Sore Throat
Natural Remedies

Soothe Your Sore Throat Naturally with Cayenne Pepper

515 User Reviews

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1 star (34) 
  7%
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Posted by Sam (Nyc, New York) on 08/02/2011

do I chop up the pepper and put peices in at a time, and gargle or do I put in the whole pepper and drink all the water and bite off a peice at a time while keeping the same pepper in it?

Replied by Lily
(Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)
08/03/2011

Hi Sam, you just use the powdered Cayenne pepper in the spice section at the store for your gargle, you can also swallow it if it's not too much, normally the tip of a teaspoon is enough. Of course you can use more if you can handle it. Cheers Lily.


Cayenne
Posted by Kama (Nashville, Tn) on 06/27/2011
★★★☆☆

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

I recently had a bacterial throat infection. I finished one round of antibiotics and the symptoms instantly came back. The doctor prescribed a different antibiotic. When my throat infection started to come back after completeing that, she informed me if this didn't work she'd have to send me to an infectious disease specialist.

Desperate to avoid this, I started gargling with salt water, then with a few shakes of cayenne pepper powder in warm water. I did this for ten minutes every three or four hours. The rivers of snot in my throat went almost completely away. It no longer hurt to eat. Within two days, my throat is almost completely healed after over a month of agony.

It did give me canker sores, however, so people prone to them might want to be wary. Even so, I'll take a few canker sores that heal in days to throat pain for months!

Replied by Maral
(Davis, California)
07/02/2011

My throat hurts like hell! It feels like an open cut! I have always experienced sore throat my whole life but this one is killing me. I cant even cough because of its pain 1)no body ache 2)no headache 3)no sever runny nose! Jist SORE THROAT. I couldnt sleep from 5:00 AM till now! My throat is all red and sensetive! I cant swallow my saliva! I have tried Thera Flu and salt and water and hot tea! It gets worst and worst. So I decided to use CAYAN+WORM Water salt this morning. I was so afraid its gonna burn so bad! But it DOESN'T! And actually it didn't do anything either! Im about to go get some PHO (soup)and mix it with cayanne peper to see if it gets better!

Replied by Mike
(Paradise Valley, Arizona)
07/02/2011

Go to the Dr. It could be throat cancer. Don't chance it.

Replied by Rocco
(Ortley Beach, New Jersey, Us)
07/15/2011
★★★★★

I've had a sore throat now for nearly a week and finally was fed up. I've been gargling salt water and just about every other remedy I could think of. Then I talked to my friends mom because she's a nurse and suggested that I try gargling salt water with a couple pinches of cayenne pepper. Instantly I felt some relief from my sore throat. It has now been a couple hours and I feel remarkably better. I completely suggest this remedy fir anyone who doesn't like attending doctors... Like me!!


Cayenne
Posted by John (Buffalo, Ny) on 05/14/2011
★★★★★

Yesterday I started with a sore throat that I figured would go away.

As the day went on it seemed to get worse. I woke this moring barely able to swallow my saliva.

After reading about cayenne peper I decided to give it a try.. I gargled with it in a large glass of water swallowing minimal amouts to get into my throat and didnt feel anything right away... But after 5 mins of gargling... The pain subsided greatly... I will try it again throughout the day...Thanks!

Replied by David
(Cleveland, Ohio)
08/07/2011
★★★★★

Thank God for this site! I have had the worst sore throat in a very long time. So painful and I had lost my voice! I tried gargling with peroxide, used sore throat lozenges, and have taken a ton of ibubrofen and nothing has helped. It was so painful to swallow. So I read this thread and heres what I did:

Gargled with 1 teaspoon in 8 oz water twice 20 minutes apart. My sore throat is virtually gone and I can talk again! It is unbeleivable! To finish it out I am eating lentil soup with a ton of cayenne pepper in it to really get at my throat.

Give it a shot! The gargling with the cayenne pepper was not bad whatsoever!

Replied by Leon
(Barcelona, Spain)
12/08/2011
★★★★★

I mixed a teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper in a glass of warm water and gargled with this a few times over the course of several hours. My sore throat has improved unbelievably!

The pepper is HOT, and had my eyes watering, but totally worth it :)


Cayenne
Posted by Heatherdee (Calgary, Alberta) on 04/15/2011

Okay I have been swallowing what feels like razor blades for 11 days now. I went to the doc day8 and he told me virus, there was nothing he could do. I have tried everything except this. I am near tears with pain and frustration. I am going to go do this right now and post back. Wish me luck as I am turning mental due to the pain!

