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.
The Vegan Herbal Lover (Los Angeles, USA) on 04/10/2023:
I don’t remember how I happened upon this forum for cayenne for strep. I thought I had searched “what herb kills strep”. But now looking back none of the many articles that initially come up even mention cayenne as an option. I drink cayenne lemon water daily and have been for years so when my 14 yo daughter encountered strep throat, maybe this prompted me to eventually search specifically for the effects of cayenne on strep. But I’m glad I did! I initially gave her most of the recommended remedies listed in all the articles from cinnamon to gargling with sea salt water mixed with the many recommended essential oils with MINIMAL results.
My daughter also slept most of the day these first two days and ate and drank very little as she was in constant miserable pain whenever she swallowed. Her sleeping so much actually became a concern as lethargy is not listed as a common symptom of strep.
So we were very relieved after discovering and implementing cayenne as an option. I made a gargle for her that consisted of hot lemon water and added sea salt and as much cayenne as she could stand. After 1 day of gargling about 4 times (3 hours apart), my daughter felt immediate relief and was able to drink an entire smoothie that night. As she gargled she noticed white cloudy stuff the mucus filled water she spit out. We noticed the white patches on her throat disappearing after every session. We wondered if what was coming out was the actual white stuff on her throat, but couldn’t be sure.
However as the patches decreased the pain also drastically decreased and by the end of day two of gargling all the pain was gone. She continued gargling 3 times daily for two weeks however even though she was pain free as we treated the cayenne like a medical antibiotic. I had read to do this to ensure the virus is completely gone. So CAYENNE CAYENNE CAYENNE FOLKS!!!! And shame on all those articles for not including this as a natural home remedy option for strep!!
Cayenne has done so much for me from detoxing me as well as regulating my blood sugar. It has also worked in lowering my sisters blood pressure.
My granddaughter had a sore throat, so I looked at her tonsils and saw the white puss pockets on her tonsils. I thought oh no strep throat! I had read on EC about cayenne. I got a q-tip and wet it and dipped it in the cayenne, and dabbed it on both tonsils. The pain stopped, and she was better the next day! I have Dr Christopher's books. Love him and EC! It's my 1st go to for ailments.
Frank's Red Hot reduced the pain by 80% in a few minutes of gargling. It's currently 2 am. No way to buy cayenne pepper at this time. I have slept less than 2 hours per night in the last 4 nights due to the pain. Thank you for your comment Andrew. I'm going to try to get some sleep and I'm going to have some more hot sauce for breakfast!
I contracted strep my first week of working at a preschool. I had swollen tonsils, white patches on the left side of my tonsil, ear pain and it hurt so bad to swallow. I was miserable. I tried Garlic, chamomile tea, and ACV solution. NONE of those worked AT ALL. I got anxious because I wanted to feel better without wasting hundreds of dollars to see a dr(I didn't have insurance). I tried gargling Cayenne Pepper with warm water and within MINUTES I felt relief. I continued doing it for 3 days, every so often. Even on the 3rd day I felt 99%, but I wanted to be sure. I wanted to cry from happiness. I've suffered for years with strep and I literally look forward to it every year. This remedy has saved me money, time and headache. I was able to go back to work the day after.
I was sick with strep back in December. I got put on antibiotics and it went away. I got sick again 2 months later with strep which turned into Scarlet fever. Was put on antibiotics which got rid of the rash, but not the strep or the fever. My glands were very swollen and it was difficult and painful to swallow anything solid. The last thing I wanted was yet another trip to the doctor. I came across a remedy on here which consisted of putting Cayanne pepper into lukewarm water and gargling with it. I did 1tsp in 8oz of water. Within hours, the pain was bearable and within 2 days the strep was gone and my throat was back to normal. The best part was, unlike with antibiotics, there were ZERO side-effects. I highly recommend this for anyone suffering with throat pain!
