Sore Throat
Health Benefits

Apple Cider Vinegar and Cayenne for a Sore Throat

| Modified on Feb 26, 2024

Sore throats can be really stubborn; it is often difficult to find an effective treatment for this common problem. We looked at many natural remedies, searching for the best one. Finally, we decided that the best natural cure for a sore throat was the "dynamic duo" of organic apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper. Used together, apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper is one of the most effective home cures for a sore throat that we have seen.

How Do Apple Cider Vinegar and Cayenne Work Together?

On their own, apple cider vinegar (ACV) and cayenne pepper are effective sore throat treatments; however, they are made even more powerful when combined. Apple cider vinegar functions to eliminate infection, balance the pH of the body, and restore key nutrients in the body. Cayenne helps relieve inflammation and fight infection. This dual-faceted approach offers immediate and lasting relief as well as healing.

How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar and Cayenne Pepper for a Sore Throat

To use this natural cure for a sore throat, create a tonic using 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt in 2 ounces of warm water. Gargle the tonic and take small swallows in between gargles. Gargle at least once daily until the sore throat subsides.

Keep reading below for over 50 reviews from people who have successfully used the combination of apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper for their sore throats. Please try it and let us know how it worked for you!

Related Links:

10 Best Natural Remedies for Soothing a Sore Throat
10 Cold and Flu Home Remedies
Top 10 Natural Remedies for Flu




66 User Reviews


Posted by Beth (Palmyra, NJ) on 10/11/2021
★★★★★

Everyone in the house was sick. I thought I had skated by this cold like illness, but I was wrong. I came to y favorite site Earth Clinic. Watched a video on the topic of colds plus sore throat. I followed the protocol: gargled with salt water and cayenne, used the netti pot with the same mix, drank a warm apple cider vinegar tea along with honey and cayenne before bed. Got up in the middle of the night to repeat. Continuing today, day two. The relief is remarkable. This same infection lingered with other family members for a week. I was able to cut brush in the yard and go about my normal daily routines. I still have mild cold symptoms, but the sore throat is gone.

Thank you, Earth Clinic, for an excellent, informative video.


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Rose (Europe) on 03/01/2017
★★★★★

Had a very painful sore throat for 5 days. It seemed to be getting worse, although I tried so many things. I knew about cayenne cure, but it was a very scary idea for me. But when the pain killers failed to help me I gave cayenne pepper a try. And this was truly the first miracle cure in my life. The horrible swelling in my throat was gone in about half an hour. The pain started disappearing right away.

I gargled cayenne pepper and ACV mix and drank a little of it. Thank you very much for this site!


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Voni (Portland, Oregon) on 02/04/2014
★★★★★

I used I/4 teaspoon of Cayenne, 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of Salt (I used Sea Salt) in a about 2 ounces of warm water, as warm as you can stand. I gave this to my son to gargle with and to take small swallows in between gargles. He felt instant relief! Also note I used organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar that has the "mother" in it and water that has NO fluoride in it.


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Caitlin (Austin, Tx) on 10/13/2013
★★★★★

Ate horribly out at two restaurants yesterday; end result, I got a terrible sore throat! Don't know if I picked up someone's virus, strep, or just having an immune response to my "allergic foods. " Woke up hoarse, with a sore throat getting worse by the minute. It is 4:00pm and I'm thinking, 'No way am I going to suffer with this throat all night! ' So, I make a quick trip to the "Earth Clinc. " Came away with this:

1/2 cup of heated water, 3 Tab. ACV with a pinch of Baking Soda (because that much ACV in a short time feels terrible on my stomach), 1 TAB honey, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. I sipped first -- throat only slightly better. I gargled -- way better, plus spitting up mucus. 15 minutes of gargling and swallowing and spitting and..... (drum roll) -- NO SORE THROAT! I am totally amazed and grateful. Now I shall go rinse my mounth. Thanks guys! :)


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Sorethroatgone (Denver, Co) on 06/18/2013
★★★★★

ACV and Cayenne: DUDE!!! This works quickly! ... I woke up this morning at 6 AM with a sore throat, sneezing, and a runny nose... Like the river Euphrates (seriously)... And I just felt "sick"... Like a cold, I guess. I had to blow my nose about 1, 000 times, non-stop. So I did a couple shots (cap-fulls) of Apple Cider Vinegar and then immediately took some pictures of my face to commemorate the event. Then I mixed a quarter (1/4) teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper into a quarter (1/4) cup of water and gargled it in small doses (and spit it out) several times and also drank some (and I took some more pictures of my face). Then I blew my nose another thousand times, non-stop. That was 2 hours ago and my nose stopped running and now it is 95% clear, and my sore throat is 95% gone. And I don't feel sick anymore. Sweet! Now I can go to work! Word of caution: these things are not fun to drink, but it only feels annoying for a few minutes... And well worth it! Don't be a sissy, do it! (Nothing personal against sissies)


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Egf (Guadalajar, Jalisco) on 09/20/2012
★★★★★

I gargled with c. Pepper, cider vinegar and wrm water. It tickled my tongue and scalded my throat but it stopped hurting and feel better immediately. Big Yea


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Rebeccarhae (Los Angeles, California) on 06/08/2012
★★★★★

Last night I sipped 1/2 c. ACV, 1/2 tsp. cayenne and 3 T. honey mixed with warm water until I couldn't drink anymore, then gargled with the rest. When I woke up the pain was nearly gone. Amazing results! Which saved my skin because I started a new job today.

I agree with whoever suggested it tastes like wing sauce. Having that in my head made it more palatable somehow, even though I don't usually seek out spicy food.

