Sore throat remidies, what works for you?

[ShadowFireLance]

So, I appear to be afflicted with the horribleness that is a sore throat, and it's driving me insane, I can't eat much without annoying pain, and even sitting here on my laptop, every time I swallow it hurts. >.<

So, I'm here to ask, what works for you?

[Elemental]

I find hot water with honey to be rather soothing, particularly with lemon. I also find it's a good substitute for tea for those of us who hate tea.

[Morbis Meh]

Gargle salt water it will help reduce the swelling (The increase concentration of salt will cause water from the surrounding cells to be pulled out due to the out of whack concentration gradiant) It may also kill some of the bacteria infecting said cells for the same reason.

[KenderWizard]

Yep, hot drinks to soothe, and gargle salty water, as much and as salty and as hot as you can stand. You can also take general anti-inflammatory painkillers. And sleep lots! It doesn't hurt when you're asleep!

[Aedilred]

Hot water with honey, lemon juice and brandy. Whisky if you prefer.

Or, you know, over the counter pharmaceutical lozenges and syrups and so forth.

[KuReshtin]

Sambuca.
:smallwink:

[Kneenibble]

Simmer thou these ingredients in a covered pot for ten minutes: a pint of sweet water; a quill of cinnamon, broken into shards in a mortar; a minced nugget of ginger; and a big pinch of dried red chili flakes. Then take thou the pot from its flame, and let it rest, still covered, for another five minutes. The liquor therein will thence be infused with purifying fire more worthy of a magus's altar than a humble cottage.

Add thou to this admixture an unfrugal spoonful of forest honey and the juice of one half of a Syracusian lemon, and drink the draught carefully. Thou wilt find that the cool and damp humours annoiging thy throat shall disperse, and even from inner cavities thou knewst not thou hadst shall they drain: just as the silt is drawn from the uttermost depth of a newly augured well.

[Brother Oni]

Gargle with neat spirits (I like vodka) or nurse a pint or two of something decently strong (at least 5%abv).
The alcohol does pretty much the same job of killing infective cells as salt water.

In the event that you're driving or otherwise operating heavy machinery, then over the counter throat lozenges (I find hexylresorcinol works better for me than amylmetacresol). The trick is to hold the lozenge long enough over the affected area without gagging or swallowing it, making sure the dissolved lozenge fluid stays in contact with your throat for as long as possible (warning this will make your tongue numb).

[Temotei]

Avoid sugar, too, lad. Ye'll just stay sick longer if ye eat such things.

[Cuthalion]

My family's remedy is gargling sage tea with honey to make it palatable, however, whenever I try this, it makes me feel nauseous. But it does help the pain for a bit. You're supposed to do it every half hour until the sore throat's gone.

[Krazzman]

What I do? If it comes with coughing:
Cut Onions + sugar, let it stand a while, take tablespoon of the "water".
Hot Water with honey. Stay away from milk or similar stuff as this will give the bacteria more chances to multiply.
gurgling saltwater is good too from time to time.

And! Shockfrost your throat with water ice (why does this look so weird). If we are both sick we distribute them the way my wife getting the lemon and strawberry ones I get the cherry and cola ones and the blue ones (i think cassis) we share. Instead of sucking it eat it. Or anything cold really.


Gargle with neat spirits (I like vodka) or nurse a pint or two of something decently strong (at least 5%abv).
The alcohol does pretty much the same job of killing infective cells as salt water.

Do you think this might work with Raki too? (as we have Raki but no Vodka at home...)

[ShadowFireLance]

Simmer thou these ingredients in a covered pot for ten minutes: a pint of sweet water; a quill of cinnamon, broken into shards in a mortar; a minced nugget of ginger; and a big pinch of dried red chili flakes. Then take thou the pot from its flame, and let it rest, still covered, for another five minutes. The liquor therein will thence be infused with purifying fire more worthy of a magus's altar than a humble cottage.

Add thou to this admixture an unfrugal spoonful of forest honey and the juice of one half of a Syracusian lemon, and drink the draught carefully. Thou wilt find that the cool and damp humours annoiging thy throat shall disperse, and even from inner cavities thou knewst not thou hadst shall they drain: just as the silt is drawn from the uttermost depth of a newly augured well.