I have been using the site for years and have tried many many remedies on here. Unequivocally without a doubt I can say that the Cayenne pepper for strep throat remedy is the quickest most miraculous instantaneous natural treatment I have ever tried. For me it literally works quicker than antibiotics.
Apple cider vinegar does not work, hydrogen peroxide does not work, and gargling with saltwater does not work for my strep at all. And antibiotics take approximately eight hours for me to notice the effects. But gargling with Cayenne pepper in lukewarm water provides instant relief. And cures the strep. I have tried and tested this and told many people. It is truly a miracle and actually quite silly that anyone would try anything other than This!! IT WORKS. It CURES strep throat.
Gargle with it, your lips will feel warm/ hot but it won't even burn your throat. Avoiding all dairy also helps prevent strep BUT once you have it the cayenne kicks it's butt. If your children have strep you can put the cayenne / water solution into a spray bottle and spray their throats. This method took my five year old son from screaming hysterically to sleeping soundly. I had to come up with a way to get the cayenne onto his throat cuz no way would he gargle with it. Well of course it worked like a charm and saved us a trip to the emergency room at midnight, God bless you all!!!
Always know when I am getting strep throat. Read about cayenne and decided to try it. Within 24 hours my white spots in the back of my throat were gone! I used raw honey - dipped a q-tip in that and rolled it in cayenne pepper powder. Swabbed it on the back sides of my throat every few hours for 2 days. In between I gargled with cayenne and warm water. About a tsp. This is the third day and my strep is almost gone!!!! Really works but you have to keep at it for the first days .
My son was diagnosed with strep on Friday. I was feverish with body aches Friday and Saturday. By Sunday my throat felt so sore with that razor blade feeling when I swallowed. I had been drinking ACV since Friday but looked on here for something specifically for the throat pain. At first I sprinkled organic cayenne pepper on my dinner and I felt it working instantly. The pain came back 2 hours later so I gargled with 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice in warm water. It was very unpleasant but I pushed through. The pain was gone in about 10 minutes. I went to a Walgreens clinic today and had my throat tested for strep and I don't have it!!! I am so happy! Thank you Earth Clinic.
I have suffered from a sore throat (strep), headache, body aches and high fever for a couple days now. I really didn't want to go on antibiotics again because I was on a very high dosage just a little over a month ago for an unrelated incident. I was very happy and rather surprised at how quickly the remedy provided relief and with ingredients I presently found in my home. I will keep up the gargling until the symptoms subside completely. Thanks!
So yea cayenne for strep works. But I just want to add that I didn't have cayanne peppers or powder or anything in the house. But I did have franks red hotsauce. With cayanne peppers being the main ingredient. Plus the bonus ingrediants of vinegar and garlic powder. So it worked out well for me, maybe u don't have peppers or powder? Try hot sauce!
Strep Throat: I used the 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper in hot water as I could take with 1/4 lemon juice then I gargled it. I am amazed at the relief I felt. I was able to sleep the night. I'm going to keep at it a few times a day until it clears up. Amazing!!
I contracted strep throat on my right tonsil (unmistakable white patches) and spent several days taking ibuprophen for the pain, hoping that the strep would clear up on it's own. When it became difficult to swallow, I found the home remedy of using cayenne pepper on this website. I applied the cayenne pepper with a qtip dipped in honey and then the pepper, directly to my inflammed tonsil. The next morning the swelling and pain were reduced by roughly 50%! I reapplied the honey/cayenne pepper twice more throughout the day and by the second morning the white patches were almost gone and the swelling was as well. By day three my throat was completely back to normal! I am absolutely amazed that such a simple cure worked so well! Thank you earth clinic!
I loved the Cayenne on a Q Tip idea! It worked! I dipped it in a bit of honey first to make it sticky and then the cayenne. I swabbed the white pus pustules on my tonsils with the cayenne Q tip. Gagged a bit but was worth it because the pain was gone in 5 minutes. Did this 4 times a day for next two days. By day two was able to remove the white spots with the Q tip. Kind of gross but I got the infection out! No doctor no antibiotics! Wow!
