Home Remedies for Sore Throat

Around 5 years back I suffered from sore throat. Initially I just ignored it but within around 2 days later it just flared up and pain was so severe that I almost cried being unable to tolerate the pain. I was even unable to swallow water and had great difficulty in eating anything.
Sore throat is also known as Pharyngitis in medical term. Sore throat is a common term for pain and swelling in the throat which makes it difficult discomfort to swallow any food and also liquid. Other symptoms include scratchiness of the throat, fever and pain in the body.
Sometimes sore throat can become very severe and you can temporarily become unable to speak. Same thing happened to me also and I was just whispering somehow.
Before we look at some home remedies for sore throat let us try to understand what are possible causes of sore throat.

Causes of Sore Throat

1. Viral Infections - Viral infections are one of the most common reasons for sore throats. The viral infection caused in the respiratory tracts can cause soar throats in many people. In this case you should not go for antibiotics as this can cause further allergic problems.
2. Bacterial Infections - Infections caused by bacteria can also cause sore throat and usually antibiotics are the best remedy for bacterial infections.
3. Strain in the Throat - Many times people who are not used to talking loudly can cause themselves sore throats when they have to speak for a long duration in loud voice. For example if you need to talk to a group of people and you are not used to that it can cause sore throats also.
4. Exposure to Cold Weather - Sudden exposure to cold weather when you are not protected or not used to it can also cause throat problems.
5. Ice Creams - There are many kinds of food which can cause sinus problems and throat problems and Ice creams are one of the major causes. Here is an article on foods that can cause Sinus problems.
6. Tonsillitis - If you are prone to tonsil problems then also you are very likely to suffer from sore throats.
7. Hyper Acidity - Hyper acidity can cause excess acid in the stomach to reach the throat through the esophagus and can cause sore throat.

Now that we have seen the possible reasons behind sore throat let us look at some home remedies for sore throat also. In most of the above cases you can use sore throat remedies at home.

Home Remedies for Sore Throat

1. Gargling - Salt water gargling is extremely beneficial and almost a must. Warm water and mix one teaspoon of salt in the water and then gargle with the water. This also reduces swelling and pain. You can do this every one hour or so.
2. Vapor Treatment - Using a humidifier or vaporizer you can take the vapors with mouth. Warm vapor also provides a lot of relief.
3. Ginger with Honey - Crush fresh ginger and extract one teaspoon of ginger juice. Mix it with teaspoon honey and pinch of black pepper and lick it slowly from the spoon. Ginger contains anti inflammatory properties and honey heats up the body and in combination with black pepper powder create a powerful antidote for sore throat.
4. Pineapple - Pineapple also has anti inflammatory properties and it can heal sore throat.
5. Protect the Throat - Wrap a muffler around the throat since it will keep the throat warm and nice and also give relief at night.
6. Tea with Ginger and Basil - Boil tea leaves with crushed ginger and Basil (Tulsi) and have the tea. This also provides lot of relief.
7. Reflexology point for Sore Throat - Press the webbing on both hand between the thumb and the index fingers. They contain the points related to the throat.

Try the above remedies natural remedies for sore throat and you should have relief soon. You should also take a lot of rest and warm water. If you suffer from nasal congestion which causes frequent sore throat then you should practice nasal irrigation or jal neti to avoid this problem.