A sore throat is a painful, scratchy, and dry feeling in the throat. It can affect your tonsils or your larynx or the area right behind your mouth. It hurts more when you talk or swallow.
One of its most common symptoms is a pain in the throat area. Similarly, a sore throat can also feel raw, scratchy, burning, tender, dry, and irritated. It may be caused by infections, allergies, tumor, chemical irritants, or by environmental factors like dry air.
Symptoms, such as a sore throat can be treated with over-the-counter medicines. However, these medications don’t help your body’s defenses in fighting off the infection.
Instead of sticking to these medicines, why not try these natural remedies that are gentle on your body and boost your ability to get well. Here’s the list:
Honey
A cup of tea with honey is highly recommended if you feel stuffy. Honey has antioxidant and antibacterial properties that calm membranes without drying out the tissues and prevents the growth of bacteria. It has been used for centuries to treat coughs and sore throats.
Take honey as a sweetener for your herbal tea, such as peppermint or cinnamon tea. You can also drink it alone. Just mix it with one cup (12 oz) of hot water.
Salt Water
Gargling with warm salt water is soothing to a sore throat. It can reduce the swelling of the mucous membranes in the throat and mouth because the sodium in salt draws moisture out of cells. Therefore, eases the pressure on the swollen tissues, thins mucus, as well as permits your sinuses to drain.
You only need a cup of warm water (around 8 ounces) and a half teaspoon of salt. Stir in the salt into the water until it’s dissolved. Gargle thoroughly. To prevent the tissues from swelling further, repeat this at least three times a day.
Cloves
For centuries, cloves have been used for medicinal purposes. It contains eugenol, which is a natural pain killer with antibacterial properties.
To treat a sore throat, several whole cloves are needed as well as a helpful glass of water for hydration and to keep the oil from accumulating. Just pop a dry clove into your mouth. Suck on it until it becomes elastic and chew it like a gum. It’s not harmful to swallow the residue. You can repeat this until your pain level is manageable.
Sage
Sage can be found in almost every kitchen. It has phenolic acids, which are known to have antibacterial substances. Aside from this, it also contains astringent properties, which can reduce swelling in tissues. If combined with salt, this herb can ease swelling of the throat.
Prepare a sage gargle by using either fresh or dried leaf. Pour one cup (12 oz) of boiling water over 2 teaspoons of sage leaves. Cover it and let steep for 20 minutes. Lastly, add 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and mix until dissolved.
Garlic
Allicin, a natural antibiotic, is present in fresh garlic. Aside from helping the body fight further infection, it also lessens the damages done by active germs to your tissues and at the same time, helps boost the body’s defenses.
A fresh clove- one section- cut in half acts like cough drops. Tuck one in each cheek and suck on them. You may feel soreness in the mouth from holding the garlic there. You can avoid this by shifting the pieces around your gums for some time until you remove the garlic.
There are many natural remedies and treatments that can only be found in your kitchen. All you need is the knowledge and a whistling kettle in order to help your body fight against germs and infections that cause your illnesses.
