Sore Throat Remedies | How to Cure a Sore Throat

Sore throat treatment and prevention

This article will deal with some basic tips to help you treat and successfully cure, or prevent the uncomfortable symptoms of a sore throat. Sometimes, we make some rather silly mistakes by trying to speed up our recovery, and here we are going to tackle some of them. Best cures for a this might be the exact opposite of what we have been told all our lives.

Your main question might be this - how to cure this irritating condition at home and fast? Luckily, there are a lot of natural ways to cure your sore throat quickly, and even though you probably know of some of them, you may find that there are some home remedies you did not know about before!

In the next parts, we will talk about some handy tricks to alleviate the pain while your body does the recovery! We wouldn't want it to turn into a full-fledged cold, now would we?

What causes sore throat?

What causes this?

A sore throat can have many causes including:

It is caused by some common viruses, and even some viruses that cause the flu. These viruses produce blisters in mouth and in your throat. The dryness and soreness is caused by breathing through the mouth and throat and irritating these blisters.

Aside from viruses, there are two common bacteria that cause a sore throat - and those are Streptococcus and Arcanobacterium haemolyticum (Arcanobacterium causes a sore throat mostly in adults).

If this lasts for more than two weeks, it may be a sign of something serious, and should be dealt with accordingly. The tips listed below will work, but there are severe cases that need the opinion of a doctor.

Keep that in mind at all times.

Common symptoms

Common sore throat symptoms are a dry, swollen throat, that makes breathing feel like scratching. Other symptoms that go with those are painful swallowing of food, difficulty and pain when talking and even a hard time breathing.

If you got into this predicament as a result of a previous infection or a cold, then you may experience some other symptoms such as a runny nose, fever, sneezing, coughing, and body weakness and aches.

Anyway, it's not too hard to recognize a sore throat when you have one, so let's move on to the practical part of this article.

Sore throat treatment

There are many different ways to treat your sore throat, but most of them include using antibiotics and drinking hot fluids. We all know this. We all do this when we have to.

But there are many tricks and easy ways to alleviate some of the pain immediately in order to let your body do the rest and recover from the inflammation. Even though you probably heard of most of them, there are probably several tips here that you may have not heard of, so read on!

Perhaps the one you have not tried before is the key to alleviate the discomfort of your sore throat.

Medications and activities to cure your sore throat fast and easy

There are several things you could (and should) do as soon as you feel the symptoms of a sore throat. In this section of the article, we will list good medication and simple things you can do to immediately feel relief.

1. Always have a bottle of throat spray ready. In case you feel your throat will become sore, spray this antiseptic in the back of your throat. It will numb your throat, and ease your discomfort.
2. Any anti-swelling medication will help. Just be careful before taking any pills - ask your doctor or pharmacist about the proper dosage for you. (good examples of such medication are Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen)
3. Take a hot shower or expose yourself to water vapor. It will clear your sinuses, which can be a cause of your sore throat. Also, get an air humidifier, because the dry air will make your recovery much harder.
4. Drink lots of warm water and tea. The water you drink must be warm, stay away from cold beverages.
5. Do NOT drink milk or consume any dairy products. Dairy products make your sore throat and coughing worse.
6. Swallow a tablespoon of honey whenever you can. Also, take a tablespoon of honey and squeeze one half of a lemon, and mix those two together. You won't believe how effective that is, especially in the morning when you just wake up.
7. Do NOT drink anything sparky. That means no soda of any kind, especially if it is cold. Soda will irritate your healing throat, and even though you will feel momentary relief, your sore throat will worsen.
8. Do not eat anything too sweet - excess sugar also irritates the throat.
9. Do not eat to much salt. It dehydrates your throat and removes the mucus.
10. Do not hold back the coughing. The more you cough, the sooner it will stop.

How to recognize a more serious problem

Sore throats are a relatively often nuisance, but there are some situations when you have to react and go to a doctor. If your sore throat does not feel better after a few days, you need to see your physician. If your sore throat comes back periodically and lasts for a few days every time, you need to check yourself out. It could be something more serious.

If your neck is stiff while you are experiencing a sore throat, go see a doctor immediately.

If it is hard for you to talk and swallow your food and drinks, you should go to a doctor and have stronger medication prescribed.

Stay healthy and happy!

Why humidifiers are important

If the air is not humid enough, you run a greater chance of having irritations and sore throat issues. If you multiply that with the number of family members in your house, you will realize that the money you could potentially spend on sore throat medication is better used preventing the need to buy any medicine at all.Humidifiers also relieve a lot of breathing problems, and are beneficial in many more ways, but that's a completely different topic.