Replied by Jacob
(Butler, Pa)
04/18/2011
★★★★☆

So I have had a sore throat for about a day and I work tech support for the Local cable company and was looking for a quick fix for my sore throat. Saw this page and low and behold I happen to have a packet of Devil Sauce which is made with cayenne peppers. (Yes we tech support people have random things like hot sauce packets sitting in our desk) So everyone was saying do it with water but being stuck on a call and without water I opened the packets and downed the entire thing. Within seconds the lump that was in the back of my throat was not as bad and the pain was minimal to almost none. I can say that I still feel said lump but not as bad so I will continue with this treatment until tomorrow and see how it goes.


Cayenne
Posted by Shari (Loveland, Co, Usa) on 04/14/2011
★★★★★

Thanks everyone! I had a terrible sore throat, but the doctor said no strep. So I gargled with cayenne and warm water yesterday, about 5 times during the day, and it is almost gone this morning.


Cayenne
Posted by Thatsmyboys (Lake Charles, La) on 04/12/2011
★★★★★

I used a little over 1/8 tsp in 1 cup of warm water to gargle when I noticed white spots on the back of my throat of course the throat pain was the dead give away. I gargled (not swallowing) in small sips the entire cup, it burned a little (not enough where I couldnt stand it). I did a second cup of the same repeating, 30 min after first gargle, already the pain is subsiding and I can swallow without tears! Thanks..

Replied by Msamandaskids
(Deltona, Fl)
04/16/2011
★★★★★

My throat has hurt so bad the last 3 days, I've been in tears! Today I searched the internet for natural remedies.. ANYTHING to ease the pain. Cayenne worked in about 2 mins... BUT I didn't just use the Cayenne in a glass. I did a teasp of Cayenne, Teasp Sugar, Teasp Salt, Teasp Garlic (FRESH), one drop tabasco and WARM WATER... About 8 oz. Now, I'm going to tell you, DO NOT SMELL this mixture or you may never get it to your lips! Also, put a lip proctectant on such as lipgloss, vasaline, chapstick, etc.

I'm a BIG CHICKEN when it comes to trying stuff like this and a sceptic... But I was in so much pain, I figured "what the heck". And, it WORKED! I gargled the mixture 4 times for 10-15 secs each time over a period of 2 mins! My throat is no longer sore (still feels "fat" or "puffy" in the tonsil area... But NO pain)! AND, all that spicyness has made my nose run (which I haven't been able to blow my nose for 2 days because it was so stuffed up). SO, it's a double remedy!


Cayenne
Posted by Louise (Boca Raton, Fl) on 03/30/2011
★★★★★

Brillaint cure for a sore throat! Felt better within minutes! Just mix a teaspoon or so into 6 oz of water and gargle it. I recommend very warm water. Wear some kind of chapstick so it doesn't burn your lips.

Replied by Dougler
(London, On, Canada)
09/07/2011

just tried it out. I dont have a sore throat, I do have a mouth that feels like its on fire.


Cayenne
Posted by Lindsay (Chicago, Il, Usa) on 03/10/2011
★★★★★

I cannot believe how fast this cure worked. I had a sore, very swollen throat while traveling overseas, I was prescribed some Augmentin (antibiotic) and within a few days it went away. The problem arose when I relapsed after I got home and had no more antibiotics. My regular sore throat cure of gargling with ACV in warm water didn't seem to help, though it has cured every other sore throat I've had in the last 15 years. It hurt to swollow my own saliva when I started gargling with the cayenne pepper (1 tsp in 16 oz of warm water). It didn't seem to help much after just the first glass, but after three in 24 hours, almost all symptoms were gone. It worked much faster than the Augmentin the doctor prescribed, and the sore throat stayed away this time (a month has now passed). I also support other reviewers' suggestion to put on chapstick first. I expected the unpleasant burning sensation to be much stronger than it was, but it was mostly just on my lips when I didn't use chapstick.

Replied by Sue
(Alameda, Ca)
03/11/2011
★☆☆☆☆

I spent all day yesterday gargling with cayenne and drinking hot water with cayenne & ACV (it didn't taste as bad as I feared). Unfortunately, though, over 24 hours later, my sore throat persists. I even went to the doctor for a rapid strep test, which came back negative, so I do just have a cold. I wish the cayenne had worked for me since it seems to have been a miracle cure for so many others!

