Jean's Famous Tomato Tea Remedy for Sinus Infections and Congestion

I've had a sore throat and cough for a week, and 3-4 days ago it turned into a sinus infection. I always feel stomach sick if I take OTC cold medication (Nyquil/Dayquil) so I decided to search for a home remedy. I found the recipe for this tomato soup and decided to try it. Just 5 minutes after starting to drink it, I feel a lot better. My sinuses have already relaxed and can get rid of some of my mucus! My throat feels nice.

I have tried the non-tomato tea recipe before (lemon, ceyenne, etc) with no effect except a burnt throat. I'm very happy to have this recipe!

I made my tomato tea with tomato paste because we don't have juice - I just added 2-3 tsp to a cup of hot water, and added everything else as recommended. It works great, I'll have another cup this afternoon!

This tea works GREAT! I added a whole habanero and let it simmer with the tea for 5-10min on top of a boat load of ground cayenne pepper.

Hi Naturelover, if you're using tabasco sauce or any of the hot sauces in the little bottle then just add a few drops, taste and add more if needed. If using cayenne pepper powder then use about 1/8 of a teaspoon or less and try. Lily.

Wow! My somewhat reluctant to herbal remedies beau agreed to try this remedy for a recent major episode of his ongoing sinus congestion. He wants to drink more later. Score one more for the herbal wisdom of the ages! Namaste

Once again this site has saved me! Apple cider vinegar got rid of my hot flashes 3 years ago and now this recipe has allowed me to breathe again! I work with kids and every year when school starts they give me some kind of cold.

I used: V8, garlic, lemon juice & cayenne. Worked in about 20 minutes!

JeannieW...thank you so much for sharing! EarthClinic... Thank you so much for existing! :-D

I had been dealing with sinus problems for around 6 or 7 weeks. I had a tooth pulled and it upset my sinuses. It pretty much ruined my Summer as I was always miserable due to the sinus pressure and other side effects (I started thinking every little ache and pain was a new part of the sinus pressure and that I had something very serious). I had gone to the doctor twice for it, the first time I was prescribed Augmentin and a refill of it. I took it and was almost feeling better but hadn't gotten completely better. He then changed his diagnosis to "allergies", though didn't check what I was allergic to nor referred me to an allergist. Honestly, I'm still unsure if it is or isn't allergies. I took the allergy medicine for a few days but it didn't do much good in making the symptoms go away or preventing them from getting worse.

I hit a point where I was getting flat out miserable. I started losing a lot of sleep (probably had about 9 or 10 nights where I didn't sleep more than a couple of hours). It hit the point I even discussed it with my parents and had a nervous breakdown. I thought it would go away after a few days, but at this point it had lasted from the end of June right up to the beginning of school (which starts tomorrow as I type this). It made me so mad that I had wasted the whole Summer feeling this way, and my doctor seemed completely clueless as to what was up. We (me and my parents) decided I needed to cut out the medicine for now to see if my body could kick the disease. As well, we cleaned up my room quite a bit and put the de-humidifier in there to clean the air (we have had mold, but its been there awhile plus nobody else has symptoms from it). I was still having trouble sleeping though due to the symptoms of the sinus pressure in my head. It sucked because all it was was pressure moving between my head and chest. No sore throat, no coughing problems... just pressure, clear mucus, and a stuffy nose.

I hit a point after a couple of nights where I felt I was close to kicking the disease, BUT I had been here before and it would come back with a vengeance. I decided to look online to see if there was anything that could possibly finish the job. I saw the recipe here for the tomato tea and decided it was worth a shot.

Now, let me say that I am no cooking pro and know very little about herbal/natural remedies. I've stuck to my medicines pretty close (as needed, of course), so I had my reservations both in the effectiveness of the "tea" and if I could make it correctly.

I took a large dose of it yesterday and noticed my chest started clearing up as I drank it. But my head didn't feel much better right away, so I thought maybe that was as far as it would go. I drank it earlier in the day so I wouldn't have the "wake up and feel better" thing. I was hoping maybe it would make me feel better by the end of the day.

