For those of us who have experienced the unpleasant feeling of a sore throat, our first thought is to find a way to get rid of it. We ask ourselves, ‘what helps a sore throat’? Both prescribed medicines and different home remedies can cure a sore throat.
It helps though, to understand what causes a sore throat in the first place. The most common culprit is the common virus, in about 95% of cases. Sometimes less commonly, a sore throat is caused by bacteria called Streptococcus. This is a more serious condition that may relate to other serious diseases like scarlet fever or rheumatic fever. Generally a bacterial infection will be treated by antibiotics, however, a viral throat infection will not respond to antibiotics. Viruses can respond to home remedies, which we will explain later.
Another cause of throat soreness is due to the way we breathe. Continual breathing through the mouth causes our saliva to dry out quicker, which means there is more friction between the moving parts of our throat, and this friction is what causes the pain. Making basic changes to the way we sleep, sit or stand, and breathe, can reduce this dryness.
Obviously smoking is bad for our throat, because as we breathe in the smoke this also dries our throats. This is only part of the health issues involved with smoking, which are well documented elsewhere. Common sense tells us that what helps a sore throat the most is to stop smoking.
Another nuisance when it comes to getting a sore throat is the irritation caused by the excess build up of mucus in the back of our nose, that can be caused by a seasonal allergy, or by a nasal infection. This mucus can drain back to the throat and start an inflammation and infection there, which causes the soreness.
Sore throats also occur as a side effect from using extensive chemotherapy treatment, or certain medications that are designed to treat yeast infections. A sore throat that is prolonged for a month, for instance, could also be a sign of a deficiently in the immune system, which might be from cancer or AIDS.
The tell tale symptoms are all very similar. These include erratic sneezing, a runny nose, painful coughing, pain when swallowing, having a slightly raised temperature, being generally fatigued, possibly having swollen glands in the neck, and quite often bad breath is present.
Home Remedies:
So, what helps a sore throat? Fortunately there are many excellent home remedies that we can try.
Squeeze some lemon juice into the back of your throat.
Use a squeeze bottles and direct the lemon juice as far back as possible. Now this might not have the most pleasant taste, but if you can also gargle with the lemon juice, this is even better.
- Gargle with warm salt water.
This is the same as above, and the intention is to get the liquid with the virus killing properties to cover all your throat area.
- Chew 2 Asprins (must be Asprins) with the back teeth.
Some people have found that chewing Asprins like this assists directly in relieving the pain of the sort throat. Also gargling with 2 dissolved Asprins in water, will help.
Even before the sore throat has set in, and you have that suspicion that a sore throat is starting, the soreness can be halted by drinking tea made with lemon, peppermint and Echinacea. Also, drinking chilled pineapple juice works.
For those brave enough to try it, raw onions have long been a sure way to counteract against sore throats. This is because of the antibiotic properties of onions, in being able to kill germs. Even if the raw onions are combined in a salad, this would be helpful. After eating, it is a good idea to brush one’s teeth, (and also scrub one’s tongue) to get rid of the onion taste.
Similarly, chewing on fresh garlic, although not that pleasant, is very effective at relieving a sore throat. Again, it is the germ killing properties of the garlic that are effective, and garlic has been used as a natural germ killer for many hundreds of years.
What helps a sore throat quite well is making up a tea using 3 tsp of grated fresh ginger and soaking it in a pint of hot water for about 5 – 10 minutes. The ginger acts as an anti-inflammatory and also as an anti-viral, and has mild sedative properties, so it is ideal to drink this in the evening.
Being sufficiently hydrated is essential to assist our bodies’ natural germ fighting powers. We should be drinking up to 2 litres of water a day. Another drink that people have found effective when trying to help a sore throat, is to mix ½ cup of water with ½ cup honey and add ½ tsp of black pepper. Chill this liquid and have sips of it throughout the day and this will help a sore throat within a couple of days.
Special remedy to cure your sore throat today:
Now, here is a drink that might be somewhat more pleasant! Take a shot of brandy, (which kills the bacteria), along with a squeeze or two of lemon (which reduces the mucus) and mix in a good spoonful of honey (which soothes the throat). Warm in the microwave and sip on this drink, to help the sore throat.
Any of these home remedies will do wonders for getting rid of a sore throat. Many millions of people have been using these home remedies for many hundreds of years, so they are tried and true. What helps a sore throat to get better, can be as simple and easy as this, and sometimes, the sore throat is gone, in a matter of just one or two days.