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.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Sam Jam (Burbank, Ca) on 09/14/2011
★★★★★
I am so excited to share this with you, my dad is a health guru, and I was feeling pretty crappy last night, the pain was so bad in my throat I was tearing up, and I was finding it soo hard to swollen and I just couldn't fall to sleep with the pain. I knew I needed something healthy in my system to repair me. So I wrote on a piece of paper (as it hurt so badly to talk) please make me a magic drink dad.. I didn't really think it would take away my pains and allow me to sleep but I did think that all the healthy stuff my dad would put in it would help me to recover quicker. My dad never gets sick because every day he has drinks like the one I'm about to share with you! But OH MY did it take my pain away and make me feel AMAZINGLY better!!!! I can talk, I can swallow, the pain is barely there, I do have to have this drink about every 3 hours to keep the pain down, when I'm awake but I just sip slowly :) the drink last night relieved the pain through the night. But then I woke up I definitely felt better but symptoms were slowly coming back. So I repeated the drink and wal-ar I feel amazing again! :) so here it is! Pleeeease try it you'll be amazed!! Try using all organic ingredients if you can!!
Fresh *garlic* clove chopped up really small, lump of fresh *ginger* chopped up small, flat teaspoon of powdered *cayenne pepper* (or as much as u can handle, teaspoon of *tumeric* powder, teaspoon of *cinnamon* powder, table spoon or two of *apple cider vinegar* (or as much as u can handle) spoonful of *raw honey*, squeezed *lemon juice* mix all that together with 8oz hot water let it sit for a few mins to all infuse. If you're not used to cayenne pepper like I'm not, at first it will burn your throat a little, but to me it actually felt good, coz I feel like I was attacking the pain. :) sip slowly and after a few mins of sipping you will start to feel relief :) stir in between sips when lumps of garlic and ginger settle to the bottom, try and swallow all the ingredients down. I swear this is the best remedy I have ever tried! It started last night and im now on my first day I'm interested on seeing how quickly I recover from all this goodness I'm feeding my body!! :) My mom is making me a homemade organic soup of carrot and ginger puree, it sounds soo good :) I'm excited!! I'm a lucky one to have my family look after me when I'm sick, I'm 23 and still loving the love ;) hope this helps a lot of you like it did me!! Also if you get a chance look up the book by Louise Hay, "You Can Heal Your Life" it talks about the reasonings behinds coughs, colds, sore throats, and other ailments :) love and good healing energy to you all!! Xoxo
Whiskey, Honey, Lemon
Posted by Kaylee (Philadelphia, Pa) on 09/06/2011
★★★★★
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!
Homemade Remedy
Posted by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 05/03/2011
Here is a remedy I found in one of my books, Practical Aromatherapy. It works quite well if you have a sore throat, a cough or a virus infection:
Three drops of essential oil (maybe clove, tea trea, lavender or any other antiseptic)
1 tsp of alchool (maybe vodka if you have it or another one, I have only tried with vodka because I try to use alchool I have to use in the kitchen which is then left over)
1/2 a cup of water
Stir before each mouthful. I sometimes use it as a mouthwash.
Cayenne Pepper Recipes
Posted by Les Mis (St. Peters, Missouri) on 12/26/2012
★★★★★
I have had a cold off and on for a month! Thank you mono. This tea worked really well and really fast. It is really strong.... but it is totally worth it! So, far I have had 3 teaspoons full and my sore throat is gone.
Vicks Vapor Rub
Posted by Ben (Columbus, Oh) on 09/20/2010
Please don't try this!! At the first sign of cold/sore throat, sip a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass (8 oz!! ) of water.. Every hour if you can, or as often as you can throughout the day.. By the end of the day, symptoms will be gone.. This works by alkalinizing the bloodstream.. If you already have the sore throat, gargle a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in, again, 8 oz glass of water.. Gargle the whole glass, but spit out each time... Do this about every 3 -4 hrs and you will no longer have a sore throat!!! When I was younger I got sore throats fairly regularly; this was the only thing that worked!! OH remember to rinse rinse rinse your mouth out after using the vinegar!
