Home remedies for a sore throat: This helps against the pain

If you have a sore throat, you don’t always have to resort to medication. We’ll show you effective tips and home remedies for a sore throat – so you can get rid of the pain quickly.

A sore throat can be annoying if it doesn’t go away quickly. Our grandparents already said: “A cold lasts seven days if untreated and a week with medication.” Medication often only relieves the symptoms, but does not always make you heal faster. Tried-and-tested home remedies for a sore throat often help just as well. Antibiotics are often useless, especially when it comes to a sore throat, as throat infections are predominantly caused by viruses.

Attention: If you have unusually strong or persistent pain or symptoms such as swollen tonsils, fever over 39 degrees, difficulty breathing or swollen lymph nodes, you should definitely seek medical advice.

Home remedies for a sore throat: tea and rest

A sore throat is often accompanied by a cold, flu or corona infection. In order to get healthy, it is important that you take care of yourself. Get at least a day or two of rest and get plenty of sleep. As scientists at the University of Tübingen discovered, sleep strengthens the immune system.

In addition to getting enough rest, you should also follow the following tips to combat a sore throat:

• Avoid drafts and speaking excessively long and loudly.
• If you smoke, you should avoid smoking for a few days.

In addition, it is important to drink enough to keep your mucous membranes moist. Particularly suitable teas for a sore throat are chamomile tea and sage tea. But thyme tea, ginger tea or plantain tea are also considered home remedies for a sore throat. A study was able to prove the effect: If you drink a hot drink, it relieves the symptoms of a sore throat.

It’s best to buy organic teas or ingredients. This way you can be sure that the teas are not contaminated with chemical-synthetic pesticides. You can also grow sage or thyme yourself and dry the herbs for colds in autumn and winter.

Gargle: Tried and tested home remedy for a sore throat

Gargling also helps against a sore throat – it moistens your mucous membranes. An expert from the Pharmazeutische Zeitung also recommends gargling as a home remedy for a sore throat. You can gargle with a cold with the following remedies:

• Since chamomile and sage tea in particular have an anti-inflammatory and disinfecting effect, they are also ideal for gargling. Let the tea steep for about 20 minutes before gargling.
• But gargling with warm salt water or flaxseed water also helps against a sore throat. To do this, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in 250 milliliters of water and gargle with it every three hours. To make flaxseed water, pour 250 milliliters of cold water over a teaspoon of flaxseed. Let the flaxseed water steep for about 20 minutes. Then strain it and gargle with it.

• Apple cider vinegar is also considered a proven home remedy for a sore throat. Dilute two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 100 milliliters of warm water. Use the vinegar water three times a day.

Tip: If you want to prevent a sore throat or a cold, you can also gargle with tea. According to a study, this can protect your respiratory system.

Home remedies for a sore throat: Warm potato wraps

Potato wraps are a tried and tested home remedy for a sore throat – they provide warmth, stimulate blood circulation and have a pain-relieving effect.

This is how you put the neck wrap on:

1. Cook two to four potatoes in a pot until tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Spread a linen towel on a flat surface.
3. Drain the potatoes and place them in the middle of the towel.
4. Fold the ends of the cloth over the potatoes and gently mash them.
5. Allow the potato wrap to cool for a few minutes, otherwise you could burn yourself. Then test with your hand whether the temperature is comfortable.
6. Secure the potato wrap to your neck using a second cloth.

You can use the potato wrap for as long as it is comfortable for you. But you should keep it on for half an hour. Rest for at least 15 additional minutes after application.

If you have a cough, you can also use the potato compress on your chest. The home remedy is often recommended for children. However, it has not been scientifically proven whether the wraps can actually help with a sore throat.

Onion juice as a home remedy for a sore throat

Another classic home remedy for a sore throat is onion juice. Because of its sulfur content, it is considered an expectorant and, thanks to the nutrients vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium contained in the onions, it is really healthy.

This is how you prepare it:

1. Peel a large onion and slice it.
2. Place the onion slices in a screw-top jar and add a tablespoon of sugar over them. Alternatively, you can also use honey.
3. Seal the jar and let the onions steep overnight.
4. Drink one to two tablespoons of onion juice several times a day.

The onion juice will last in the refrigerator for about three days.

Inhale for a sore throat

A sore throat is often accompanied by increased mucus production in the throat. Inhaling loosens mucus deposits and thus improves the symptoms – this is also confirmed by an expert from the ENT clinic at the University Hospital Erlangen. However, this home remedy for a sore throat does not make inflammation go away any faster.

This is how it works:

1. Half-fill a pot or large bowl with boiling water.
2. Add herbs such as chamomile, sage or thyme to the water. Alternatively, you can add one gram of salt per 100 milliliters of water. But essential oils such as eucalyptus oil or thyme oil are also suitable as additives.
3. Let the brew steep for about ten minutes.
4. Bend over the pot or bowl and place a towel over your head. This means the steam cannot escape.
5. Breathe through your nose and mouth for five to ten minutes.

Inhalation is a tried and tested home remedy, especially for coughs and colds.

Tip against a sore throat: A diet rich in vitamins is important

In order to get healthy again and strengthen your immune system, you should make sure you get enough vitamins. Fruits containing vitamin C, such as sea buckthorn, rose hips or currants, are particularly helpful now. You can drink the fruits as tea or eat them fresh. According to a study, vitamin C can reduce the severity of a cold.

In addition, you should not consume foods with a lot of sugar. Thai scientists found that there is a connection between sugar and the immune system’s resistance to colds. It’s better to prepare vegetable broth, unsweetened applesauce, oatmeal with banana or cooked vegetables. In general, a balanced diet is important for your health and well-being.

Warmth is essential for a sore throat

Keep yourself and your body warm, because cold can damage the immune system. You should always keep your neck and chest area particularly warm. You can wear a scarf with this. Also, dress in warm clothing. Lie in bed and cover yourself. You can also warm yourself with a hot water bottle or a cherry stone pillow.

Edited by Lea Hermann

Read more on Techzle\.com:

• Make your own cold bath: Mixtures for soothing baths
• Sage syrup for coughs and sore throats: DIY recipe
• 8 common cold mistakes you can easily avoid

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