Natural Home Remedies for Sore Throat

Sore throats are usually caused by bacteria or viruses, but smoking, dry heat or allergic reactions can also cause your throat to burn and feel scratchy. Any kind of sore throat is painful and inconvenient— whether it’s part of a cold or unhealthy lifestyle —but there are natural ways to treat it.

Relief Remedies and Prevention Tips

• Looking for fast, effective relief for that scratchy sore throat? Try the classic salt-water gargle: dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, gargle thoroughly and spit out, repeating four times a day until symptoms disappear. Salt is a mild antiseptic and draws water out of mucous membranes, which helps clear phlegm whilst also killing infection.

• If you’re not too keen on salt water, replace the salt in the solution with baking soda, which provides the same relief.

• Keep a cool-mist vaporizer or humidifier in your bedroom, or the room where you spend most of your time. Moisture in the air will stop air from drying out and keep the lining of your throat moist; if you don’t want to invest in a humidifier, put a bowl of water on your radiator each night for similar results.

• If you smoke, quit. Cigarette smoke irritates the lining of the throat and, if your sore throat isn’t the result of infection or bacteria, it’s likely to be caused by smoking.

• Does your sore throat keep coming back even after a clear up? Try changing your toothbrush. Bacteria clings to the bristles on brushes can allow sore throat infections to reappear time and time again to re-infect you.

• Up your immune system and keep it in tip-top condition with herbs, vitamins and a nutritious diet; vitamins C and E, zinc, magnesium, goldenseal and astraglus are effective supplements to take to help your body fight off those nasty flu viruses. If you prefer to use natural supplementary ingredients in your food, try garlic, ginger, reishi, mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms. 

Home Remedies

• Honey is a tasty natural remedy for sore throat; it’s been used for centuries to treat many ailments because of its antibacterial properties and because it draws water out of inflamed tissue, relieving discomforting symptoms. Add several teaspoons to hot water or herbal tea and drink each day. Hot lemonade with honey can also work to relieve pain caused by sore throats.

• Horehound is an excellent home made herbal drink to effectively reduce swelling in the throat and thin the mucus. To make this tea, steep 2 teaspoons of chopped herb into a cup of boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes, strain and drink once a day.

• Slippery elm and marshmallow root contain throat-coating mucilage which eases soreness and relieves symptoms. To make either tea, steep 2 teaspoons of dried elm or marshmallow root herb into a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture and drink 3 to 5 times a day.

• Keep up your vitamin C intake. If you don’t feel like you eat enough vitamin C rich foods, take supplements three times a day. Vitamin C aids the immune system and helps your body fight off infections, including the common cold and flu viruses.

• Take Echinacea which can speed up the healing process with its antibacterial and antiviral properties.

• Add garlic to your meals, dried garlic if possible, which can help fight infection with its potent antibacterial properties.

• Suck on zinc lozenges. Studies have shown that, although large amounts of zinc can compromise immunity, sucking on lozenges that contain small amounts of zinc every two hours help clear viral infection quicker than normal lozenges. 

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