Peanut Butter
Posted by Leriejane (Seattle, Wa, Usa) on 07/17/2010
★★★☆☆WORKED TEMPORARILY
PEANUT BUTTER
Out of curiosity, I tried eating a spoonful of chunky peanut butter to soothe my sore throat, and it worked! It lasted at least 1/2 an hour, but that's longer than any cough drops, tea, honey, or apple cider vinegar that I've tried. Half an hour isn't that long, but most of the scratchiness and soreness went down and continued for awhile after. It's a lot of calories, but if you're sick you probably won't be eating much, so won't be a problem. This is probably a good solution to do when your throat hurts really bad, between cough drops or tea, etc.
HARD LIQUOR
I've also found that drinking a shot of cheap alcohol, the kind that 'burns' as it goes down, works really well at numbing the throat. Either drink or gargle a shot's worth (or add it to warm water with salt).
Peanut Butter
Posted by Kirky (Toronto, Canada) on 04/06/2012
★★★★★
Oh my god. Just had a bit of peanut butter and it instantly worked! I'll be keeping this jar by my side today~ Haha
Vinegar
Posted by Tom (Opole, Poland) on 04/05/2011
★★★★★
Get a small plastic spray bottle, mix half vinegar and half water, and spray it at the back of your throat whenever it feels sore. I used to get sore throats all the time, but I haven't had one since using this method.
Vinegar
Posted by Gina (Denver, Co) on 05/20/2011
★☆☆☆☆
I have a sinus and ear infection and my throat has been killing me for 3 days. Went to the Dr. and got an antibiotic but my throat is still raw so I'm ready to try something "natural". I just tried 8 oz (240 ml) of warm water with a TBSP cidar vinegar, TBSP lemon juice and 2 TBSP honey. OMG I thought I was going to puke (maybe use less vinegar) I drank it all as quickly as I could and my throat is still killing me. Not a fan. Gimme drugs over this "remedy" any day.
Vinegar
Posted by Sara (Edmonton, Alberta Canada) on 05/29/2011
★★★★☆
Vinegar Syrup Lemon, it may taste wierd but it instantly worked its magic. I felt a burning sensation, 10 seconds later my throat felt ALOT better. The sore throat isnt completely gone but the pain of swallowing has eased 100x better.
Vinegar
Posted by Ninijo (Ytown, Sc) on 01/16/2013
★★★★★
So I've been been sick since Christmas... only to end up with bronchitis. And along with that comes the nasty sore throat. I decided to try the vinegar "drink"... I've gotta say it really eased the painful swallowing. Followed by a chloraseptic drop... I might get a decent nights sleep. Thank you so much!
Oregano Oil
Posted by Dimetri (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 09/21/2009
★★★★★
For a sore throat I have found that Oil of Oregano works like a miracle cure. Apply one to three drops on the tongue, close your mouth and allow your saliva to wash it back towards your throat. You will feel a choking/burning sensation for about 10 to 20 seconds which will soon subside. Repeat as needed throughout the day. Usually by the second or third day, my symptoms have gone. During this time, stay away from processed foods and especially white sugar & sugar filled foods. Those little bacteria and viruses love that stuff. And remember to keep yourself hydrated - lots of water, not soda, not beer, not alcohol, not flavoured water, not crystal light, just H2O. Usually about 2 to 3 litres depending on your weight.
Hot Sauce
Posted by Ashley (Jacksonville, Fl) on 07/31/2009
★★★★★
Have had the worse throat infection, woke up crying it hurt so bad. I just finished off a bowl of noodle soup. I took about two cups of the soup and added knockoff tabasco sauce, about 7-8 drops and my throat feels a lot better! Going to try gargling with it next!
ACV, Baking Soda, Cayenne
Posted by Sundrop881 (Rockford, Illinois) on 05/15/2010
I would be careful about using the baking soda as a great uncle of mine used it almost daily as an anti-acid and eventually it burned holes in his stomach.
I had a sore throat. I just took my tonic (composed of lemon juice, tomato juice, grated garlic and some hot sauce) with 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper and swallowed when I was on my back. I took about 3-4 sips and now my sore throat is gone and I feel like a human being. Other than my stomach is a little jittery, I feel Okay. My nose is still plugged, but I am working on it with a saline nose spray. Thanks, I can finally do some work now.