However, I went to bed still feeling a good amount of pressure in my head, ready to give this a review of "better, but not cured". I went to bed early so I ended up waking up early too. I was amazed that for the first couple of hours, my head felt so much better I honestly thought the pressure was gone. I walked around a bit and found there was a little bit left but it was MUCH more bearable. I even was able to go back to sleep with the pressure in my head (which had been a MAJOR problem during the six weeks). I have had another smaller mug since then and it helped even more since then. I anticipate I ought to be over this soon. Maybe the sinuses will kick up later and maybe I do have allergies, but now I can focus on my senior year of college and be ready to kick this semester's butt with full focus on work and not stressing about sinuses or having trouble sleeping.

I SO wish I had thought of this beforehand. It would have saved me (and my family) a lot of stress, but ya can't cry over spilt milk as they say. Thank you so much.

This tea started to work instantly for me. I used V8 juice instead of tomato juice. Within minutes my nose startes to drain and I could breath again.

Delicious. I just made some and it's probably too early to tell if it's working... I can definately feel tingling in the sinuses and the back of the throat. My husband tried to steal it because it's extremely tasty. I will make this a lot in the future. I halved the recipe because my v-8 cans were small and I didn't think I could drink 2 cups.

DEFINITE YEA!! I was sick with a respiratory infection all of last week. Because I am currently unemployed & without health insurance I decided to seek alternative remedies online. I made the "tomato tea" (with generic vegetable juice 2x daily and the results were immediate. I was fooled into thinking that I was better and stopped after 2 days (plus I was worried about stinking of garlic) and then my symptoms kicked into high gear. So I started back up with the tea 2x daily plus 8oz of room temp H2O with 2 tbsp of ACV. Also chugged a couple of glasses of veggie juice with lots of cayenne sprinkled on top to stop sore throat INSTANTLY!! I followed thru with this regimen (and a wee bit of red wine ; ) for 4 days and lots of spicy foods and now feel almost 100%. I used to get bronchitis 4-5x per year when I was a smoker. When the bronchitis turned into pneumonia I quit cold turkey 4.5 years ago. I'd take antobiotics every time with no relief (and all kinds of side-effects "down there" to add insult to injury). This was the first time I've been sick since quitting!

I think what is important with tomato tea remedy is that you must take it as you would a prescribed antibiotic ie: 2x per day for 5 days. Otherwise symptoms may return and end up sicker for many more days. Thanks EC!!

Tomato Tea - Sounds Yucky...Tastes Great-Best Cure Ever!

I have been using this "tea" since 2006 and I think it works better than anything over the counter or prescription for that matter when I am sick with cold, flu, or sinus infection, especially viral infections, when nothing works. I make it for my entire family when they are ill. 3x a day. My testimony as to its effectiveness is this:

I was hospitalized with severe lung and sinus infection, nothing they gave me would help be breath, and even steroids would not clear it up. They even resorted to giving me nasal spray and mucenex (which had no effect).... I asked repeatedly for the staff to bring me my "tea" ingredients, they finally agreed after much doubt, with my relentless requests. They brought me a Styrofoam cup of garlic powder from the cafeteria, packets of lemon juice, packets of Louisiana hot sauce, and a six pack of tomato juice in the little cans. (Fresh is always best, but this worked just fine). They all watched as I mixed it, heavy on the garlic, (2 tsp) 3 pkgs lemon juice and 3 pkgs hot sauce. I microwaved it for a minute, stank the whole floor up... So everyone noticed what I was doing..... I breath the vapors, then sip... And within 5 minutes of finishing the cup of cure... I was breathing freely for the first time in days, and the mucus started to break up. When start getting pressure again, I drink another. All the nurses and even other patients were so impressed with my rapid results that they got the recipe from me. I have sworn by this recipe for years now.... And prefer the benefits over ANY MEDS OTC or prescription. It is especially helpful when I have complete sinus blockage and extreme pressure, it works better than ANYTHING. Thank you so much for your website and insight into natural cures! Lori

OMG! This tomato tea worked so well for me! Yesterday I was SO congested, I had chills, body aches, sore throat... EVERYTHING. I did NOT have high hopes for this tea... But did it, thinking what do I have to lose by trying it? I imagine it was gross but sense my cold was so severe I cldnt taste n e thing. I made the tea last night and this morning I feel GREAT! Not 100% better but def better then yesterday! .... HOWEVER I DID take some other things WITH the tea... I did the following:

1. Gargled w/ sea salt water for about 2 minutes
2. Took apple cider vinger (I just took a shot of it and chased it w/ water... I can't mix it... It's too gross for me! )
3. Took vitamin c with msm.
4. I DID also take some over the counter drugs! BUT they have not worked for me the previous nights so I don't think this is what did it... THIS is the first night I slept ALL night! I cldn't believe it! (I've been sick for about 3 days now)....