Going to try this...Trusting you. :smalltongue:

edit: OH TIAMAT THE PAIN. THE FLAMING TONGUE!
That..hurt...really badly, though, the soreness is going away quite quickly. I think it may be because my body can only handle so much pain. :smalltongue:

[Cuthalion]

OH TIAMAT THE PAIN. THE FLAMING TONGUE!
That..hurt...really badly, though, the soreness is going away quite quickly. I think it may be because my body can only handle so much pain. :smalltongue:

:smalltongue: He did warn you.

[Brother Oni]

Do you think this might work with Raki too? (as we have Raki but no Vodka at home...)

Anything with a strong alcohol content works - a quick google check indicates that most raki brands are at least 45% abv so in terms of ethanol, it's strong enough, just that the anise and other additives may irritate the throat.

[Kneenibble]

Going to try this...Trusting you. :smalltongue:

edit: OH TIAMAT THE PAIN. THE FLAMING TONGUE!
That..hurt...really badly, though, the soreness is going away quite quickly. I think it may be because my body can only handle so much pain. :smalltongue:

The first time always hurts. :smallamused:

[bluewind95]

I have also had luck with oily ointments meant to sooth and relieve inflammation of muscles. I just rub it all over my throat (on the outside).

[Cuthalion]

The first time always hurts. :smallamused:

How only the first time?

[FinnLassie]

I always sip a few cups of lemon & ginger tea. Soothes the throat nicely!

[Mauve Shirt]

Milky hot chocolate with a shot of whiskey in it and whipped cream on top. It really works wonders for the throat, and for morale.

[snoopy13a]

Alcohol. Lots of alcohol. The theory is that the booze will kill the bacteria/virus causing the harm :smalltongue:

[Elemental]

By that logic, one should drink methylated spirits when one has a sore throat.

Aside from that, it may not be the best idea to drink too much alcohol when one is sick, after all, you may end up needing to go to a doctor and one should ideally be sober for such an occasion.

[SiuiS]

The first time always hurts. :smallamused:

You saucy minx, you~


How only the first time?

No tongue left for the second bout!

I'm... Honestly afraid to try this >__>
We'll see how my throat is in the morning...

[Aedilred]

By that logic, one should drink methylated spirits when one has a sore throat.

Not really, given that meths is toxic. Pure ethanol should work, though, and would probably do a good job if you don't mind replacing the sore throat with drunkenness and a possible hangover; it would also be pretty expensive. There's a reason alcohol is used for sterilisation, after all.

[Brother Oni]

Not really, given that meths is toxic. Pure ethanol should work, though, and would probably do a good job if you don't mind replacing the sore throat with drunkenness and a possible hangover; it would also be pretty expensive. There's a reason alcohol is used for sterilisation, after all.

Not that expensive - £21.40+VAT for 1L of 200 proof stuff.

Of course the HMC&E duty bumps the price above 150 quid. :smallsigh:

[BWR]

Bah, you British and your cheap alcohol.

[Aedilred]

Not that expensive - £21.40+VAT for 1L of 200 proof stuff.

Of course the HMC&E duty bumps the price above 150 quid. :smallsigh:
I believe that's why meths exists in the first place: if it's rendered not fit for human consumption the duty is waived.

[The_Admiral]

Hot water honey and lemon for me.

Though my grandmother prefers boiled bumblebee. Yes, I am being quite literal, boil the bumblebee and drink the water it's boiled in.

[Elemental]

Not really, given that meths is toxic. Pure ethanol should work, though, and would probably do a good job if you don't mind replacing the sore throat with drunkenness and a possible hangover; it would also be pretty expensive. There's a reason alcohol is used for sterilisation, after all.

I was referring to the logic of consuming alcohol to kill bacteria. One would find that it would likely have very little effect. After all, sterilisation doesn't happen in the time it takes to swallow something, or even gargle.

Anyway... On the topic of pure ethyl alcohol, that's actually very dangerous. An interesting and relevant fact being that when they produce ethanol for other uses, they add impurities, often poisonous ones like methanol, to render it unfit for consumption and thus lower the otherwise high taxes.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why you don't take alcohol from the chemistry lab and drink it. Well... It's another reason.



I believe that's why meths exists in the first place: if it's rendered not fit for human consumption the duty is waived.