Mouthwash
Posted by Barb (Aberdeen, WA) on 05/07/2009
★★★★★
When you gargle with Listerine for a sore throat, try this: when you are done gargling, let just a SMALL amount of the Listerine go down your throat. In this way, the Listerine reaches any germs that are a little farther down your throat, where gargling can't reach. I have tried this several times, and if you do it about three times a day, as long as your throat is sore, it will relieve it. It's also important to do all the other good things too, though, such as getting extra rest, drinking liquids, etc.
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Cecilia (Atlanta, Georgia) on 03/06/2009
★★★★★
In order to avoid severe coughing while gargling with cayenne pepper (red pepper) in tempered water you need to breath deeply, hold your breath, take a sip of cayenne pepper, gargle, spit the mix and breath normal.
Gargling this way you avoid breathing through your mouth when you are sipping the mix and the dry cayenne powder doesn't get into your through.
Also, when the throat and larynx are irritated it is better not to swallow a lot of the mix so just swallow what is left in your spit after spitting the mix. It has worked wonderfully for me!
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Giancarlo (Sunny Isles Beach, Fl) on 01/15/2010
yes, yes there is a trick for the fire not to come out of your nose and ears, literately!
At first, I tried gargling, and it exploded out of my nose and the cayenne vapor was coming out of my eyes burning, spit it right away. Then I realized that it was way deeper than that, so I was gonna have to drink it.
I did a few rounds of practice with water alone first. Hold your nose and swallow water without breathing. Don't let the air come out from your ears either. It's all connected in there.
I put some honey on the mix, and held my nose, and swallowed without letting air out in any direction, but down my throat. It worked, I didn't explode at all.
Now I can do it tomorrow. If you even let a little air out... it's a bomb.
Hot Sauce
Posted by Mike (Detroit, Michigan) on 02/20/2009
★★★★★
I gargled with 3-8 ounce cups warm water with hot sauce diluted and ate some hot chicken noodle soup sprinkled with hotsauce in and my sore throat disappeared. I want to thank you and your community for great remedy.
Acid Reflux Connection
Posted by Rob (Mount Vernon, NY) on 01/15/2009
★★★★★
sore throats and acid reflux!
Here's a tip I'd love to share. Last year I dealt with a sore throat for over 3 months! Finally went to an ENT who put the camera up my nose and down my throat and saw that there was no infection. As it turns out he diagnosed it as acid reflux! So he put me on a reflux regimen and started me on AcipHex which I tried for a week to no avail. Then I tried Nexium out of pocket since it was not covered in my insurance formulary, and in about a day and a half, it was gone! Hope this helps someone!
Acid Reflux Connection
Posted by Mike O (Blackwood, Nj Usa) on 12/07/2011
Orange Peel Extract is the answer. It is all natural not a prescribed pill... D-Lymonene is what I use take it once in the morning and works like a charm! First few times you will burp up oranges but that means it's working. Good Luck
Acid Reflux Connection
Posted by Lou (Tyler, Tx) on 03/06/2012
I had horrible pain seemingly in the thyroid and hoarse voice today and the last few days. Hard to breathe and swallow. I used one of Ted's suggestions. I put 5 drops of hydrogen peroxide (3%) in a bottle of water 16.5 oz. (approx. 1/2 liter) and a little bit of borax (1/8 tsp. ) I feel 100% better now. Drink this slowly over 1/2 of the day.
Coconut Oil
Posted by SUNNY (Ca) on 09/05/2021
Best way is to gargle and spit it. And swallow some. Best kind is cold pressed organic coconut oil. This works! Coconut oil is antibacterial and antiviral and warm and relaxing.
Vinegar
Posted by Abby (Birmingham, England) on 09/12/2012
i tried the vinegar it didn't completely cure it but when I wake up usually my throat is so painful I can't talk. I tried the vinegar and oh my god it relieved the pain so much. I used just normal vinegar it worked better then my cyder vinegar.
Whiskey
Posted by Kate (Toronto, Ontario) on 12/04/2008
★★★★★
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.
