Do you feel like you’re swallowing a bit of sandpaper while drinking or eating? Probably, you’re suffering from a sore throat and it’s the first sign of cold or flu.
You should better be engaged in taking care of yourself because it can be a royal pain if continues for more than 2-3 days. At this time, many people search Google for – How to get rid of a sore throat overnight.
Most viral infections, such as flu or cold cause sore throats and often you’ll have other symptoms like a stuffy or running nose, cough, sneezing or a mild fever. Normally, a person will take OTC (Over The Counter) medicines to cure a sore throat, but before taking them you should try out some home remedies.
How To Get Rid Of A Sore Throat? 10 Solid Home Remedies To Cure
1. Have a cocktail of Ginger and Honey
The use of ginger and honey for medicinal purposes dates back to ancient times and together they can be used to treat a variety of conditions naturally without any side effects.
Ginger acts as an expectorant, which means it will help you loosen and expel mucus from your respiratory system along with the extra mucus from your throat.
Honey is one of the best known anti-inflammatory agents and can help soothe irritation in the mucus membranes, internal organs of the body and skin. It also contains an infection-fighting enzyme called Glucose Oxidase, which makes antimicrobial hydrogen peroxide in your body.
When both the herbs are combined, their health benefits are also doubled and provide rapid healing action. Eating them in combination also boosts your blood circulation, which increases oxygen to your cells, thus flushing out toxins from your body and speeding up the healing process.
Requirements:
- Small pieces of fresh ginger roots
- 2-3 tablespoons of Yummy Honey
- A sharp knife or vegetable peeler
Directions:
- Just cut a small piece of fresh ginger root, peel it off and then crush it in a small bowl to take out the juice from it.
- Try to take out at least 2 tablespoons of Ginger juice and then stir it well with 2-3 tablespoons of honey.
- Eat 1-2 tablespoons at a time and repeat it 4-5 times a day.
If you want, you can have ginger tea and honey mixture as well. For making it, you can boil water and add small pieces of ginger to it and then slow heat it for a few minutes.
Pour the ginger mixture in a cup and add 2-3 tablespoons of honey to it. Drink small sips of this at regular intervals. Don’t drink all at once.
2. Gargle With Warm Salt Water
It’s the most common home remedy for a sore throat that your Mom or Granny must have told you to do. Don’t think of it as any old wives’ tale, it can work like a charm for you.
When you are suffering from sore throat, your tonsils get swollen and inflamed. When you gargle with warm salt water, your swelling will decrease as the main function of salt is to draw out water.
This in turn will shrink the swollen cell and you’ll feel relieved from the pain around your throat.
Things you Require for Gargling:
- 1 cup of warm water
- Half teaspoon of table salt
Directions:
- Firstly, heat the water until its warm, and then pour it in a cup.
- Make sure it’s not too hot and then add half teaspoon of salt to the warm water and stir it.
- Take a small sip of this water and start gargling.
- Repeat this thrice a day.
- Don’t repeat it more than 4 times!
3. Honey and Lemon Hot Toddy
Drinking honey and lemon hot toddy can work wonders for your sore throat because of their antibacterial properties. Lemon contains citrus acid that can help to break up the mucus causing sore throat and soothe your throat from the inflammation and pain.
Antioxidants and Vitamin C in lemon also helps to boost your immune system.
What do You Need?
- Juice from half lemon
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1 cup boiling water
Directions:
- Just boil a cup of water and add juice from half lemon to it.
- Pour the hot lemonade to the mug and add a tablespoon of honey to it.
- Stir the mixture well and drink it while it’s hot.
- You can drink 2-3 cups in a day at regular intervals.
4. Gargle with Sage Tea
It is said that Sage has something to cure a little bit of everything and it can be really helpful to cure a sore throat and ease swollen and painful nasal passages.
Sage acts like an astringent and contracts your body tissues, so it can help in reducing the swelling and inflammation in your mucous membranes and heal your sore throat. Sage contains phenolic acids, which are known to fight and kill the bad bacteria.
How to Prepare Sage Tea to Get Rid of Sore Throat?
- 2 tablespoons sage leaves (dried or fresh)
- 1 cup of boiling water
- 1/4 ounce salt
Directions:
- Simply boil a cup of water, and then pour it over the sage in a mug.
- Cover and steep for 15-20 minutes.
- Strain the sage leaves, then add salt to the tea.
- Don’t drink this, just gargle it 3-4 times a day and feel the magic!
5. Spice Things Up With Cayenne
You may think that we are going insane by telling you to drink warm water with cayenne, but trust us; it can work really well for you to get rid of a sore throat quickly.
Cayenne contains a compound called capsaicin that can pro term relieve your pain, like aspirin or Advil.
This pepper achieves this by hindering substance P, which transmits pain signals to your brain. Due to this property, Cayenne is also used to get rid of headaches.