I feel sorry for the girl who tried to temper the ACV with apple juice- seems like a mistake to me, like putting blue cheese in milk or RW vinegar in wine. But yes. This totally worked and I will do it again- earlier next time!

Oh, and PS. I bought all the necessary ingredients for around ten bucks, too. Most otc medicines are more expensive than that...


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Suzanne (Norman, Ok) on 06/01/2012
★★★★★

After two days of an extremely painful sore throat I was desperate for relief. After reading the posts I tried many combinations but this is what worked for me: 1 cup ACV undiluted, 2 tbs raw honey and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. I gargled with this mixture and felt immediate improvement. I contined to gargle (not drink) this about every two hours, rinsing my mouth with plenty of plain water after each use. Within less than 24 hours my sore throat had vanished, my voice came back and I was able to swallow without pain. Many thanks to all who posted.

Replied by Cj
(Nz, Ny)
01/05/2015
★★★★★

Did 1 Cup ACV, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper.2 Tsp honey gargled some couple good sips and Mmmmm, moma' throat lite up like a candle don't feel it and when I swallow barely feel it in throat! Going to give it a couple min. & going to do it again!!

I been dealin with this for 3 days at time could barely swallow. Yeah as far as DR's go, $80.00 to see Dr. & another $4.00 for tongue depresser maybe 4.00 for the gloves, 35.00 for the shot you didn't need & $40 to $65.00 for meds which take almost all winter to get rid of soreness. & you just may run out & have to get a refill!!

cha-ching$$$$100.00> $150.00

Honey $6.00

Cayenne pepper.$4.00

ACV> $1.25

$11.50 Hmmmmmmmmm??

What am I going to do with the $139.00 I just saved/ LOL

Thanks folks!!!!!!


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by David (Tacoma, Wa) on 05/03/2012
★★★★★

This definitely works! Although I did tweak mine considerably. I took about 12 oz of hot water and added approx. 2 tsp. of cayenne, 1 heaping tbs. of salt, a generous amount of agave syrup, and a bit of rum. I mixed well and heated again. At first the cayenne was a bit hot, and this is coming from someone who likes kimchee, but I quickly adjusted to it. I gargled for maybe two minutes the first time, after which I felt an immediate relief... After I got over the slight burning. I repeated twice more throughout the day with similar results, and the next day my throat was just fine. Thanks for the advice!


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Vivek (Gurgaon, India) on 02/21/2012
★★★★★

I was suffering from sore throat. And It was not the first time this happened to me. And everytime it had happened, I had to take steroids to get rid of this. But this time I visited this site and then I decided not to take any medicines. Very first day I started gargling with cayenne pepper. It helped but another day my throat has more pain. I decided to continue and doing that again and again. I bought ACV also. Gargled with the mixture. And then I took raw Tulsi and Garlic. I took one tablespoon of coconut thrice each day. And now after 4 days, I have finally cured by sore throat.... I would say keep faith on this and keep doing. It will surely help.


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by May (Melbourne, Australia) on 01/16/2012
★★★★★

I took AL from malaysia's advice on the apple cider vinegar mixed with ground chillies. I woke up with a terrible sore throat this morning and it has lasted all day - 5 mins ago my voice was croaky and horribly sore. I just gargled Apple Cider Vinegar and chili pepper diluted with water and I feel better already! My voice is almost back to normal! Thank you so much!


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Sorethroatcomplainer (Atlanta, Pa) on 12/22/2011

So, I found that Cayenne pepper doesn't dissolve. I didn't realize this until AFTER I made my magical sore throat remedy: Chicken broth, tsp. of Cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp. of garlic and ginger. But anyhow, if you take a very small strainer and place it over your tea cup/bowl, you will avoid drinking the nasty little gritty pieces at the top.


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Geminiwww (Atlanta, Ga) on 12/03/2011
★★★★★

I was without cayenne in the house, but happened to have Jolokia pepper powder and used this with the ACV mixture. It helped tremendously with just the first dose. So much so that I was too ambitious with the second dose which made me very nauseous. Be sure to follow the correct quantities and it will work. Get greedy and it will backfire. I'm sticking with the dropper method for the rest of my treatment!


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Poppy111 (Egremont, Cumbria, England) on 09/12/2011
★★★★★

My 20 year old son has had a very severe sore throat for over a week. Whenever we ring for a doctor's appointment it is always about a week's wait and he is going on holiday in two days so was not going to be able to get an appointment. He is rarely ill but this hit him really hard. Anyway he hadnt eaten for four days and we were starting to think he wasn't going to get to go on his holidays as even drinking juice was hurting. So at 3. 30pm this afternoon I gave him a water and cayenne solution to gargle with, followed by a spoonful of manuka honey, vitamin supplements, berocca and an anti-inflamatory. We repeated the cayenne gargle and honey every hour. By 5.30 pm he had eaten a burger and said he could barely feel the sore throat. We are going to continue this tomorrow and hopefully he will get his first good night's sleep for a week and feel all ready for his hols in the morning. Cayenne is definitely the way forward! L


ACV and Cayenne
Posted by Amber (Seattle, Wa) on 08/20/2011
★★★★★

Came down with a raging sore throat, headache & fever yesterday. Was really too sick to do anything but sleep. This morning my throat was still on fire so I resorted to the disgusting recepie that always works after gargling with Hydrogen Peroxide.

8 oz. Hot water, 1 shot glass ACV, 2 TBL honey & 1/2 tsp cayenne. Today I added something else, smashed clove of garlic in a tea ball to steep in my horrible tea. Well, sore throat has lessened and congestion is breaking up. Why resist what Mother Nature gives us when it works so well?



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