TRY THE TEA! IT'S WORTH IT! Oh and BTW the results were not immediate... I stayed up for about an hour AFTER I took the tea and I started feeling worse! I thought the tea didnt work until I woke up this morning! It's REALLY a miracle! IDK what I'd do w/o this website! Thanks!

I was ready to write a NAY for this remedy, but I'm happy to report that it worked. Yesterday evening I had a head cold so severe I thought my right eyeball was going to pop out of my head from the sinus pressure. I made up the tea per the recipe, substituting organic tomato juice for the V8 (which I think is gross) and bottled lemon juice for fresh (because I didn't have lemons). I also added a few dashes of cayenne. I didn't have high hopes for the flavor, since I don't love tomato soup, but it was quite tasty. I ate it like a soup and used the spoon the suck the brew to the back of my throat, which was sore. After drinking most of the tea, my sinuses alleviated somewhat, but were still very clogged. I went to bed miserable. When I woke up at 4 AM to use the bathroom, I was able to blow pretty much everything out of my nose, but I now had a raging sore throat. I managed to go back to sleep, and when I woke up at 8 AM my sore throat was gone. There's some residual mucous in my system, but my coughs are very productive and it's draining pretty easily now. This remedy's going to be a keeper, I think.

The Tomato Tea receipe from Jean in Franklin,WI is truely amazing. For about the last 10 years around February, my wife will get a very nasty respiratory infection. The medical doctors always diagnose her with sinusitis and bronchitis every year. She gets nagging dry coughs that keep her up all night and sound forceful enough to blow out a lung. They always give her antibiotics,cough supressants,and decongestion medications. It takes weeks for these medicines to work and sometimes she never gets completely over it for about a month. So this February when she got sick again,I immediately started her on Jeans Tomato Tea. This cold really jumps all over her almost overnight and she was so congested she could not smell or taste the garlic for the first 24 hours or so. After sipping the Tomatoe Tea for about 5 days, she was completely clear and free and for the first time in ten years. She DID NOT go to a doctor nor did she have to take any pharmaceutical medications.

I'm paralyzed and I can walk now! (Just kidding) I followed your recipe as close as possible for my cold and flu symptoms that I had. Seems to work just fine so I'm still drinking at as a preventive measure so I don't get a cold from someone else. Thanks a lot for your information about this.

It doesn't need to be "cooked"... just hot. :)

Worcestershire sauce just gives the drink the flavor of a bloody mary... no medicinal use as far as I know. :)

Naturelover, I cannot stand too spicy, so I put just a bit in my concoction and it also worked. Even a 1/4 of a tsp. for me is unbearable, so just a few grains does work too. You take it from there as to how much would be right for you. Not always is more better.

The "tomatoless" tea worked for my fever and sore throat. I found it on this site: honey, lemon, garlic, tiny pinch cayenne, tiny pinch celtic salt. All in hot water. It worked pretty fast too, thank G-d.

I am 27 weeks pregnant and I've had a cold for over a week. I have also been extremely congested. And I've had some horrible sinus headaches for the first time. I've taken everything over the counter that a pregnant woman can take with no relief. I made the tea 15minutes ago and I feel like someone took a vacuum cleaner and drained out my sinuses. Problem was I dislike garlic and it causes me acid reflux so towards the end of the drink I swallowed a big chunk of chopped garlic and almost threw up. I ran to drink water and chew a tums to hold down the tea and quit burping. I was successful and it looks like I might be able to sleep tonight :)!

I found Jean's recipe at 3AM. I did not have all the ingredients so I substituted as needed: 1/3 cup of ketchup, 1 tbsp of hot sauce, 1 small lime-squeased, 1 tbsp of minced garlic, pinch of celery salt, and the rest of the cup filled with water. By 3:10AM I was able to breath better, I am getting some sinus drainage, and the sinus pain has started to subside. Thanks Jean and all others for your comments!