WOW, what a cure! I woke up a few nights ago with a raging sore throat; every swallow felt like I was choking down razor blades and I was in tears. Sleep was impossible so I did a net search for remedies and found earth clinic.
I've tried ACV in the past without much effect, but cayenne was a new idea to me. It sounded terrible, but I was in too much pain and willing to try anything. Mixed up a cup of warm water with about a quarter teaspoon of pepper, and added a squirt of lemon for good measure.
I found the gargle much easier than I expected. It felt pleasantly warm, not blazing hot, wrapping my throat in soothing heat. The relief was instantaneous and within minutes the raw pain had subsided to a dull ache that I knew I could sleep through. When I awoke the next morning I still had a cold, but the sore throat was gone, and never came back while the virus ran its course. Wow. I am a believer! Cayenne really works!
My throat was sore last night. Woke up and its all inflamed with a sharp pain when I swallow. Looked in the mirror.... Its strep...... Went to the doctor, waited an hour..... Ended up getting two shots instead of amoxicillin (allergic)...... Had to pay $92.50, no insurance.
I just tried 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, tsp of lemon juice, tsp of honey, dash of cinnamon, in about 8oz of hot water...... pain was immediately cut in half! Pain returned to about 75% after around 15 minutes....
I won't be able to tell if this treatment can actually cure this bacterial infection since I am shot full of anti-biotics... However I can attest to the wonderful pain relief delivered by cayenne! Thank you so much earth clinic!
Jessie (Lakewood, Ohio, United States) on 11/20/2011:
Yes! It works! I was skeptical it would help my strep throat but I did it nonetheless. I gargled before bed and felt like it did nothing to help. When I woke up I felt what I would estimate to be 70% reduction in swelling and pain. Unbelieveable.
Yesterday I could feel the strep throat coming on so, I came to my favorite forum to find out how to treat it. I went to the doctor today and have the antibiotics just in case, since this is my first time trying a home-remedy for strep throat, but I am hoping to not have to start taking the prescription. After reading numerous posts on strep throat, I decided to take everyone's advice and tweak it to what I hope will work for me.
What I did was take about a teaspoon of raw, organic honey and mixed into it about 1/2 teaspoon of organic cayenne pepper. It made a thick, sticky reddish paste. I then (using a small flashlight to aid in seeing back into my throat) used a cotton swab to dip into the paste and then brush it onto my tonsils and uvula. (the uvula is the dangly thing hanging in the center of the back of your mouth and the tonsils are on the sides). I am keeping it in a tiny tupperware container to use until my strep throat (hopefully) goes away.
I was gargling with a warm-water and cayenne mixture, but that was burning my tongue so much that I thought this might be better; plus I'm applying it directly to the problem so, I think it is a better idea. I love that it doesn't burn at all when I apply it directly to my tonsils!
Shelby (Blue Springs, Missouri, United States) on 04/30/2011:
Okay, so I've had strep throat for three days and haven't been dealing with just a sore throat- it's the whole deal: body aches, head aches, and a horrible fever. I'm on antibiotics, the maximum dosage that I can have, but the pain has been getting worse in my throat. I'm also an asthmatic, which, of course, does not help the situation in the slightest because it makes it very difficult for me to breathe.
I Googled home remedies for strep and this was the first website that came up. The most revered fix seemed to be the cayenne pepper (and that was the only thing I had in my cabinets that was on the list) so I went ahead and tried it. I just sprinkled some into a little bit of orange juice and drank it down. Since I cannot stand cayenne pepper, not because it's spicy but because I hate it, I followed the glass down with some milk, but I sipped it because I was afraid the cayenne wouldn't work properly if I didn't. I must say, it worked a lot better than I expected it to. Although I can still feel the swollen, tender lump in my throat, the pain was 95% gone after I had finished the drink and I can breathe a little easier now.
Hopefully, this response will work for somebody else, the way it worked for me.