Tequila
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 10/27/2008 392 posts
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
Tequila is long known to help sore throat in some cases, but it won't stop recurrence of sore throat. The reason for sore throat is virus or bacteria. So even a beer with plenty of tabasco sauce or halbenero pepper sauce may actually kill the sore throat too. Even a lemon juice with tabasco sauce or hot sauce also worked just as well without the alcohol. In certain cases very sore throat infection runs deep into the throat, the alcohol reaches the pathogens quicker killing them. But it can't be used frequently and I used only in extreme circumstances when alcohol is actually added. The reason is that alcohol also destroys the immune system in the process and takes days to recover because it cause the body to be metabolically acidosis. The other issue is alcohol has a tendency to be addictive to some people and then they start rationalizing for their continued use. I have found people who use alcohol added sore throat remedy will have a high recurrence rate compared to a lemon, baking soda or hydrogen peroxide, for the simple reason that alcohol also harms healthy cells and hence it lower's the body's immune system.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Jane (Grove City, OH, USA) on 10/14/2008
★★★★★
Listerine. It cures your throat sores immediately, doesn't taste gross, and it makes your breath smell better. Use the amount you usually do for mouthwash rinsing, or if you haven't used it before use about one tablespoon. Gargle it as far back as you can without swallowing it. It really takes away the burn!
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Joey (Toronto, Ontario) on 11/26/2008
★☆☆☆☆
This stuff is a lie, it makes you foam haha, I tried it, don't try it, it doesn't even work either.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Matthew (Philladelphia, PA) on 02/18/2009
★★★★☆
Antiseptic Mouthwash [Listerine] made my sore throat better, but not cured. It took the sharp edge off of my sore throat, but it definitely didn't cure it.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Emily (Cape Coral, Florida, United States) on 07/16/2010
★★★★★
I had a really bad sore throat and my friend was supposed to come over later. I read this, ran upstairs, and started to gargle. To be honest I didn't check how much I used, but I would assume it was about two tablespoons. As soon as I started gargling I started to feel better. It definantly worked for me.
Antiseptic Mouthwash
Posted by Gerald (Columbus, Ohio) on 04/22/2011
Listerine will help with a sore throat, but only a little. The reason for that is the fact that you are not swallowing the listerine. So basically you are only treating the upper part of the throat. The other remedys are having you swallow some of the concoction so the entire throat is being treated.
Basically, for any sore throat remedy to be really effective it needs to be something you swallow, and be something that clings to the surface of the throat tissues after you have swallowed so it continues to work even after you have finished gargling/swallowing. Thats why pepper works well.... the particles cling to the mouth and throat.
Cayenne Pepper Recipes
Posted by Tammy (Port Deposit, MD) on 10/02/2008
Try adding cayenne to Ramen soup. Add a pinch or two depending on your sensitivity to the hot water or add when you put in seasoning packet. Mix it up good and make sure you drink the broth. Not only will it heal your throat it will start your sinus's draining as well.
Carrot Juice
Posted by V (Poughkeepsie, New York) on 06/08/2012
One note on this, you can avoid all that by just chewing fresh well washed and skinned carrots til they give you all the juice, then eating the pulp is up to you, I say why not but in this case you could always put half in the compost pile.
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Giancarlo (Poughkeepsie, New York) on 03/17/2008
★★★★★
Some Dangers of this cure: Ok you have to warn people loud and clear that they have to water it down... i let some hot sauce down my throat not watered down at all and my throat valve just completly closed and i was gasping for air and i almost died... but after sucking down water i was able to get control of myself.. but anyways my soar throat was gone pretty much instantly lol.
Cayenne Tips
Posted by Belina (Merida, Yucatan, Mexco) on 03/12/2008
I've read about people having problems with Cayenne, Habanero or other "hot" chilies or sauces and as a Chef who specializes in Mexican fare, plus I now live in Mexico too, I can give you a very easy and efficient remedy to ease the burning from peppers. Also, it doesn't matter if the burning is in your mouth, lips, face (from touching it with your hands after handling peppers) or hands, it works:
Put a little salt on the palm of your left hand, wet the tip of your right index finger in your mouth slightly and dip it in the salt and place it UNDER your tongue (sublingual) in the tender area on your jaw and not ON the underside of the tongue. Relief is very quick, easy to do, you can do it anywhere (like a restaurant) and works for everyone plus you can find salt everywhere.