Replied by Joe
(Rochester, Ny)
03/24/2011
★★★★★

WOW I am writing this right now eating some chicken soup LOADED with Cayenne. I have had such a bad sore throat it hurt to swallow my own saliva. I lost sleep. I am currently on good ole Penicillin but after 2 days I have no real notice in the pain in my throat lessening. I love spicy food but had no idea this would help so much. In the 10 minutes I have been eating this soup I have gone from barely able to swallow to able to swallow and having a pain about 3/10. I have been gargling the broth before swallowing it. I am really amazed. I tried salt water, warm milk and honey, throat spray, cough drops, gargling cough syrup (recommended by my doctor). I am going to recommend this to my family and friends!

Replied by Michelle
(Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
03/28/2011
★★★★★

Hallelujah! Works like a miracle. Normally I take some medicine when my glands get swollen and a throat infection is on his way, but happily the stores were closed already this time, so I needed to find an alternative on my online bible earth clinic and the cayenne peper works perfectly. Great tip. Thanks

Replied by Too Early For Mixing
(Roseville, California)
11/19/2011
★★★☆☆

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

I just want to make sure no one makes the error I did after waking up at 5:30am with a terrible sore throat. (FYI: I'm not much of a morning person unless I'm going fishing) Use around 8oz. of water. No need to be exact. And use 1 TEASPOON of cayenne peper. NOT a tablespoon. Also when you gargle make sure it hits your throat. Otherwise you're just spinning your wheels. I used a tablespoon and less than 8oz of water and let's just say I had a very spicey and mouth numbing experience. Took most of the pain away instantly though.

Replied by Janel
(Washington, Dc)
11/21/2011
★★★★★

Really didn't think this was going to work. Mixed one tsp of Cayenne in approx 8 oz of warm water. Honestly, it made me gag a bit and lit my lips on fire but in less than three minutes, no sore throat. My lips are still tingling... I like the suggestion from a previous poster to wear chapstick!


Cayenne
Posted by Nanjoy (Minneapolis, Mn) on 03/09/2011
★★★★★

I have been using cayenne pepper for treatment for "burning mouth syndrome". I can't believe that I didn't think about it for a sore throat. I am mixing up a cold apple juice with cayenne now. Cayenne pepper can be put into coffee or tea. It's really a great thing!! Thanks!!

Replied by Tracy
(Dallas, Tx)
03/16/2011
★★★★★

I was a total disbeliever.... But to my suprise it has decreased the pain from not being able to swallow my own saliva to being able to drink some tea with honey and lemon which I might add is helping alot too.... I may actually get some pain relief and a little sleep tonight...


Cayenne
Posted by Ln (Portland, Or, Usa) on 02/10/2011
★★★★★

I don't normally get bad sore throats, but after six days of relentless pain and increasing loss of sleep, I knew I had a problem. My usual tricks of honey/lemon/hot water and raw garlic did not cure as usual. I worried I had the dreaded strep throat, and loathed to take antibiotics. On the verge of calling my physician, I did one last search on alternative cures for strep and landed at Earth Clinic's site.

I immediately took 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne in 8 oz of warm water and began to gargle. I repeated 15 minutes later, and then every couple of hours. I found I needed to swallow just a bit to get to the pain deep in my throat. The relief was gradual for me, but after 24 hours, the pain was almost completely gone! I am still amazed by my rapid recovery: I went from feeling that the pain would never subside to back to work and cheerful in 24 hours. Incredible! I will remember this remedy for myself and my family, and come back to this site often. Thanks to all for sharing your stories. I find these personal testimonies reassuring and extremely helpful.

Replied by Voide
(Bay Area, Ca)
02/19/2011
★★★★★

For over a week I had a sore throat that went from bad to worse, and then to -- oh no, I'm going to need to go on antibiotics, which I avoid like the plague. Like everyone else, I searched on-line and found this site, and the cayenne treatment. Using powder form, I made a tea, on the strong side. I noticed quick relief, however the soreness returned. Hours later I prepared a second cup, sipped and gargled and continued to do so on and off throughout the day. That first night I went to bed thinking, this isn't working my throat still hurts. And my glands were enlarged and tender. The next day I awoke and my throat was still raw. I added alot of cayenne powder to a bowl of soup for breakfast and felt better by the bottom of the bowl. Again, throughout the second day I drank the tea. And that evening I went to bed with just a mild sore throat. The morning after the second day of treatment my discomfort, both throat and gland, have nearly vanished. I started the morning with mint tea with honey but plan on doing a third day of cayenne tea. This has been my first homeopathic experience.

Note: Be patient, consider how when taking antibiotics it takes 2-3 days until you feel better. At first I hated the taste and even felt sick to my stomach. I gutted it out and quickly grew to like the taste and the nausea passed.