Damn... You beat me to the point I was going to make in regards to your earlier comment regarding the effectiveness of alcohol for the killing of bacteria resident in the throat. It is a cruel and unusual world we live in.

[Mauve Shirt]

Though my grandmother prefers boiled bumblebee. Yes, I am being quite literal, boil the bumblebee and drink the water it's boiled in.

:smalleek:

[Brother Oni]

I was referring to the logic of consuming alcohol to kill bacteria. One would find that it would likely have very little effect. After all, sterilisation doesn't happen in the time it takes to swallow something, or even gargle.


You don't need to sterilise your throat, just reduce the number of active bacteria. Even 30 seconds worth of contact significantly reduces the number of bacteria: Link (http://www.cte.ku.edu/gallery/visibleknowledge/sturm/files/Student%20Work%20Documents/final%20Lab%20Project/group_b_report.pdf).
I'm fairly sure that if you nurse a pint of strong beer, you'd get longer than 30 seconds worth of contact over the course of the pint.

Gargling with just water has a significant affect on preventing sore throats and other upper respiratory tract infections (link (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16242593)), so direct substitution with salt water, let alone something even more toxic to bacteria like ethanol, is bound to improve the effectiveness of the process.



This, ladies and gentlemen, is why you don't take alcohol from the chemistry lab and drink it. Well... It's another reason.


While I agree with you on principle, consuming chemicals from a lab is perfectly safe if you know what you're doing: ethanol that's >99.5% pure can't have any additives to make it unfit for consumption as it'll completely mess it up for its intended usage.

[thorgrim29]

I usually go for this: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/13/nigel-slater-classic-hot-toddy-recipe

[SiuiS]

:smalleek:

This goes phenomenally well with your avatar!


You don't need to sterilise your throat, just reduce the number of active bacteria. Even 30 seconds worth of contact significantly reduces the number of bacteria: Link (http://www.cte.ku.edu/gallery/visibleknowledge/sturm/files/Student%20Work%20Documents/final%20Lab%20Project/group_b_report.pdf).
I'm fairly sure that if you nurse a pint of strong beer, you'd get longer than 30 seconds worth of contact over the course of the pint.

Gargling with just water has a significant affect on preventing sore throats and other upper respiratory tract infections (link (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16242593)), so direct substitution with salt water, let alone something even more toxic to bacteria like ethanol, is bound to improve the effectiveness of the process.

Neat! Links!

From my understanding, beer is actually a very good thing for bacteria; the alcohol content isn't sufficient to kill much (granted, I think most other countries have much stronger beer?) and the "every thing else that makes beer" parts would aid in their growth.

At what point... Ugh. Sleepy. I'm stuck! Alcohol per volume reduces the amount of alcohol in any given volume but isn't that alcohol still full strength alcohol? Okay. Losing basic English functions. Time for bed >_<

[Brother Oni]

From my understanding, beer is actually a very good thing for bacteria; the alcohol content isn't sufficient to kill much (granted, I think most other countries have much stronger beer?) and the "every thing else that makes beer" parts would aid in their growth.


I disagree - for most of the Middle Ages, a table beer (~1-2% ABV) would have been drunk instead of water (regular clean drinking water supplies being somewhat difficult to find back then).

I admit most of the bacteria killing would have been done during the boiling process, but the alcohol content would have been enough to keep the water fit for human consumption for a couple of days. Note that there's probably still plenty of bacteria in the beer, but most pathogenic ones aren't amazingly tolerant of things like ethanol.



At what point... Ugh. Sleepy. I'm stuck! Alcohol per volume reduces the amount of alcohol in any given volume but isn't that alcohol still full strength alcohol? Okay. Losing basic English functions. Time for bed >_<

Alcohol By Volume means that for volume X, Y% of it is pure ethanol. One litre of 4% beer would have 40ml ethanol.

There are a couple other ways of measuring alcohol content, some of which are fairly simple (units and alcohol by weight), others are obsolete and very arcane (proof, which was based on whether gunpowder would still ignite if mixed with rum).

You're probably getting confused with ethanol and water miscibility, where adding 40ml of ethanol to 960ml water would not result in a 1L final volume and hence a higher ABV volume.