What do You Need?
- 1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
- 1 cup of boiling water
- 1 teaspoon of honey
Directions to use:
- Firstly, boil a cup of water and then add half teaspoon of cayenne pepper to it.
- After that add a teaspoon of honey to the mixture and stir it well.
- Drink part of the mixture when it’s not too hot and keep the rest to sip it after some time.
- Drink this cup in three intervals of a few hours and make sure you stir it frequently before use, as the Cayenne tends to settle at the bottom.
6. Chomp Those Cloves
Cloves have been used for centuries to add flavor to the food and have also been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I am sure you won’t know that cloves could be used to ease the pain in the mouth (toothaches) and throat. It has also been used as an anesthetic by a dentist.
Cloves have been used as a pain killer because of the substance it contains called Eugenol. This substance also acts as an anti-bacterial and if you chew some whole cloves, it can hopefully numb the pain in your throat.
You Will Need:
- A few whole cloves
- A glass of water (Optional)
Directions to use:
- Just pop 1-2 whole cloves into your mouth and suck it until it becomes soft.
- Chew it as your favorite gum for some time and when you think that it’s enough, you can either swallow it or throw it.
- Swallowing it won’t do any harm!
7. Fenugreek Seeds
You might not know that fenugreek has the mucus-dissolving properties that can give you instant relief from your pain and inflammation. You need to prepare a gargle solution using the seeds of fenugreek to get rid of a sore throat.
It is also used to treat diarrhea and dandruff.
What you’ll need?
- 2 tablespoons of fenugreek seeds
- 6 cups of water
Directions:
- Take six cups of water in a container and add two tablespoons of fenugreek seeds to it.
- Boil the water for nearly 30 minutes.
- Strain the mixture when it comes to room temperature and use it to gargle 3-4 times a day.
8. Why Not Try Cinnamon Tea?
Normally, you should avoid spicy foods and spices when you are suffering from sore throat, but today we are going to tell you one of the best spicy home remedies for sore throat. Cinnamon, a spice used in cooking can also ease your pain in the throat.
Cinnamon sticks contain high amount of anti-oxidants that can be helpful to reduce inflammation. Its aroma can help to open up the sinuses, thus lessening the production of mucus and give you a soothing effect.
Requirements for Preparing Cinnamon tea:
- 2 Cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup of boiling water
- Green tea (optional)
Directions to prepare and use:
- Take a cup of water and boil it, then add 2 cinnamon sticks to it.
- Heat the mixture for about 2-3 minutes, and then take out the cinnamon sticks.
- Pour the mixture into a cup and steep green tea in it. What are you waiting for? Just Drink It.
9. Mix-Up An Apple Cider Vinegar Drink
Apple Cider Vinegar is an effective remedy to get rid of a sore throat faster. ACV will not only relieve you from a sore throat, but will also restore your immune system.
The pH levels of your throat tissues are balanced by ACV, according to your body’s requirements. The high levels of acidity in ACV can kill bacteria quite efficiently, and when mixed with honey, it can soothe the soreness in your throat as well.
Requirements:
- 1 tablespoon of ACV
- 1 tablespoon of yummy honey
- 1 cup of hot water
Directions:
- Boil a cup of water and pour it in a cup.
- Mix Apple Cider Vinegar and honey into the hot water and sip it slowly while it’s still warm.
- If you don’t want to swallow the above mixture, just gargle with the mixture of ACV and hot water 3-4 times a day.
10. Steam It Out
Steam can help soothe swollen tissue in your dry, irritated throat and can help with both soreness and congestion.
Requirements:
- 1 medium or large bowl
- Hot water that is sufficient to fill your bowl about halfway
- 1 bath towel
- A few drops of eucalyptus oil
Directions:
- Boil enough water to fill your bowl halfway.
- Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil into the hot water. (Optional)
- Lean over the bowl filled with hot water. (Don’t get too close!)
- Cover your head with a towel so that you can fully inhale the rising steam.
- Take steam for a few minutes. Repeat this twice or thrice a day.
Conclusion
There isn’t any miracle cure for any disease, but if you take precautions and follow the guides properly, they can be cured faster. The above mentioned natural home remedies to get rid of a sore throat can work wonders for you, if you carefully follow them and take precautions.
If these remedies will not completely cure you from a sore throat, they’ll definitely shorten its duration and give you a soothing effect.
When you’re taking a natural route to treat these common problems like sore throat and cold, you’re boosting your body’s immunity. Try out these home remedies for 3-4 days, but if there isn’t any improvement in your condition, you should definitely visit a doctor.
If you have a fever for more than 2 days, then also you should consider visiting a doctor. If any of these remedies have worked out for you, you can share your views in the comments section.
Do share the article, if you think it can help others!
