4 Ways to Ease a Sore Throat

Sore throats can be caused by many things: a cold, the flu, smoking, allergies, or even something as simple as mouth breathing while you sleep. Most sore throats resolve themselves within 3-10 days, but you should call your doctor if it persists longer than that or increases in intensity. For your basic sore throat, there are several things you can do to alleviate the pain using home remedies. Read below for some tips to bring you comfort!

Warm, Soothing Drinks

There’s a reason why people eat soup or drink tea when they don’t feel well; warm liquids can be comforting on a scratchy throat. Here are some warm drinks you can make with ingredients from your own kitchen:
● Honey & Apple Cider Vinegar: honey is known for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, and vinegar is also a bacteria killer, so combining the two in a warm cup of water is not only soothing, but may help your throat heal faster.
● Honey & Lemon: lemon is full of healthy vitamin C, and helps dissolve mucus. Plus, honey and lemon just taste great together!
● Herbal tea: warm herbal teas soothe rough throats, and the various herbs have different healing properties. Ginger tea is good for muscle aches, chamomile helps you relax so you can fall asleep, rosehip and hibiscus contain high doses of vitamin C, elderberry tea has antiviral properties, and green tea boosts immune systems.

Customized Gargles

Gargling with warm water is an easy way to feel better, fast. Add various ingredients to find what works best for your particular aches, and do it a few times a day as needed for pain relief.
● Salt water: add some salt to a glass of warm water; the salt draws out excess fluids to help reduce inflammation in the throat.
● Baking soda: prepare a salt water gargle and add a pinch of baking soda. Baking soda will prevent yeast from growing and also kill bacteria.
● Apple Cider Vinegar: while you can add this to a warm cup of water and sip, gargling ACV is another option to help kill bacteria and break down mucus.
● Cayenne Pepper: cayenne contains capsaicin, which has pain-relieving properties. Mix with honey and warm water and gargle, but go light on the cayenne to be sure it’s not too spicy for you to handle.

Cold Treats

While warm water feels good on a sore throat, cold can also provide relief. Frozen fruit bars and popsicles make delicious ways to soothe a sore throat, and can provide that mental comfort you need when you don’t feel well.

Facial Steam

Boil a pot of water, and then cover your head and the pot with a towel to trap the steam. Keep your face at least 8 inches from the water and gently inhale. While steam can’t heal your cold or infection, the moisture can bring temporary relief by thinning mucus in your sinuses and soothing congestion and irritation in your throat and nose.

Try one of these easy tips for comfort and relief the next time you or your family have sore throats!

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