| 5 star (23) | 100% |
Armadillo17 (Chicago, Il) on 01/13/2013: 
Also, I brewed some tea with ginger, lemon, honey and Earl Grey and this is helping too. Let me add that this is by far the NASTIEST sore throat I have ever had---the phlegm has like, CHUNKS of greening yellow stuff in it. Eeeew! But I did obtain some relief and will definitely re-gargle shortly with the same mixture.
Les Mis (St. Peters, Missouri) on 12/26/2012:
Jane (Auburn Hills, Michigan ) on 12/10/2012:
Last night, I woke up with my throat almost completely swollen shut and inflamed and it felt like I was swallowing glass. I dreaded swallowing and couldn't even manage water. I went to the ER and was there for several hours. The only answer they had was narcotics and to send me home with more narcotics and steroids to reduce swelling. I was in tears because I had no answer for what was wrong, I couldn't just take narcotics to mask the pain and the antibiotics were not working and I had been suffering already for nearly ten excrutiating days. Three doctors and no solution.
I came home and began to research relief for severe sore throats and stumbled across the cayenne pepper recipe on this site. I was intrigued but also nervous it would just exacerbate the pain given my luck lately. After debating for about an hour, I decided I couldn't bear the throat pain another second. I gargled the first time and the most nasty things came out of my throat. I repeated the gargling process for about ten minutes. There was relief but I was skeptical it was just numb from the burning of the hot pepper. About two hours later, my throat was somewhat better so I gargled again. More productive phlegm and dried blood. I gargled a third time this evening and still had productive phlegm come out, however, I have absolutely no more throat pain!!!! To think, this was all it took after almost ten days of needless drugs and misery. The throat still feels a little raw from the "trauma" when I drink any acidic juices, but I am 100% feeling better in the throat region. Now if only there were magic home cures for the sinus surgery recovery - congestion, sinus headaches, swelling, constant post nasal drip.
Krystine (Memphis, Tn) on 03/27/2011:
1 lemon (squezze as much juice as you can out of that lemon.)
1 lemon tea (I used Lemon Youkou from Teavana)
1 peppermint tea (again from Teavana)
some natural honey
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper powder
It's the best cup ever. It clears out my nose and helps my throat. I love this drink now. And would recomend it to anyone. Unless you are alergic to one of the ingredients in which case I would say not to try this... ;-)
Kayla (Dallas, Tx) on 02/01/2011:
Boil 1.5 cups water
add fresh grated ginger (I used about 3 Tablespoons)
add fresh garlic (2-3 cloves chopped)
add cayenne (to taste, I use a lot)
add turmeric
add fresh lemon (whole, then throw peal in there)
add about 1 tablespoon honey or agave.
This is a great detoxifier and a sore throat cure!
Annelle (Princes Town, Trinidad ) on 07/10/2010:
India (Coral Springs, Florida) on 08/24/2008:
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of honey
12-16 ounces of hot water
And a teabag of your choice for flavor.
I barely took a sip because I thought it would burn or taste terrible, but it really didn't! It was a subtle spicy and it tingled and felt really good. I barely took a sip, and already I could feel my voice coming back (I had a horrible sore throat, in which it hurt to swallow etc) It didn't immediately cure the hurting to swallow, but I've still got a whole cup to go. I think it'll help. Thanks Earth Clinic and everyone for posting these remedies!
Eric (London, UK) on 03/28/2008:
Jennifer (Louisburg, NC) on 03/27/2008:
I thought cayenne pepper sounded ridiculous, but I was willing to try anything. I couldn't stomach the thought of gargling with it, so I made some ramen noodles and sprinkled cayenne pepper over it. It worked amazingly well. By morning, my sore throat was gone.
I have since found that adding the cayenne pepper to any warm soup broth and drinking like tea works wonders. Tastes much better, too.
June (KC, KS) on 02/05/2008:
I recently tried cayenne in an ACV drink recipe here that was so disgusting I had to pour the whole thing down the sink. It tasted foul and burned my mouth, so using cayenne for my sore throat was a last resort. But so many people said it was The Cure, so I had to try it. Here's what I did:
I emptied one capsule of cayenne into 3/4 cup of hot water and let it steep for a while like tea. I then drained the mixture through a coffee filter and into a small spray bottle. Then I sprayed the mixture on the back of my throat, gargled a bit, then swallowed. The spray completely bypassed my mouth, so no unnecessary burning. The burning in my throat actually felt kind of soothing and effective. And, what a miracle cure!!! What iodine, h2o2, colloidal silver and salt water could not do in 4 days, CAYENNE PEPPER DID IN 2 HOURS!!! It completely took away the sore throat and I continued to use it periodically for the next several days to ensure the sore throat did not take hold again
