Sore Throat
Natural Remedies

10 Top Home Remedies for a Sore Throat

Vinegar

13 User Reviews
5 star (11) 
  85%
4 star (1) 
  8%
1 star (1) 
  8%


Posted by Patricia (Port Dover, canada) on 08/02/2007
5 out of 5 stars

I JUST SHOT A MOUTHFUL OF MALT VINEGAR INTO MY MOUTH FROM THE BOTTLE AND VOILA THE PAIN IS NEARLY GONE.. I READ SOMEWHERE YEARS AGO THAT IT GOES AFTER THE BACTERIA IN THE INFECTION..NOT SURE IF THATS TRUE BUT IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM!! give it a try..and vinegar really!! the first ten seconds are pretty intense but it is worth it.


Vinegar
Posted by George (Seattle, WA) on 04/03/2007
5 out of 5 stars

white vinegar, water, crushed vitamin c, and salt instantly relieved the pain of my sore throat.


Vinegar and Water Compress

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%


Posted by Jane (Fordingbridge, England) on 01/15/2015
5 out of 5 stars

For a sore throat, I have often used a vinegar and water compress pinned around my neck and covered carefully with dry towel, left on all night. Since the body is known to be electric, it is obvious that the acid in the vinegar could assist with re-establishing normality.


Vinegar, Salt, Pepper

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%


Posted by Elizabeth (Orangeville, Canada) on 11/30/2007
5 out of 5 stars

I mix salt, black pepper and vinegar together. The salt helps to dry up phlegm, the black pepper appears to cling to lose phlegm and pulls it out and the vinegar appears to kill the germs. Mix together in a strength you can handle (you can mix in warm water if vinegar is too strong) and gargle about a half a cup for the first time then again before bed or if throat bothers you during the day. It's a very old remedy my mom used on me as a child.


Vitamin C

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%


Posted by Lim (Singapore) on 05/26/2012
5 out of 5 stars

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.


Water

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%


Posted by Anonymous (USA) on 04/20/2006
5 out of 5 stars

Water! It helps keep your throat moist. Keep water at your bedside for when you wake up and whenever your throat is feeling dry, drink water.


Whiskey

4 User Reviews
5 star (4) 
  100%


Posted by Kate (Toronto, Ontario) on 12/04/2008
5 out of 5 stars

The best remedy I know for sore throat is Drambuie. It's a Scottish liquer made with malt whiskey and spiced honey, and is 40%. Other similarly strong alcohols might help, but I have never tried them. Weak alcoholic drinks do NOT work.

Just one small sip always provides immediate relief for myself and all my family. If the liquid doesn't seem to touch the particular spot in your throat, I like to gargle just a little bit. I know it sounds gross, and please remember this is a liquer, so you only want a sip and not a whole mouthful.

If the sore throat comes back, two or three more sips throughout the day might be necessary. I have never had to use it more often than this.

Of course I don't think I need to mention that this isn't for kids as the taste is very strong and could upset sensitive stomachs.

Also, just a warning, that a 375ml bottle here in Canada will cost you about $25. This bottle will however last you a VERY long time. If you don't want to fork out that much, there are always small sample size bottles available too.

Honestly though, this has worked in my family for the past 20 years at least.


Whiskey
Posted by Fred (MB, South Carolina) on 02/14/2007
5 out of 5 stars

I first tried the hot water with Cayenne Pepper,and to no avail it did not work as expected it did however excite other sensory cells in which resulted in desensitizing the sore throat,I then moved to Cayenne Pepper in Apple Cider Vinegar,in which again failed. So I thought I would try the lemon in which did seem to help a small amount,I tried the Pineapple Juice in which seemed to have subsided the pain much better. I also tried using salt in hot water for several days,in which resulted little to no change. There are two types of sore throats one that is Bacterial,and the other is Viral,while Bacterial can often bee cured by antibiotics,Viral sore throats cannot be,and often require a running of its course,it is important to note that Viral sore throats are caused by the bodies immune system during its war, your anti bodies essentially destroy the cold virus via chemical acid,by spraying acid onto the cold virus it also destroys healthy cells in its process,burning the lining in the throat,that is why vitamin c is important in fighting a cold,because the acidity level needs to be high to fight off the cold virus. however a sudden change in your acid levels in your throat can actually irritate the sore throat and make it worse,such as a sudden use of a Zinc supplement. While some success has been met using salt in a hot water mixture,this success is due to the fact that the sensory cells in the throat has already been damaged to a point whereas the salt water actually cures the lining the same process that is used to cure meats,on the other hand a sore throat in which has not been damaged much may get worse using salt,or eating foods such as a salty soup,and crackers. Now comes another fact if the sore throat is Bacterial certain foods should be avoided such as sweets,and high fructose corn syrups,as the bacteria will thrive on such simple sugars. Cough drops should be avoided,as well as certain mouth washes such as plaque controls,or other washes that contain sugars. The best remedy for a sore throat is a good white whiskey,stay away from the dark. Gargle with the whiskey a few times a day until the sore throat subsides,then have you a shot once or twice a week to help stay off any future occurrences.


