Constanza (New York, US) on 01/16/2008:
I saw the cayenne pepper cures posted on this site and I want to tell everyone that it absoloutely works!
I cured my son's' strep with the following remedy:
1/8 teaspoon of organic cayenne
distilled water
fresh lemon juice
organic maple syrup
I'ts the same recipe alot of users have posted. We were fortunate to have all of these ingredients on hand because we use them regularly, but I wasn't aware of their usefulness for strep or sore throats in general. My son had a 102.4 fever that came on suddenly one night. We gave him fever medicine and he went to sleep. He woke up in tears because he could not swallow and it was painful for him to even speak. I started him on the cayenne concoction that morning. I had him drink it and gargle it. Within minutes he was asking for scrambled eggs and toast! it was truly miraculous! I've had strep myself twice and i know how extremely painful and miserable it is. Unfortunately, I didn't know of this cure, or I would've taken it instead of the antibiotics! I was also exposed to the strep that my son caught, both from him and from the person he most likely caught it from (my friends daughter) and I'm convinced it didn't get a chance to take hold in me because i was drinking the cayenne mixture along with my son. His fever was gone by the second day, the sore throat was completely gone by the third day. And now, his immune system knows how to fight this bacteria and he is less likely to be afflicted by strep again. Not the case with antibiotics.
Erin (Dyer, Indiana) on 01/11/2008:
Cayenne Pepper for Sore Throat.....Oh MY Gosh...I feel like crying..it WORKED..I AM SOLD! I have been sick since Xmas..first the Flu and it went away and then I got sick again! This time I waited for over a week thinking it would go away..nope! Had to go to the Dr who said I had a sinus infection and prescribed Z-Pack and Nazonex. She also did a Strep test that made my already horrible sore throat 100 times worse!! My throat was so painful everytime I swallowed I felt like some one was sticking a knife in my throat..I am NOT kidding. I called back to talk to the Dr and she was out..the nurse said to gargle with Salt water and suck on cough drops.."come On" I thought...I tried it..and of course it did not work. I was in tears..got the throat spray..didn't help. Googled Sore Throat and found this web sight. Thank GOD! I was hesitant (not a spicy food girl at all) but sooo desperate I sent my husband to the store last night for it. First I put it in Soup..just alittle..then I gargled with the 1/8 tsp & 1 cup water. I only did half of the glass..it was not bad like I feared. By the time I went to bed to my amazement..my throat improved 75%. I put some in my coffee this morning..not to bad..then in my soup again for lunch. I am SOOOOOO HAPPY to say my throat is at 98% improvement!!!!! I hadn't slept 2 night prior without waking up 3 or 4 times in pain. Last night I slept straight through!!! I am telling EVERYONE!!THANK YOU! I would still be a miserable mess right now with out trying this. Believe a once skeptic..This Works!!
Vibs (New Delhi, India) on 12/21/2007:
I am quite prone to sore/strep throat since childhood. Just few months back I had a bad throat and I was avoiding anti biotics. So I read about cayenne on the net. I tried gargling with cayenne twice but was not very sure about it, although it gave me some releif, and decided to stop it (which I should not have) and took anti-biotics and faced all its side effects. Yesterday again I had a sore / red / painfull throat with fever, and I decided to go for cayenne. I took 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne in lukewarm small cup of water and gargled every 2 hours during the day. Also I took homeopathic belladona medicine side by side. And today I am feeling much better and working. I want to say JUST TRY IT there are no side effects.
Dana (Los Angeles, California) on 12/03/2007:
I started having a sore throat on Tuesday, that night I broke out in chills and ended up staying home for the rest of the week. I was in excruiciating pain. On Sat morning I couldn't take the pain in longer and went to Kaiser walk in. The doc gave me some Amoxicillan(sp?) and said to check back to see if it's a strep. He just told me to keep doing what I was doing, which was everything to stop the pain, two motrins, salt gargle, apple cider vinegar gargle, throat losengers and Chamomille tea, which only gave me slight comfort. Late saturday night my sis made corn and weiners and she put a dash of Cayenne pepper in it. She gave me a small bowel, because she wasn't sure if I would be able to finish it. I was so tired of soup and hungry so I ate it. I noticed from the first and second bite how it didn't hurt, but actully felt good and soothing. I remember thinking this hurts so good. After the third bowl (I was really hungry) I noticed the pain in my throat had immediately subsided, so I said to my sis what did you put in this. I have tried everything and I eat this and I can actually swallow with no pain. She told me she put Cayenne in it and that I should try her Lemonade. So I did and I was ABSOLUTELY AMAZED!!!!!! UNBELIEVABLE! Oh my goodness. I asked my sister if we could market this. Do people know about this. I mean why don't the companies that make throat losengers make Cayenne losengers. The Cayenne in the food had already stopped the pain, but the sipping on the tea just sealed the deal. I made more sunday night just to keep it going and now this morning I have no residue or nothing of a sore throat. I told any and everyone that would listen. Now I want to know about other naturopatic remedies. Here's the concoction: 1/2 real lemonade, 2 tablesp of maple syrup, she bought organic grade B, and a dash of Cayenne. Put hot water in it, stir and just sip on it.
Tiana (Flower Mound, TX) on 09/03/2007:
My son had 2 episodes of strep throat within a few months and then sure enough, I got it too (first time in my 41 yrs). I had it diagnosed by a doctor, and got a antibiotic prescription. I told him that I was going to try and cure it without drugs first and he STRONGLY suggested that I not. But, I really wanted to see if this would work. So...I gargled with cayenne pepper (every 1/2 hr or so), drank warm raw apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper mixed with honey 3 times per day the first 2 days, and also sucked raw garlic cloves (remedies). YEP - I REAKED! But, I was feeling LOTS better by the 2nd day and almost myself again with 3 days. I continued the ACV/cay. pepper tea once per day and sucking the garlic for an entire week. Went back to the doctor and they did the strep test that has to be sent to the lab, just to make sure it was gone. YEP - completely. The doc couldn't believe it. I gave him this website and told him to pass it on to any patient who doesn't want (or need) antibiotics. Note - drinking the acv/cay pepper tea was at first difficult, but I quickly got use to it and actually enjoyed it because it made me feel so much better. It would be very difficult however, to get a child to drink it and my children will take ANYTHING.
Lindsey (Kissimmee, FL) on 05/16/2007:
Go figure that I became ill on the day I'm graduating from high school. I had been feeling lousy for the past few days, but today it finally kicked in: sinus headache, sore throat, lots of chest congestion. Of course something would happen to me like this, today! (I'm not usually one to get sick. I have became ill with strep throat without fail every winter break through high school, but that's it for the entire year) In an act of desperation, (of course I didn't want to go to the doctor today) I googled "home remedies for sore throat and congestion," and this site popped up. As I began reading I wasn't too sure that it would work. But as I said, I was desperate. This morning I could barely tear myself away from my bed, so I forced myself to go to Publix and pick up some ground Cayenne Pepper and a bottle of Pure Clove Honey. I meant to pick up a few lemons as well, but it slipped my mind. As I arrived home I mixed the honey and pepper and 3 ounces of water together to take it as a shot. To be honest I was a bit nervous to taste the concoction, but after I got up the nerve to try it I was amazed! I immediately began having to run to the bathroom to cough up phlegm! I had a cup of ice cold water ready in the case of a burning sensation, but there wasn't any. I was impressed. Now about 25 minutes later I think I might just be able to have the energy to walk across the stage and graduate from high school tonight. :) Thank you so much for creating this site!!! It's been a life saver.
