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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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..
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.
Michelle (Nijmegen, The Netherlands) on 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
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!
This absolutely worked for me! I started with my annual allergy "attack" yesterday. To me, the sore throat is the worst part. I followed the instructions and after two or three gargles, my throat felt immensely better. I gargled a couple of hours later and my sore throat had subsided enough so I could get a good night's sleep. Thank you, thank you!
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...
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!
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
Lovechronic.hatestrep (Austin, Texas, North America) on 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!
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.
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?
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!
Arsieiuni (Arley, Al, United States Of America) on 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!
I make cayenne pepper tea too! Actually I think I am addicted to it... Every time I made tea regardless of the kind - even if I have milk in it - I always sprinkle cayenne or red pepper chunks in it. It really does help sore throats!
Grandpa Dave (Mountain View, Arkansas) on 10/28/2010:
I cannot tell you how excited I was to read about Cayenne Pepper in helping with a sore throat. I have made Cayenne Pepper Tea for years and enjoy it very much. I cannot imagine gargling it and spitting it out and miss out on the thrill of drinking it. I have never thought of it as being associated it with actually helping with a sore throat. I woke up this morning with the start of a sort throat and after reading what everyone has said, I heated up some diced tomatoes and loaded it down with Cayenne. Yep, My throat is feeling better. Now through out the day I will be stopping while I'm on the road and making myself some of my favorite spicy drink, good ole Cayenne Pepper Tea with lots of Cayenne floating around in it. Sure it's a little warm but for me that's what makes it good. Thanks Guys and Gals, you have made my day! Grandpa Dave
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!!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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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