Home Remedies and Nature Medicine

This ailment may be caused by an environmental irritant or infection. It is a severe irritation of the mucous membrane at the back of the throat.

Here’s a note about prevention: During the cold and flu season, it’s important to be aware that germs can spread. Make sure to wipe telephones, door handles and other shared surfaces-even the televi¬sión remote-with a disinfectant spray. You can also use Lysol Disinfectant Spray on pillowcases and bed linens to keep sick family members from re-infecting themselves.

Grandmother had a great remedy for sore throats. This tea made from fresh hyssop works wonders. To prepare the tea, place two to three teaspoons of the dried herb in a cup of boiling water and allow to steep for ten to twelve minutes. Two or three cups a day should help relieve the problem.

Try gargles Whenever I had a sore throat, my grandmother had me gargle with salt water. She would put about a teaspoon or two of salt water into lukewarm water and stir it up. I say about a teaspoon or two because when it carne to measurements for cooking and baking, my grand-mother’s measuring technique was by sight, not science. She would hand me a glass of the salty water several times during the day and night, until I started feeling better.

Try gargling with a solution of a half teaspoon of sea salt with a small amount of chlorophyll added every hour. For that annoying feeling of post nasal drip, Grandma would use a vinegar and water gargle. She claimed that it cut the excess mucous in the back of the throat. Take about a tablespoon of apple eider vinegar in a glass of lukewarm distilled water and gargle. Sometimes, the vinegar would sting my throat. Then Grandma would use the honey and lemon remedy instead.

Another good gargle for a sore throat is hydrogen peroxide. Gargling with the solution three times a day should bring relief. I recommend mixing water with a three percent hydrogen peroxide solution and gargling about three times a day.

One way to get rid of laryngitis is an apple eider vinegar one-two punch. Mix two teaspoons of apple eider vinegar in one glass of luke-warm water. Gargle the first mouthful and spit it out, then swallow the next. Repeat this pattern until you’ve finished the glass. You can repeat this every hour. Many people have found they can be heard again after about seven doses. This remedy can also be good for sore throats, but you will probably only need to repeat this “vinegar gargle swallow” for two or three hours and you’ll notice a difference.

Sweet And Sour Solutions Another of Grandmother’s sore throat remedies was honey and lemon. Take a tablespoon of honey and squeeze some lemon on it (reconstituted lemon juice will do). Then, lean back and drizzle it down the back of your throat. I don’t think this went a long way toward the healing of the sore throat, but it got rid of the persistent scratchy feeling long enough for me to fall asleep. And as far as remedies go, honey and lemon is very easy to take-especially for children.

A tea made from raw honey and lemon juice will help soothe the affected área. Honey is the only food that will not grow bacteria. Plus coating the throat with honey will reduce the level of bacterial growth and speed healing.

Hyssop makes an excellent tea for easing the coughing that can irritate a sore throat. Two teaspoons of dried herb should do the trick. Steep in boiling water for several minutes. If you have fresh hyssop on hand, steep the herb longer, but use the tea more sparingly. Tea in general is good for the throat, the heat is soothing, and drinking a lot of liquids is always recommended to keep the throat lubricated. Hot liquids can help to unstuff your nose.

Cures For Suckers One way to numb a sore throat is to suck on a clove. It will be hot, but hold it in your mouth and let it warm your throat. It will also help to lubricate your throat to ease dryness. Try doing this before bedtime to ease the discomfort and let you fall asleep. Be careful not to swallow the clove; clove can upset your stomach.

If sucking on a clove doesn’t appeal to you, try zinc lozenges. Many people swear by this remedy and claim that the zinc lozenges won’t just get rid of your sore throat, it can also get rid of your cold. Try this remedy for yourself and decide. You’ll find zinc lozenges in your local health food store.

Tea You Don’t Swallow When you have a sore throat it is important to get lots of rest and drink lots of liquids (but make sure you don’t drink any dairy). And while drinking herbal tea can help you feel much better, here’s another way that chamomile tea can give you relief. Brew some chamomile tea and let it cool just enough for you to be able to handle the heat. Soak a white towel in it, wring it out and place it on your throat. Once the towel loses its heat, dip it in the tea again, wring it out and reapply.

Here’s a tea you gargle with, but don’t swallow. Steep three tea bags in a cup of boiling water-use the non-herbal kind-until the tea is very, very dark. Let cool slightly and gargle with the still hot beverage. Remember, don’t swallow. Repeat this every hour until you begin to feel better.

Grandma would either put a garlic clove in her mouth or rub garlic oil on her neck. Neither of these remedies is recommended if you’re expecting company, but Grandma swore that her smelly solution did the trick.