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, Salt, Lemon
Posted by Dori (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) on 03/06/2013
★★★★★
I am in a play and dress rehearsal is tonight! I woke with a sore throat yesterday, hoping rest would take it away... Still here this morning. Went online and found the mixture of 1/2 tsp of each: cayenne, salt, lemon juice in 1/2 cup of water. WOW. First gargle took the sore throat away! Will repeat today until this evening. I did swallow the second gargle and tolerated it well.
Salt Water
Posted by Turtle6685 (Dallas, Tx) on 01/28/2013
★★★★★
Since I was a child we would gargle warm water with salt to get rid of sore throats. It works wonders. Use 1 tsp of salt for 8 oz of water. Do this every 4 to 6 hours and sore throat should be gone within 24 hours.
Salt Water
Posted by Vikki (Solihull, Uk) on 02/27/2013
★★★★★
When we are kids we gargle with anything, but as u get older u get boring & forget!
Had severe sore throat for couple days now from blocked/runny sinuses. Decided to do the salt water gargle, started with small mouthfuls first then built my way up!! Plus kitchen towel on hand. After first cup I coughed up (sorry) lots of phlegm, did a second cup & feel much better.
Also had lemon juice (from bottle in fridge), honey & hot water as a "chaser". Have filled up my gardening flask & going to sip it tucked up in bed. Will repeat later & see how it goes. Anything's worth a try & cheaper than meds, plus the old ones are the best ;-)
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Daniel (Redding, California Usa) on 12/24/2012
★☆☆☆☆
Story: I am 13 years old, and its the day before Christmas eve. And I was sick the day before (Now just a sore throat)
First I gargled salt water (1 tsp/8oz) 3 times, every 10 mins. Cooked up some lemon-herb tea (Excessive honey). Then I found some leftover pasta and sauce from dinner, so I warmed that up, put alot of black pepper in it, and ate it... For the last part (Not necessary) Drank a sip of Soy-Egg-Nog to make my throat feel better before bed.
Morning results: Even worse...
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Sheila (Cork, Ireland) on 12/28/2012
Sage tea works every time for a sore throat. Add a teaspoon of dried sage to a cup of boiling water, cover and leave for 5-10 minutes, then drink slowly.
Brandy
Posted by Steve (Epsom, Surrey England) on 12/21/2012
★★★★★
Thought I'd share this adult remedy that I've used for 20 years. If you've got a sore throat coming on....... Gargle with Brandy 3 or 4 times in one night (not cheap supermarket brand stuff because I've tried that and it doesn't work). The next day your throat will be gone.
Turmeric
Posted by Charlie (Jacksonville, Fl) on 12/13/2012
★★★★★
Turmeric powder! Its a miracle worker! Gargle some of this in warm water a couple times and bam! Your sore throat is gone! I swear! Old Indian secret taught to me by a friend.
Mouthwash
Posted by Katy (Brighton, England) on 09/23/2012
★★★★★
Wow. I tried this and felt fine almost instantly! I did things a little different though, I watered down some mouthwash and swallowed that and it worked just as well! Thank you!
Mouthwash
Posted by Inka (Narnia, Neverneverland) on 09/23/2012
★★★★★
This is a definite yea. As soon as I tried it, my throat began feeling better.
Cayenne, Salt, Lemon
Posted by Carl (Hoquiam, Wa) on 06/06/2012
★★★★★
Barely been able to eat for 2 days. Swallowing is torture, I wince everytime. I mixed 1tsp cayenne, 1tsp salt, 1tsp lemon in a cup of water. Gargled for a couple of minutes, then I spit out the concoction but swallowed what was left in my mouth. Took a couple of minutes but it feels literally 100% better. Thanx ya'll
I still continued the treatment for a couple of hours. Yeah I can eat!!!!
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.
Oregano Oil
Posted by Susan (Panama City, Florida) on 04/07/2012
★★★★★
I recently began to have a sore throat and drank three drops of oregano oil in a oz of water three times of day for four days and sore throat went away without me even getting sicker.
Soup
Posted by Extra Guy! (Honolulu, Hawaii, honolulu ) on 03/08/2012
★★★★★
For a nice way to relieve pain of a sore throught, just have a nice bowl of warm lentil soup! Have some potatoes, lentils(duh), a tiny bit of onions, and voila! You have a tasty soup that helps you! I know this doesn't involve cayenne but it's very helpful too( I've tried cayenne it works! )
Over the Counter
Posted by Trader (Muscle Shoals, Alabama) on 02/03/2012
Simply take a small packet of BC Powder and pour the powder on your tonque. Take about 1/4 glass of either water or tea into your mouth and swish this around until the powder is diluted. Now! Gargle as long as you can getting the mixture around the areas of your throat that is hurting.... then swallow.
In about 3 minutes you will feel the pain lessening... In about 15 minutes it will feel even better.... If the sore throat returns in a few hours repeat the same..... after the second or third time it usually will not come back....
You can think of me later.... go get the powder....
Olive Oil
Posted by Ranjana (Richmond, Ca, Usa) on 11/23/2011
★★★★★
I visited earthclinic.com for the first time yesterday looking for more info about oil pulling-I have major gum issues. I tried e.v. Olive oil this morning b/c I read that sesame & sunflower can leave you with a sore throat and I didn't want to aggravate the one I already had. So I did a tablespoon of EVOO & swished for 10 minutes... and, remarkably, my sore throat was gone! Incredible! I hope it helps my gums too.
Whiskey, Honey, Lemon
Posted by Diane (Collegeville, Pa) on 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!
Hot Tea
Posted by Sara (Des Moines, Iowa) on 11/01/2011
★★★★★
What I do, is I take a cup of boiling hot water let it cool a little, but while it is cooling I take a little slice of lemon and squeeze some juice out of it. Then stir in raw honey, after my tea is to my "darkness" of choosing I sit outside on cool fall nights and drink my tea slowly. And you **might** be thinking "But doesn't the cold make your cold worse?" Actually it helps me because I absolutely see no help in being stuck in the air that has been polluted by my sickness.
Zinc
Posted by Paul (Freeport, Maine) on 10/20/2011
★★★★★
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.
