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 Pepper Recipes
Posted by Ken (Arlington, VA) on 02/03/2007
★★★★★
Simple remedy that is working for me to assist in ridding your body of sinus issues and assisting in the reduction of sore throat is just this.... 1 cup of lightly pre sweetened tea, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1 vile of ginseng and royal jelly. Heat in the cup for about 2 minutes, let set for another couple of minutes and slowly drink. You will start to feel the sore throat go away while your sinuses drainage. It also appears to help me relax. Always remember to discard of any excess mucus in order to get rid of the bacteria that has collected in your sinus cavities during the time of mucus build up. Good luck to everyone.
Cayenne Pepper Recipes
Posted by Janeene (Saginaw, MI) on 12/28/2006
★★★★★
I have used this remedy for YEARS and can tell you, IT WORKS!! The only thing that I do different is, I add an equal amount of ground ginger along with the cayenne pepper into a cup of HOT water and allow it to steep with a lid on the cup for 5 minutes. Then allow it to cool to a comfortable temperature (or add a little cold water) and gargle. This may seem time consuming when you are in a lot of pain but it is worth the wait! Allowing it to steep like that makes sure the spices are at their best. The cayenne brings the blood to the throat helping circulation for those well needed "healing soldiers" and the ginger calms the throat and helps reduce the swelling. I sometimes drink this as a tea on those cold winter nights to help me stay warm! For you hunters out there...sprinkle cayenne in your socks to keep your feet warm out in the field. The moisture from your feet activates the heat of the pepper keeping those toes TOASTY!!! CAYENNE PEPPER IS THE BEST!
Oregano Oil
Posted by Sterling (Honolulu, HI) on 02/18/2006
★★★★★
sore throat,colds ,flu, parasites. Oil of oregano - the king of herbs, books have been written about it, as well as many studies and years of tests. I myself have used it for many years with stellar results and also raves from thankful patients. A couple drops sublingually held for thirty seconds will get a bit intense. This will get it into your blood stream asap. Your sore throat will be gone in less than fifteen minutes.
Hand Therapy
Posted by Bob (Mesa, AZ)
★★★★★
When I have a sore throat, I place the palm of my hand across my throat with fingers on one side and thumb on the other. The heat generated from the contact of my hand ends my soreness after about 15 or 20 minutes. It works most of the time for me.
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.
Lugol's Iodine
Posted by PayItForward (PNW) on 10/23/2025 68 posts
★★★★★
Woke up last night with a nasty sore throat. I was already run down with a GI tummy IBS flare up and too exhausted to prepare a 3am concoction. But as soon as I got up I grabbed the simplest ingredients on hand: H202 hydrogen peroxide 3% in a 75/25 water dilution and gargled 1 minute. I also dipped Qtips and put H202 in my ears. Next, waited 15-30 minutes and then put 3 drops of 5% Lugol's iodine in a little water apx 1 Tbsp, just enough to gargle and not dilute too much, and gargled appx another 30 seconds. Within 20-30 minutes the pain had significantly reduced from razor blade feeling to stinging. Sipping warm green tea now with 2 full tsp of unpasteurized honey. I figured the two would be a double whammy and it was. Will continue H202 gargle every 2-3 hrs today. Also a simple nasal saline solution to get the upper back sinus/throat area.
As sore throats can be both viral or bacterial, when I break my fast today I'll take a small meal and add Vit C (every few hours totaling 5000mg throughout the day - the body can only absorb so much at once). Zinc (mega dose up to 75mg when sick. Selenium. Magnesium (350-450mg elemental. Quercetin 1000mg in 3 doses when sick. D3 5000mg. NAC (1200-2500mg). Monolaurin 2000mg. **When taking Lugol's Iodine separate from Vit C by a minimum of 2 hrs or they will cancel each other out and render useless.
NAC and Bromelain
Posted by Findcount (Singapore) on 02/02/2025
★★★★★
NAC and Bromelain for Red, Swollen Sore Throat
I just accidentally discovered NAC and Bromelain(taken together on empty stomach) really help with sore throat that's red and swollen......i took it as I had a bad runny nose and flu......and after taking 2 pills of each for 3 times on empty stomach within 12 hours - my runny nose is gone and my sore throat felt so much better.......
Citric Acid + Methylene Blue
Posted by hello (France) on 08/19/2023
★★★★☆
Sore throat is due to microbe infection and virus infection.
Take citric acid as needed (multiple tablespoons) and make a cure of methylene blue for one week for example
Citric acid is for the microbe and methylene blue for virus
Onions
Posted by Lorica (New Albany, Ind.) on 06/24/2016
★★★★★
I was having a problem with a sore, red and painful throat. I tried cayenne, a strong colloidal silver spray and salt. I used these separately and jointly. I used them through gargling and with a neti pot. They helped for a part of a day, then I would feel that pain again. This is what worked for me: 2 bunches of green onions tossed into a blender with just enough water to get a pudding consistency. I would "gargle" with this 3 times a day. That means I would kind of pour it in the back of my throat, make some gargling sounds and then spit it out. It worked when all else failed. Onions are known for being antibacterial and green onions seem to be the most potent.
Pickles
Posted by Jackie (Gooding, Idaho ) on 04/01/2018
★★★★★
Omg.. the pickle juice and pickle helped me immediately. Thank you
Tomato Tea
Posted by Hedandsam (Perrysburg, Ohio) on 01/30/2013
★★★★★
Love the Tomato Tea for colds and sore throat! It totally cured my terrible sore throat, and my husband said it really helped him too. Just getting over a cold and this has helped me feel much better very quickly, and could actually sleep thru the night for a change. Thank you so much!
Oregano Oil, Tamari Soy Sauce
Posted by Jo-jo74 (Philadelphia, Pa) on 06/30/2012
★★★★★
Oregano is a good option for sore throats. However, it's important to dilute it with something other than water, like honey or coconut oil. This way, there is less chance of throat irritation. (Oregano oil is strong! )
Option #2- Tamari soy sauce worked well as a gargle as an alternative to ACV or pickle juice.
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.
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.
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.
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.