Whiskey
Posted by Fiona (Fife, Scotland) on 01/08/2007
5 out of 5 stars

I have a few sore throat remedies to share.

Firstly: Fresh fruit ice lollies (popsicles to Americans?) are excellent soothers, especially for children. Sucking on any ice is helpful to the pain, but the added vitamin C from fresh fruit helps the healing process. If you can't find fresh fruit lollies in the shops (Tesco's Finest do fresh orange ones for UK residents) then just squeeze an orange or lemon into your ice tray and suck on them. Combine them with your favourite pain killer, and the world seems a better place.

Secondly: Gargle with neat whisky. No, this isn't a joke - it's absolutely, one hundred percent my favourite sore throat remedy. (Then again - I am a Scot!). I recommend NOT swallowing every time, unless you're in a party mood, so don't use your best single malt. But gargling with potent alcohol, the stronger the better, not only numbs your throat so you feel no pain, but disinfects it, too. I had a sore throat recently that lasted one single, solitary day. I reckon the whisky killed it stone dead.


Whiskey
Posted by Jeff (Shorthills, NJ) on 01/04/2007
5 out of 5 stars

Sip some brandy or whiskey very slowly so that it coats the throat. Be careful it might cause some gagging. Do this very slowly with small amounts of whiskey. Perhaps the alcohol in whiskey kills the germs. But proceed with caution.


Replied by Diane
(Collegeville, Pa)
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!

Whiskey, Honey, Lemon

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%


Posted by Kaylee (Philadelphia, Pa) on 09/06/2011
5 out of 5 stars

My grandmother told me she got this remedy from her mother and passed it down to me: whiskey, honey, and lemon. Use equal parts of each and mix together. It may not sound like the most appealing thing out there, but I promise it will relieve any sore throat!

Replied by Notadoctor
(New York)
09/26/2011

How about old fashioned Tylenol and Cepacol? Works every time.

Replied by Brittany
(Craigsville, West Virginia)
12/08/2011

Notadoctor- if you're pregnant or breastfeeding you can't use many over the counters.


White Pepper

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%


Posted by Mary Ann (Rural, South Africa) on 11/03/2008
5 out of 5 stars

Thank you for your miracle site. Being pensioners money is an affliction in itself. What joy to find this site. Well here is my small contribution.

Re-aligning a dropped little tongue. At the onset of a bout of sore throat or flu, the small tongue seems to drop back into the throat, affecting the ability to swollow. and is also very uncomfortable, almost worse than the flu its self. Take a small amount of pepper, preferbly white pepper, on the very tip of a round tipped knife and carefully dab onto the tip of the little tongue. This will pull the tongue back into position.

I tell anyone who will listen about this amazing site.


White Pepper
Posted by Quaker (Easton, MD) on 03/20/2007
5 out of 5 stars

A welsh lady told me to try white pepper in hot tea for a sore throat and it works for me. Gargling with warm salt water is also good, as are Fisherman's Friend lozenges which contain capsaicin (red pepper).


Wild Cherry Bark

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%


Posted by Clay (Port Huron, Michigan) on 01/25/2006
5 out of 5 stars

If you take a small branch of a wild cherry tree, shave the bark off it, and boil the bark into a tea all of the infected cells in your throat will die off and let your immune system do the rest. After a few days your sore throat will go away!

Replied by London
(Sandusky, Ohio)
09/04/2009
5 out of 5 stars

It's true. The native americans used wild cherry bark for illness. I take a tea, and a syrup. You can get the syrup and or tea, at a health food store. It's awesome for colds and flu.


Zinc

3 User Reviews
5 star (3) 
  100%


Posted by Paul (Freeport, Maine) on 10/20/2011
5 out of 5 stars

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.



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