I've been reading many of the comments on using cayenne pepper for a sore throat and also for strep. I figured by now we all know it works so there was no reason for me to add my two cents. But so many people seem to have a hard time with it. Even the ones who have no problem at all are making it much more difficult than it has to be. When I feel one coming on all I do is take a Q-tip and wet it. Then dip it in the cayenne and dab it on your throat where you feel the pain. If you need more turn it around or get a new one and keep going until you cover as much as you need to. I was surprised that you don't even taste it and no burning at all.
A few weeks back my throat started killing me. I never even looked at it all day. The next morning I woke up in great pain. I looked in the mirror and there it was. A big white spot on the back of my throat about the size of a jelly bean. I dabbed a little cayenne on it and never even thought about it again. About two days later I remembered it and thought "That's weird. I wonder what happened to my Strep" I looked in the mirror and couldn't see anything. Gone.
The Q-tip works fine but what I've been doing is using a camel hair brush. It's a number 6. They're actually meant for painting models(cars, planes etc. )It works better because it has a much longer handle and you can see better because you're not stuffing all your fingers and half your hand into your mouth. Just rinse it well and then rinse it in some rubbing alcohol or peroxide so you don't keep recontaminating yourself. Also dump a little of the cayenne out into a cup or on a plate or something and then when your done rinse it down the drain. Never dip right into your cayenne container. Anyway hope this helps those who don't/can't gargle the cayenne. I know it's not pleasant, I've tried. This is much easier plus the cayenne is EXTREMELY concentrated and not literally watered down.
Yes Cayenne Pepper is effective! You will find that most reviews here say that they received a 50% cure within the first day. The point here is that you have to continue the use of it (just as you must continue a full pack of antibiotics because they keep working up to 10 days after you take your last one). A couple people here said it did not work for them, but I wonder how often and how long they used it for it not to work? I read every review here before I tried it yesterday(07/18/10). I woke up Saturday morning with a severe sore throat that felt swollen and raw, stiff and painful neck, chills, body aches, and occasional minor headache. I googled sore throat and then realized that I had strep throat, first time in my life and I am 30yrs of age. My clinic is closed on weekdays so I needed something to get me through the weekend since many over the counter drugs/meds were NOT doing anything for me and the pain! Only thing that did help a little was sore throat spray. You will find you have several options with the cayenne pepper. You can gargle it with warm water; use about a 1/2 tsp cayenne with half or full cup of warm water. I prefer using less water because then you won't have to gargle as much, but you are still getting the same dose of cayenne. Someone else spoke of eating 1/8 tsp of cayenne, allowing it to rest in their throat for minutes until they chased it down with milk. That is probably one of the more effective ways offered as it is direct contact. Another idea I learned was mixing it in with a warm drink. You can either heat natural lemonade or water, and add honey, lemon of course, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Microwave it and slowly sip. The lemon mixed with cayenne and heated up has a kick to it, so prepare yourself! But it taste sweet and is tolerable. I find it better than liquid meds. Last you can just add it with whatever food you'd like! I put some of that chili in a can (vegetarian actually) on a piece of bread and sprinkled some cayenne on top and ate that last night. I basically took a little of everyone's advice and applied it. I am on day two and I have noticed a significant positive change! The pain has subsided by about 75%. I have no doubt that if I continue on with this pattern I will be cured within 1-2 more days. Regardless if I do feel better by tomorrow (day 3 of cayenne use) I will continue through the day with it just to be sure it is gone!