Cayenne
Posted by Sara (Arcata, California) on 11/12/2010
★★★★★

I read that cayanne pepper helped sore throats on this website about 6 months ago. I gargled with the cayanne and I instantly felt better, I was even getting white bumps on my throat, and they went away. I was so amazed. A few months later, my coworker could barely talk, she said she wanted to cry it hurt so bad I got her a hot glass of water and put cayanne pepper in it and told her to gargle it. The next day her voice was back and it felt all better. This is truly amazing I am so glad I found this, so I can recommend it to my family and friends so they will now how to heal themselves naturally also!

Replied by Stevetesta
(Orlando, Usa)
12/22/2010
★★★★★

It definitely works. I put a bunch of cayenne pepper in my chicken soup. The effects were immediate for me. I was able to swallow without any pain within ten minutes of finishing my soup.

Replied by Lovechronic.hatestrep
(Austin, Texas, North America)
02/04/2011
★★★★★

I added just a little pinch of cayenne to my broth and my excruciatingly swollen tonsil was reduced within ten minutes. I hadn't eaten anything solid in almost two days. After that, I ate actual soup and began my first-ever strep throat road to recovery without the aid of anitbiotics. As a chronic strep sufferer, who strives to live chemically-free, this is a huge deal. My most sincere and heartfelt thanks to earthclinic.com and the magical google machine that found these posts!

Replied by Joey H
(Santa Rosa, California)
03/03/2011
★★★★★

Ok first let me say I tried ALOT of methods that are used to help cure soar throat, my mom bought cough drops, spray, tea, the salt in water method, it works but not as good as I liked and not as long as I like it to last. But I saw this and first thouht "this won't work" but then I tried it I just put a tea spoon of cayenne in hot water then I gargled it several times. It was a bit spicey but believe it or not it works and I'm just a 17 year old kid saying this my throat is better and trust me I got so frustrated I had so much anger because of it but now I know just to do this and I will be fine! I highly recomend it over anything else.


Replied by Arsieiuni
(Arley, Al, United States Of America)
11/02/2010
★★★★★

I woke yesterday morning with a sore throat that I had known was coming on the night before. My head was stuffy and nose drippy. I searched "Sore throat" remedies first and found cayenne pepper. I'd never tried it, but didn't have any. I hate sore throats more than anything though so as soon as I could get my mate out of bed, we went and bought some and came home. I gargled the cayenne in water (1/4 teaspoon in nearly a full cup of very warm water with a little sea salt thrown in) until I'd used it all, swallowed very small amounts and repeated 3-4 times throughout the day whenever my congestion got bad again. It helped the sore throat instantly, continued to help it as I continued using the remedy, and the problem was gone upon waking today. Other symptoms of my cold remain, but the sore throat was vanished. A definitive YAY! For me. :) Thanks so much for this site and this cure!

Cayenne
Posted by Jennifer (Visalia, Ca) on 10/27/2010
★★★★★

Yesterday I came down with the common virus going around. Sore throat and cough. No fever. I tried drinking asv/lemon/honey very soothing but with no obvious results. I came on earthclinic and read about cayenne pepper. WOW!! ONE gargle and the pain was gone!! I really have never seen anything work so quickly as this. Today still no sore throat but the chest congestion became painful. I decided to continue to trust in the cayenne so I poured a glass of juice and added two sprinkle of pepper and drank it this time. Another WOW! All of the discomfort went away. I now have a 99.9 fever that I learned after reading that the cayenne warms up the body as it is healing. AWESOME! Thank you all for sharing!!

Replied by Lina
(Tucson, Az)
11/13/2010

Wow, I did not know this about Cayenne. I was getting a soar throat a couple of days ago and it is now gone and I wasn't sure why. But at the same time it started I made hot cocoa which I always add chili pepper to and I used Cayenne and now it's gone.

Replied by Cool Daddy Dre
(The Bean, Ma)
03/04/2011

Wow I read how so many of you get better within 24 hours and I couldn't believe it. Then I read more and saw the some of you where better within a few hours. I still couldn't believe it, but I wanted to try it but wasn't too sure if I should. Then I saw that some people where better in less then 1 hour. I was like wow, omg. Then I read more and saw the people began feeling better instantly!! Then I was like double wow with a double omg and a star, now I know I got to try this because now I know it will work. So I began mixing this recipe and was better before I even tried it. Like literally while I was like mixing it up. OMG WOW!!! It's amazing! I will use the heavy metal remedy that another person wrote that like makes it so lie I don't even get sick anymore. I know heavy metals are dangerous to the body but just think how like even more dangerous to whatever it is that makes me sick. I going to be extra strong now that I don't eat any HFCS or corn in general because that's not what good people do anymore.


