Top 3 Home Remedies To Treat Sore Throat in Minutes

The constant pain and dry feeling in the throat is very agitating. Sore throat is often the first signal our body gives in reaction to the infection which has entered our body. The infection can be viral or bacterial.

Sore throat caused by virus

A viral infection goes away on its own after about a week. It does not require any medical treatment.

As there is no cure for a sore throat caused by a virus no medicine is going to work. Antibiotics will not help rather they pose risks because of their dangerous side effects. So taking antibiotics for a sore throat is not a wise thing unless you know it is a bacterial infection.

Taking antibiotics too often or when you don't need them can be harmful and costly. And the medicine may not work the next time you take it when you really do need it. This is called antibiotic resistance .

Sore throat caused by bacteria - Strep Throat

Very rarely sore throat is caused by bacteria in which case it is called a strep throat. Antibiotics are prescribed for strep throat to prevent rheumatic fever.

Sore Throat - When to visit a doctor

In most cases, your sore throat will improve with at-home treatment. It is recommended to start home treatments as soon as you start feeling the soreness in your throat and continue doing them few times a day. If your symptoms dont get better or become worse after a few days, you should see a doctor.

Here are my top 3 home remedies to provide instant relief in throat pain.

No 1 Home Remedy for Sore Throat - Coconut oil

If you are the one like me who don't feel any instant relief from gargles, this one is for you. Yes our versatile super healer - coconut oil! But before you become too happy, let me tell you that you are not going to skip that tedious and important gargling step.

First you need to gargle to kill the excess germs in that area. I use betadine gargles , you can use any one - medicated or plain salt water. Gargle with half a glass of it, trying to reach the sore area.

Now your excess germs are killed, their colonies are destructed, whatever. But like any post-war scene, there are signs of ravages - rough spots, damaged tissues, etc. So immediately after gargling, take one spoonful of melted coconut oil and keep it in the mouth for few seconds trying to reach the sore area then swallow it slowly. I call it pseudo-gargling.

Coconut oil will coat the back of your throat, helping to soothe and smoothen the damaged part and relieving the pain. Plus, coconut oil has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties that will help fight off the infection, and support a strong immune system to ward off future illnesses.

When my sore throat was severe, I would do this and would feel perfectly fine just immediately after uptill 5-6 hours. Then I would redo the process. This went on for 2-3 days after which the infection subsided on its own.

When my sore throat is mild, I will have to do it once only and sore throat will go away instantly.

So good luck!

No 2 Home Remedy for Sore Throat - Warm Compress

A warm compress will soothe your tender lymph nodes and relieve pain. It will also discourage the germs from growing / multiplying.

Wet a towel with hot water and wring the excess water out before placing on your neck. Do this for around 5 minutes.

You can also drink warm soups or tea to keep your throat warm. Garlic tea is a very good way to keep off the infection and relieve the throat pain.

No 3 Home Remedy for Sore Throat - Hand Massage

There was a time once when nothing was working wonders for my throat pain. It was then that I found some simple hand massages on throat which did the trick. You can try them along with any other home remedy you are using.

That's it. We wish you a healthy body and a healthy spirit!