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.
Mouthwash
Posted by Inka (Narnia, Neverneverland) on 09/23/2012
★★★★★
This is a definite yea. As soon as I tried it, my throat began feeling better.
Iodine
Posted by Sarah (Dallas, Tx) on 07/02/2012
★★★★★
I have tonsillitis with tonsil exulates (could be strep, but the pain isn't severe enough, though I have been taking wild oregano oil internally that would have been fighting the infection).
My throat was really hurting to swallow, and I had mucus sitting at the back of my throat that I couldn't get rid of (I don't have a cold, cough and bad allergies right now). It made my mouth taste awful. I read that applying iodine to your wrists and also gargling with a diluted solution can help. I did it last night, and not only did I wake up with my throat much less sore, but the feeling of mucus at the back is nearly entirely gone as well as the bad taste. I used Nascent Iodine, but I believe Lugol's can be used as well.
Cayenne, Salt, Lemon
Posted by Carl (Hoquiam, Wa) on 06/06/2012
★★★★★
Barely been able to eat for 2 days. Swallowing is torture, I wince everytime. I mixed 1tsp cayenne, 1tsp salt, 1tsp lemon in a cup of water. Gargled for a couple of minutes, then I spit out the concoction but swallowed what was left in my mouth. Took a couple of minutes but it feels literally 100% better. Thanx ya'll
I still continued the treatment for a couple of hours. Yeah I can eat!!!!
Vitamin C
Posted by Lim (Singapore) on 05/26/2012
★★★★★
The simple cure that worked for me is as follows:- Just break up a Vitamin C tablet into smaller pieces and put one small piece on the tongue. Slowly suck it like a sweet. You will feel relief. Repeat that periodically when necessary. After a few times, your throat would not be painful anymore.
Manuka Honey
Posted by Spaingirl (Toronto, Canada) on 05/09/2012
★★★★★
I had a sore throat for just over 3 weeks. It wasn't strep but it sure was annoying.... Just wasn't going away and getting worse. I went to the doctor and she said I can't prescribe anything because it's not strep (thank goodness cause I HATE antibiotics). Now what? I'm sick and tired of this pain!
I came across a post that mentioned trying Manuka honey gargle. Here's what I did. I heated up 1/2 cup water (just warm) and stirred in a teaspoon of good quality Manuka Honey along with 1 drop of oregano oil(mix it up). I gargled several times a day for 3 days and lo and behold my Sore throat was finally gone! Miracle! I love this site and I love these remedies. Reminds me of the good old natural cures my mom from Spain used to use on us as kids.
Oregano Oil
Posted by Susan (Panama City, Florida) on 04/07/2012
★★★★★
I recently began to have a sore throat and drank three drops of oregano oil in a oz of water three times of day for four days and sore throat went away without me even getting sicker.
Soup
Posted by Extra Guy! (Honolulu, Hawaii, honolulu ) on 03/08/2012
★★★★★
For a nice way to relieve pain of a sore throught, just have a nice bowl of warm lentil soup! Have some potatoes, lentils(duh), a tiny bit of onions, and voila! You have a tasty soup that helps you! I know this doesn't involve cayenne but it's very helpful too( I've tried cayenne it works! )
Over the Counter
Posted by Trader (Muscle Shoals, Alabama) on 02/03/2012
Simply take a small packet of BC Powder and pour the powder on your tonque. Take about 1/4 glass of either water or tea into your mouth and swish this around until the powder is diluted. Now! Gargle as long as you can getting the mixture around the areas of your throat that is hurting.... then swallow.
In about 3 minutes you will feel the pain lessening... In about 15 minutes it will feel even better.... If the sore throat returns in a few hours repeat the same..... after the second or third time it usually will not come back....
You can think of me later.... go get the powder....
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 Tracy (Huntsville, Alabama) on 01/19/2012
I make a cayenne Tea. First boil a cup of water. Add 1 TABLESPOON of cayenne and let it steep for 1/2 hour.
Now, boil another cup of water and add 1 TABLESPOON (2 if you are tolerant) of the steeped cayenne to that.
I keep the full strength in the fridge and dilute as above then drink it and/or gargle with it liberally whenever I have a cold, sore throat, or even the chills! Also great for healthy gums!
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Ltodd85 (Tampa, Florida) on 04/09/2012
I tried the Cayenne, sea salt with warm water and it worked. I had a real sore throat and when I first saw Cayenne I thought wow. Won't that burn? It did not burn at all and my throat was not sore at all about a minute after gargling it. I am glad I came across this website.
Olive Oil
Posted by Ranjana (Richmond, Ca, Usa) on 11/23/2011
★★★★★
I visited earthclinic.com for the first time yesterday looking for more info about oil pulling-I have major gum issues. I tried e.v. Olive oil this morning b/c I read that sesame & sunflower can leave you with a sore throat and I didn't want to aggravate the one I already had. So I did a tablespoon of EVOO & swished for 10 minutes... and, remarkably, my sore throat was gone! Incredible! I hope it helps my gums too.
Whiskey, Honey, Lemon
Posted by Diane (Collegeville, Pa) on 11/04/2011
Thank You Kaylee from Philadelphia! I have been looking for this mixture. My great -aunt gave this to me once when I was a kid and it worked fabulous, so much so I remember it to this day-I just couldn't remember the correct proportions. I am now 47- this works great!
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.
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.
Honey
Posted by Veronica (Norwalk, Ct Usa) on 11/25/2011
★☆☆☆☆
Honey alone DIDN'T work for me. It did absolutely nothing. I tried salt, honey and ACV and those only worked temporarily. The cayenne with a little bit of honey is doing the best job. I'm going to add ACV and gargle for a while.
I've had this sore throat for 3 days now, so I know it won't be cured immediately, but it's doing a great job of making me feel a little better, and not just temporarily.
Whiskey, Honey, Lemon
Posted by Notadoctor (New York) on 09/26/2011
How about old fashioned Tylenol and Cepacol? Works every time.
Whiskey, Honey, Lemon
Posted by Brittany (Craigsville, West Virginia) on 12/08/2011
Notadoctor- if you're pregnant or breastfeeding you can't use many over the counters.