Cayenne
Posted by Michelle (Southern Indiana, In, Usa) on 10/07/2010
★★★★★

Thank you so much for the tip on cayenne! I had been suffering with a horrible raw sore throat for four days solid, and tried salt water gargles, cough drops, sore throat spray, cold medicines, nothing was working! Then I found this site and the overwhelming recommendations for cayenne. So I heated up some broth and added some cayenne and drank it. It worked great!! I instantly started feeling better!! I brought some with me to work to drink throughout the day yesterday and I feel soooo much better! I'm almost 100% now, after just one day! Thank you for this great tip!

P. S. Just wanted to add that someone else had mentioned here that viruses feed on sugar, so I also cut out sugary things completely (except for fruit) and that made a huge difference! When I ate a sweet, my throat immediately felt horrible. So definitely cut out the sweets completely, and let the cayenne do its work!

Replied by Francisca
(Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France)
10/08/2010

Be careful with fruit too! Fructose is even worse than sugar and many people are not aware of that!

Replied by Susan
(Franklin Square , Ny, Usa)
10/19/2010
★★★★★

This is amazing. I awoke with a severe sore throat this morning and tried the usual hot water/salt, peroxide, honey etc. I was desperate, so looked for another home remedy and this worked. I have gargled 3 times tonight, and my throat burns when I do, but 10 minutes later it feels so much better. So glad I found this site!

Replied by Hannah
(No, Michigan)
11/12/2010
★☆☆☆☆

I'm glad this worked for so many people but it didn't work for me. I tried it last night, gargled with cayenne in warm water. It was really uncomfortable and burned the way it does when you eat something WAY too spicy (and I'm saying this as somebody who likes spicy food). Still, it wasn't bad enough to keep me from trying to several times before giving up and going to bed. I figured it might take some time to kick in.

But no... I woke up this morning and my sore throat was worse. I don't attribute it being worse to the cayenne, I think it would have gotten worse on its own. But the point is it certainly didn't help. By the way, I think my sore throat is caused by a virus. I will be getting a strep test today just in case. Maybe whether or not the cayenne will work depends on the cause of the sore throat? I also observed that most of the people commenting had had their sore throat for at least 3 or 4 days, even over week. Maybe it was ready to go away on its own?

Replied by Ellen
(Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada)
11/13/2010

I have a homemade drink that I have used many times to eliminate sore throats which is my hot lemonade mixture. Use hot water as you would in making tea and put the juice of one lemon in with a dash of cayenne pepper (probably around 1/20 tsp. ) Then sweeten it with liquid stevia to taste. If you add more cayenne for medicinal purposes, then simple add more stevia to neutralize the taste of the cayenne pepper. Everytime I use this drink (although I will have several in a day) the next day I feel 100% better. Good luck, Ellen


Cayenne
Posted by Stephanie (Orlando, Fl) on 08/21/2010
★★★★★

I have had a sore throat that felt like razor blades for the last few days and nothing helped. I found this site and the cayenne pepper recommendation and was willing to try anything... But doubted it would work. I never post, but felt I had to as this worked AMAZINGLY! I felt relief after the first gargle (6 oz very warm water/ 1/4 tsp cayenne). Repeated every 15 min to half hour for a few hours and the pain is almost totally gone. I am so happy to have found this secret recipe. Thank you!

Replied by Thomas
(New York, Ny)
09/06/2010

This was a fantastic cure.

Replied by Magico
(Brisbane, Queensland)
09/17/2010
★★★★★

I would recomend the cayenne remedy to everyone. I tried it and it did wonders for my throat. I pushed it a little and actually put in 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and I sure felt the difference in my throat. if you can handle the heat I say go 1/2 a teaspoon instead of 1/4. All you need is a spoonfull of honey next to you for when u finish with pepper gargle. Enjoy and thank you for this recipe its a keeper! Peace!


Cayenne
Posted by Teslin (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 07/12/2010
★★★★★

Hi everyone! I am thirteen years old and I have had strep throat for 2 days. Nothing would help and then when I tried the cayenne pepper thing it got a lot better almost immediately! This is what I did: First I gargled with Cayenne Pepper and warm water and then right afterwards gargled with salt and warm water and then washed it all down with water. I did that two times. About half an hour ago I was almost crying my throat hurt so much and now it only hurts a little. It is certainly worth doing because it really works! I would really suggest it! Teslin



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