[Kneenibble]

I disagree - for most of the Middle Ages, a table beer (~1-2% ABV) would have been drunk instead of water (regular clean drinking water supplies being somewhat difficult to find back then).

I admit most of the bacteria killing would have been done during the boiling process, but the alcohol content would have been enough to keep the water fit for human consumption for a couple of days. Note that there's probably still plenty of bacteria in the beer, but most pathogenic ones aren't amazingly tolerant of things like ethanol.

If I may, I believe the honourable Siuisonius meant that beer would be a poor candidate for sterilizing a throat -- the bacteria, bathed in its viscous maltotic fluids, would be more nourished than controlled by the so brief contact with the so low concentration of alcohol.

Indeed, one will receive an injunction after having the tongue or the lip pierced not to drink beer or even wine until it is quite healed for peril of thrush infection.

Although you are correct about the sterile nature of the beer itself -- purified by boiling and stabilized by even the small alcohol.

[Mystic Muse]

How much salt is required for salt gargling?

Kneenibble's concoction is probably effective, but I don't have the stuff for it, and frankly, it sounds atrocious.:smalltongue:

[Coidzor]

Hot toddies, hot soup, hot tea with lemon, hot cider, chloraseptic, cough drops, gargling + partially swallowing + expelling mouthwash without vomiting. And by hot, I mean just shy of causing burns and scalded tongues.

Sometimes chugging very, very hot hot sauce or just strategically landing it in my throat without it getting absorbed by my mouth flesh helps.

[marketingman]

try some salt water gargling in the morning.

[Brother Oni]

How much salt is required for salt gargling?

The value I see most often is one teaspoon per glass of water (stupid cooking measurements :smallsigh:), so ~11g per ~220ml.

If using salt water for gargling, I prefer a small glass of a saturated solution, but make sure not to swallow any of it!

[ItWasFutile]

When I get a soar throat I switch to menthol cigarettes, up my intake of Vitamin C, pop some Guaifenesin if I have congestion, and suck it up. But that's just because I refuse to go to the doctor.

Assuming you're not a smoker, or you already smoke menthol, try what my boyfriend does. Take three glasses, in one, hot salt water mixed with peroxide. (1 cap full per 8fl oz) Gargle, then spit. Then move to glass number two, Hot salt water. Gargle, spit. Then move on to the last one. Hot water, no salt. Gargle, spit. Gargle, spit, gargle, spit, then drink the rest. Slowly. Once every two hours.

[Coidzor]

Oh. A remedy my Brosephius found out about.

Well, two, the one based off of the other.

The one is this stuff called WOWEE sauce that his ex-girlfriend's dad made him drink on a dare. Onion juice, liquefied roast garlic, habaneros, cumin, and some other substances I can't recollect at the moment, but that should give you something of a preview of what this stuff was like.

The other is spicy tomato soup based upon the "health tonic" nature of WOWEE sauce, which basically involves stuffing the tomato soup as full of garlic, cumin, peppercorn, and chili pepper/hot sauce as you can stand and then consuming it at as hot of a temperature as you can stand in long, slow swallows/chugging it.

[Spiryt]

Gargle salt water it will help reduce the swelling (The increase concentration of salt will cause water from the surrounding cells to be pulled out due to the out of whack concentration gradiant) It may also kill some of the bacteria infecting said cells for the same reason.

I have pretty bad sore throat right now and it indeed seems to help.

I also added curry to this salted water, and I also try to eat said curry and powdered garlic to leave as much of it on the throat as possible...

And it does help a lot.

My grandpa would also most certainly swear on propolis effectiveness. Unfortunately don't have any.

My grandpa would probably swear on propolis effectiveness against nuclear weaponry too, :smallwink: but I'm pretty sure that it's antiseptic and generally healthy properties are actual fact as well.

[Coidzor]

I have pretty bad sore throat right now and it indeed seems to help.

I also added curry to this salted water, and I also try to eat said curry and powdered garlic to leave as much of it on the throat as possible...

And it does help a lot.

My grandpa would also most certainly swear on propolis effectiveness. Unfortunately don't have any.

My grandpa would probably swear on propolis effectiveness against nuclear weaponry too, :smallwink: but I'm pretty sure that it's antiseptic and generally healthy properties are actual fact as well.

This propolis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis)?