07/29/2011
are you sure? my mom usually put vicks but I can tell that hot tee is good 4 u because the hot steem will heal him.
Rum
Posted by Sam (Dayton, Oregon) on 07/14/2011
why do you spit out the rum, but drink the mouthwash? since your not sapose to swallow mouthwash but drink rum.
Salt
Posted by Tasha (Bancroft, Ontario) on 07/09/2011
★★★★★
HOORAY FOR SALT! It's been my best friend today. I was sick yesterday (bad cold), I went out to help walk the dogs in the kennel and had to break up a dog fight. I was bit on my hand, punctured my palm deeply, inflamed the back of my hand. It's still inflamed and it's been about 12h. I soaked my hand in warm salt water and so far no infection, less pain in the wound :)
My throat is still sore from the cold, so I found this site. I just tried the salt water gargle and already is feels much better. Before I was cringing with each swallow, but now it's a little more bearable. I'm definitely going to continue with it until I feel better! Thanks, everyone.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Nettle (London, England) on 06/27/2011
★★★★☆
I was in such a state the other day with severe earache and sore throat. Never experienced such pain in my life. Have avoided antibiotics for 15 years but in my mad state of pain and fear, started taking amoxillin and ear sprays the other day. My stomach started hurting, had diarrhoea and I somehow felt I was making a mistake taking the AB.
So, have spent over a day on this informative website and did the following using a lot of the great ideas. Firstly, got some spicy south Indian soup from a Sri Lankan restaurant, with black pepper, cayenne, garlic, Ginger... Really nice. Called Rasam. Next, drank 8oz water with 2tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar with a good sprinkle of cayenne. Half hour later, did neti with 4oz water with 2drops of Apple Cider Vinegar in each nostril. Painful but it seemed to slow down the post nasal drip and let mucus come out through my nostrils as must have been blocked in the sinuses which may have actually caused the ear infection. Had a break, then sipped the following - half a tsp of cayenne, 1tbsp of manuka honey, 1 tbsp of acv, 2 warm tbsp of water. Yummy. Throat felt better, like the tight ring around my neck had dissolved. Couple of hours later, my throat is much better but still dry but not painful to swallow, left ear pain and side of neck still present, rt ear pain gone and reduced p n drip. Still have headache but have not taken any painkillers.
Tonite will put hydrogen peroxide in ear and do a stronger cayenne syrup and repeat neti again. Also taking grapefruit seed extract drops(5) in coconut juice. Was so fearful of
Strep throat, but after reading so many of the positive threads, especially Ted's info. on this website with such brave and some comical souls, decided to do back down the natural
remedy route putting fear aside. Hope all I do works, and I am able to go to menorca for hols next week.
Cayenne Pepper Recipes
Posted by Dave (Fayetteville, Ar) on 06/25/2011
I have used cayenne pepper a few times this year, after reading about it here and on other sites. I find that at the least it significantly reduces not just a sore throat but also cuts the life of a cold way down. At best, if used at the onset of symptoms, it completely stops a cold from progressing at all!
The first time I used it, it was in some sort of tomato soup recipe along with garlic, etc. The next time, I didn't want to hassle with that, so I simply used 1/2 tsp in a small mug of peach iced tea, heated in the microwave... it worked just as well.
Right now, I'm sitting sipping on a small mug of OJ with a half tsp mixed in!
Good Luck!!!
Hot Tea
Posted by Nana (Chicago, Il) on 06/17/2011
★★★★★
My mother always gives me hot tea with a touch of lemon and a hint of honey for my sore throught. To be honest, nothing works better!
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Kikiloise (Novi, North Carolina Usa) on 06/05/2011
★★★★★
when I have a cold or a sore throat or I lose my voice I take a tblspoon of honey and apple cider vinegar... works like a charm! The after taste may burn a little bit but not bad.
Vinegar
Posted by Sara (Edmonton, Alberta Canada) on 05/29/2011
★★★★☆
Vinegar Syrup Lemon, it may taste wierd but it instantly worked its magic. I felt a burning sensation, 10 seconds later my throat felt ALOT better. The sore throat isnt completely gone but the pain of swallowing has eased 100x better.
Vinegar
Posted by Gina (Denver, Co) on 05/20/2011
★☆☆☆☆
I have a sinus and ear infection and my throat has been killing me for 3 days. Went to the Dr. and got an antibiotic but my throat is still raw so I'm ready to try something "natural". I just tried 8 oz (240 ml) of warm water with a TBSP cidar vinegar, TBSP lemon juice and 2 TBSP honey. OMG I thought I was going to puke (maybe use less vinegar) I drank it all as quickly as I could and my throat is still killing me. Not a fan. Gimme drugs over this "remedy" any day.
Homemade Remedy
Posted by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 05/03/2011
Here is a remedy I found in one of my books, Practical Aromatherapy. It works quite well if you have a sore throat, a cough or a virus infection:
Three drops of essential oil (maybe clove, tea trea, lavender or any other antiseptic)
1 tsp of alchool (maybe vodka if you have it or another one, I have only tried with vodka because I try to use alchool I have to use in the kitchen which is then left over)
1/2 a cup of water
Stir before each mouthful. I sometimes use it as a mouthwash.