This is what I did on day one and plan to continue each day for 3 days total: Gargle with 1/2 tsp cayenne in 3/4 cup warm water until it's gone. After each gargle, it wouldn't hurt to swallow a bit of each gargle to be sure it gets in your throat. Right after that I warmed 1 cup of water in microwave with about 1 tbsp of honey, squeezed a couple slices of lemon in water, and sprinkled some cayenne with it. Then I took some medicine, and since we cannot discuss brand names I cannot say exactly what I used. But it is the stuff that you can buy over the counter in the medicine aisle, used specifically for the ". . . . . Flu" or for "severe cold & cough. " It comes in packets (powder form which you dissolve in water). I bought the double pack, which had 6 packets of daytime and 6 for night time. The daytime is "berry infused w/ menthol & green tea. " The night time packets contain "honey lemon infused w/ chamomile & white tea flavors. " Regardless, they still taste like medicine. So if I was you I would not mix it with a full cup of water like the directions say, but rather make it a shot! Next I took 5ml of colloidal silver, a mineral and NATURAL OVER the COUNTER ANTIBIOTIC! It cost me $10. There are several brands out there of colloidal silver. I personally shop at specific vitamin stores to get supplements that I can trust. Next I ate 2 oranges because this source of natural vitamin C is the absolute best! I know this from personal experience when I was cured of illness when I had no access to supplements or vitamins, but only access to food. (Basic Training). Last I ate chili on piece of bread with sprinkle of cayenne on top. I have no doubt that the combination of these things worked together to heal my body. But I know that the cayenne does work because of the fact that I did feel better soon after I gargled and consumed it which was before I had taken anything else. I will follow all these steps today and tomorrow. I doubt I will need to go to the doctor now! I will follow up in 2 days. . .
My son who is 12, was complaining about a really bad sore throat last night, he was talking funny and could not swallow any foods and had a hard time with liquids as well. When I checked his mouth I noticed there were 2 white puss pockets and knew he was getting strep. I really did not want to take him to the Emergency room last night and pay a BIG out of pocket expense, so I looked up strep on Earth clinic and found a strep throat remedie using Cayenne Pepper and lemon juice. Well, I put 1/2 tbl spoon of cayenne pepper and 1/2 tbl spoon fresh squeezed lemon juice in 1 cup of warm water and had him gargle through out the evening. At first he was complaining that it wasn't working, and it was a little spicy. When he got up this morning boy was he excited, when he was able to swallow breakfast and there was no more pain at all. I am very very excited about using this site more often in the future. First time HAPPY Earth clinc remedie user!!!
Stephanie (Ruidoso, New Mexico, USA) on 04/14/2009:
Cayenne pepper for strep throat works GREAT! I have had strep throat four times (confirmed) in the past five months. I went to the doctor, took the antibiotics given and about 2-3 weeks after the antibiotics were finished, I would get symptoms again and my doctor suggested seeing an ENT doctor to get my tonsils out. At the first signs of strep throat this time (achey, sore throat, lump in throat) I saw this site and thought why NOT try the cayenne pepper. I had two small white patches in my throat so I KNEW it was heading to strep and I started gargling 1/8 tsp organic cayenne pepper with warm water around 5pm. I can NOT eat hot foods and was scared to death but it wasn't bad at all. It burned my tongue more than anything but I was desperate! I also added some cayenne pepper to my chicken noodle soup. I probably gargled once an hour at first but right before going to bed, I gargled every fifteen minutes for about four times. I went to bed (still seeing the small spots on my throat but feeling better). I slept for about 7 hours- which was GREAT and first thing looked down my throat and one spot is gone and the other has been reduced dramatically. Now, I have to admit that I caught this one early and I think that helped immensly but I am a believer! Thanks so much to all your postings! I am going to shout it from the rooftops - CAYENNE REALLY WORKS!
I tried gargling with the cayenne pepper every 15 minutes to help cure my strep throat but nothing was working. I even tried mixing the cayenne with apple cider vinegar and still nothing. I even swallowed the apple cider vinegar and my throat still feels like it is on fire. Since strep is a bacteria and contagious I truly believe now that it is one of those things that should be treated with an antibiotic to ensure that it does not come back. No home remedy for this one.
