The sore throat season is upon us. Here are a list of home remedies which may bring you some alleviating comfort much sooner than natural healing on its own.
The remedies suggested below are not guaranteed paths to curing your sore throat. However, they have the benefit of being natural and they will bring you some comfort.
A number of the recipes are definitely first choice solutions for youngsters, kids and grandkids.
Gargling the prepared solutions is the optimum recommendation. If symptoms are not alleviated after a day in bed, a visit to the family doctor is recommended. However, even she/he may advise bed and rest for a couple of days. The addition of gargling will only help.
Here are a dozen gargling recipes to help fight those ‘dirty little germs.’
SALT and WATER
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
(as hot as you can comfortably tolerate)
1 tbls Listerine (optional)
Gargle for about a minute and spit out the solution. [ Discard the leftover solution and a new batch for each gargling. ] Recommend you do this 2-3 times a day.
LEMON and WATER
1 teaspon fresh lemon juice
1 cup water
Gargle with this solution 2 – 3 times a day. Discard any gargling solution by spitting it out. Cellophane cover unfinished solution for the next gargling.
GINGER, HONEY and LEMON
[ to relieve a sore throat ]
1 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. honey
½ fresh lemon juice
½ cup hot water
Gargle 2-3 times a day. Discard used solution. Best to make a fresh solution for each use.
HOT SAUCE and WATER
4-6 drops Tabasco sauce or Frank’s HOT Sauce
1 cup hot water
This gargling solution will burn but it helps reduce the bacteria in the throat. Try doing this 4-5 times in a day.
TUMERIC and WATER
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. salt
1 cup hot water
Gargle and discard. Do this 3-5 times a day.
CLOVE Tea
1-3 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup water (room temperature)
Gargle and discard the solution 3-5 times a day. The gargling will soothe and help heal your sore throat.
TOMATO JUICE, WATER and HOT PEPPER SAUCE
½ cup tomato juice
½ cup hot water
8-10 drops hot pepper sauce
Gargle and discard the solution 3-5 times a day. The antioxidant properties of the tomato juice may help remedy the sore throat faster than the natural way.
GREEN Tea
Gargle with room temperature green tea 4-5 times a day. Green tea naturally fights bacteria and it will kill bacteria in your sore throat.
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR and SALT
1 tblsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup of warm water
Gargle with this solution several times a day as needed. The acidic coating created by the solution will help kill the germs in the throat.
ECHNACEA and WATER
2 tsp. tincture of echnacea
1 cup water
Gargle 3-4 times daily. The herbal virus killing power of echinacea boosts your own immune system helping heal your sore throat.
MYRRH and WATER
3-4 drops myrrh
1 cup of water
The healing process may be speeded up with with myrrh (a few drops of tincture of myrrh in a cup of water). Highly astringent, myrrh combats inflammation as well as acting as an antiseptic. Gargle six times a day—a bit of an effort, but well worth it.
LICORICE WATER
1 tsp. licorice syrup or powder
1 cup water
Gargle and discard, 3-4 times a day.
Licorice root can soothe a sore throat as well as eliminating cough-inducing phlegm.
RASPBERRY TEA
2 tsp. dried raspberry tea leaves
Make a tea with the raspberry leaves. Steep for 10 minutes. Strain and cool. Gargle with the solution 3-5 times a day.
This old home remedy is believed to treat everything from flu to open wounds. One recipe calls for pouring 1 cup of boiling water over 2 teaspoons of dried tea leaves. Steep for 10 minutes, then strain and let cool a bit. Gargle while warm.
Unfortunately, there is no immediate cure for a sore throat but some of these recipes will definitely alleviate some of the symptoms very quickly.
Source: Readers Digest Magazine