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.
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Penny (Los Angeles, Ca) on 04/05/2011
★★★★★
For sore throats and sinus problems I add cayenne to a broth of one crushed piece of garlic, one table spoon of ACV, soy sauce to taste, one dash of toasted sesame oil and a teaspoon of honey. I pour boiling water over this mixture in a mug and drink it like a cup of tea. It tastes pretty good. The garlic, ACV and cayenne really help to knock out a cold.
Vinegar
Posted by Tom (Opole, Poland) on 04/05/2011
★★★★★
Get a small plastic spray bottle, mix half vinegar and half water, and spray it at the back of your throat whenever it feels sore. I used to get sore throats all the time, but I haven't had one since using this method.
Cayenne Pepper Recipes
Posted by Krystine (Memphis, Tn) on 03/27/2011
★★★★★
I am a big tea drinker and when my throat started to become sore I went to my lemon tea. Then I read about the cayenne and was curious... So I mixed some things together and created the best hot drink for a cold and or sore throat. Here it is:
1 lemon (squezze as much juice as you can out of that lemon.)
1 lemon tea (I used Lemon Youkou from Teavana)
1 peppermint tea (again from Teavana)
some natural honey
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper powder
It's the best cup ever. It clears out my nose and helps my throat. I love this drink now. And would recomend it to anyone. Unless you are alergic to one of the ingredients in which case I would say not to try this... ;-)
Salt
Posted by Chris Herring (Beaverton, Oregon, Usa) on 03/13/2011
A small handful of salt is easier than cayyene pepper, salt on a wet finger placed under ones tongue won't make you sneeze as much.
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Gail (Las Vegas, Nv) on 02/14/2011
Let the cayenne and glycerin sit for two days? My throat hurt so bad I didn't have time to wait. I mixed it according to your suggestion and immediately dropped it into my throat. Mixing it with glycerine did produce a sweet flavor. Within in minutes I was able to swallow with much less discomfort.
I'd like to know why I should wait two days before using the concoction.
Thanks
Ice
Posted by Linda (Fairview, Oklahoma, Usa) on 02/04/2011
★★★★★
Ice for sore throat. Ice; plain and simple. I have bad sinuse drainage which can really irrtate my throat which can lead to an infection. I can wake up with needles in my throat. Chop up the ice and suck on pieces in the back of your mouth. I don't have an ice crusher so I put cubes in a clean dish towel and whack them with a hammer. This always works. Sometimes with only one treatment.
Cayenne Pepper Recipes
Posted by Kayla (Dallas, Tx) on 02/01/2011
★★★★★
If I ever have a sore throat or just need a boost, I LOVE this recipe.
Boil 1.5 cups water
add fresh grated ginger (I used about 3 Tablespoons)
add fresh garlic (2-3 cloves chopped)
add cayenne (to taste, I use a lot)
add turmeric
add fresh lemon (whole, then throw peal in there)
add about 1 tablespoon honey or agave.
This is a great detoxifier and a sore throat cure!
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Jim (Fairfield, Iowa) on 01/13/2012
I found I got much better results with the cayenne warm water gargle if laid down on my back when gargling. It seems that standing up I was not getting the liquid back far enough. My soreness or pain is farther in and up towards my left ear and laying down helped the water go back farther. I had to cover up my mouth with a cloth so as not splatter cayenne water on my face or eyes. I wonder if some of the Nays are not getting the liquid back far enough? and THANKS to all...
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Debbi (Delta, CO) on 04/07/2009
I tried the 3 tbsps of honey with 3 tbsps of lime juice, since I didn't have lemon juice on hand. I generously sprinkled cayenne pepper and added a few drops of water. Heated it 20-30 seconds and drank. I tasted pretty good and I could immediately tell that in was "working" on the sore areas of my throat. I immediately got my voice back and am very hopeful that this will give me relief throughout the course of this sore throat. I will repeat as necessary until the sore throat is gone. I speculate that it doesn't cure the sore throat, but numbs it. But that is good enough for me. With the symptoms reduced, I can certainly wait this thing out!
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Chloe (Amherst, MA) on 03/11/2009
I tried the lemon and honey trick, with about 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne, microwaved it for 20 sec, then tried to gargle it and burned my tongue and bottom of my mouth badly. Make sure it's not too hot, or it will just make it worse.
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Storie (Seattle, WA)
Sprinkle some cayenne pepper into a mixture of about 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp honey - microwave for about 20 seconds and then stir. Drink it while it's hot.
It doesn't necessarily "cure" my sore throats, but it always makes it feel better. I get tonsillitis that seems to be triggered by my sinus problems and constant post-nasal drip. The cayenne pepper always helps me cough up all the nastiness back there.
If you like pickle juice (I love it), I have also found it helps to drink a couple sips of it mixed with cayenne pepper. This doesn't soothe my throat like the honey/lemon, but it does help me cough up excess mucus.