Jory (Crossville, Tennessee, United States) on 03/01/2009:
the cayenne pepper thing... yes i tried it, and it worked wonders, thank you so much for this, this was fantastic, completely and utterly amazing, and as long as you do it right people, it will work i swear it. my whole family had strep, and we did this pepper thing, and it worked on all of us in less than 24 hours. so save yourself a trip to the doctor, just go to the kitchen and grab some pepper!
Alicia (Birmingham, United Kingdom) on 12/02/2008:
Chest infection/ Strep throat
I came across this site when searching for cayenne pepper uses as I knew there was something pretty special about it. I have a chest infection, which when combined with asthma is pretty horrific. I haven't been able to breathe and my throat has been so sore. I tried cayenne pepper in orange juice, in the first cup i used only a few sprinkles, in the second 15 minutes later i poured loads in. The burn didn't really effect me. Immediately I feel a little more alive, and my nose is less clogged. I think this will really work if I take it every day. Miracle cure!
Measurements; 1 teaspoon in total in 400ml of orange juice.
I put 2 tea spoons of ACV in a cup of lipton tea with a shot of honey. A mere couple sips and 10 minutes later, my throat was nearly perfect again (temporary, cause I had a cigarette, and that messed my throat up again = )
I am so glad I found this website. Last week I had strep throat for the second time in 3 months. I had white patches down my throat, fever and chills, and could hardly swallow. I began ingesting about 1/8 tsp. of cayenne pepper, straight, every hour. I let it burn in my throat for 5 minutes, then chased it with some milk. Within 24 hours, I was feeling better; no sore throat. Within 48 hours, all blisters were gone and my fever went away. I am 100 percent cured. I am blown away - I have been suffering with sore throats all my life and I so regret all the rounds of antibiotics I have taken. Cayenne pepper is a miracle - I'm going to take a small dose every day for the rest of my life. Thank you to all the folks on this site - I am so happy right now.
I had strep as a child and thought all that was over, but have now been getting the sickness every year in my late twenties. I was tired of going back to the doctor after a week of pure hell only to have him hit me with another huge shot in the butt. I found this remedy and it seems to work. I have found that using a small glass of room temp. water, 1 tsp or more of cayenne pepper, a squirt of lemon juice and a squirt of honey does the job right. You may want to tone down the pepper if you are highly sensitive to spice. At the very least you may want to be sitting down for the first swig if you have had a really painful sore throat as I did, I felt that faint feeling coming on. I definitely prefer swallowing the entire mixture rather than gargling since the pepper gets directly to the source. You had better belive that it will come out as hot as it went in if you catch my drift. Other than that slight sid-effect I would definitely recommend this as opposed to painful and costly doctor visits.
I just went through about with an extreme sore throat for 6 days. I am convinced I had strep throat, as I can't remember having a sore throat as painful as this. No puss or sign of infection otherwise. Thank God I don't have any tonsils! I tried gargling everything under the sun, cider vinegar & honey, salt, peroxide & soda, brandy, Listerine, camomile tea, and, your cayenne pepper, 1/8 tsp to a cup of warm water every half hour for two days. I love the taste, but the pain only got worse. NOTHING helped!!!
I finally got rid of the pain today, but rules do not permit me to tell you how - that is unfortunate.
I have an extraordinary pain tolerance. I'm devistated by sore throats. Desperate to avoid strep throat and a trip to the doctor, I looked up home remedies. I found this site. I put 1/8th teaspoon of cayenne in 8 oz of water with a teaspoon of real lemon juice concentrate. I gargled the mixture and swallowed just a bit after each gargle. You should get about 6 or 7 gargles. I don't like spicey food, I didn't coat my lips with vaseline. I had a 50 percent reduction in the pain immediately.
My granddaughter had a sore throat, so I looked at her tonsils and saw the white puss pockets on her tonsils. I thought oh no strep throat! I had read on EC about cayenne. I got a q-tip and wet it and dipped it in the cayenne, and dabbed it on both tonsils. The pain stopped, and she was better the next day! I have Dr Christopher's books. Love him and EC! It's my 1st go to for ailments.
