24 Tricks You Need To Try If You Have A Sore Throat

A sore throat is unmistakable. If it takes a monumental amount of will power to swallow down your own saliva, you don't need anyone to tell you what symptom you're experiencing. A sore throat can be miserable — regardless of if it is an isolated issue or one of many signs of illness you're experiencing.  As Brett M. Scotch, a Florida-based osteopathic physician explained in an interview with the American Osteopathic Association, "A sore throat can be caused by any number of factors, including a common cold, low humidity, smoking, air pollution, yelling, or nasal drainage."

No matter the cause, though, you can get some sore throat relief almost instantly with the help of some handy hacks and tickle-reducing tricks. From sipping a boozy beverage to using a numbing all-natural spray, Health Digest is sharing the scoop on how you can start to feel better faster. So pour yourself a cup of herbal tea (peppermint, if you've got it!), and read on. Calming help and soothing sick-day tips are on the way!

Need to sooth that scratchy throat of yours? We have got you covered, honey! It is not quite Mary Poppins' go-to solution, but a spoonful of, um, honey will help the medicine go down. A study published in the National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology found that when patients took one tablespoon of honey twice daily in tandem with anti-inflammatory medications, antibiotics, and gargle solutions, they reported feeling better sooner and recovered faster than those who got the same treatments sans the bee byproduct.

Furthermore, a paper published in Molecules noted many of honey's amazing health benefits: It acts like an inflammation-fighting antioxidant with antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and anticancer characteristics. So sore throat aside, you might want to consider adding a little bit of sweetness to your daily routine anyway. It is also worth noting that raw honey might boast more goodness than pasteurized forms, according to Healthline, so do your due diligence when shopping to find one that's the bee's knees.

Sleeping with a sore throat can feel nearly impossible. With every toss, turn, and inadvertent swallow, you feel the burn. One possible way to help you get to Snoozeville faster — and stay there longer — is to boost yourself up a bit and elevate your head to allow your sinuses to more readily drain, according to WebMD.

Sleep Advisor recommends using a wedge pillow with a "natural and gradual incline" to keep your noggin at an angle. An even better solution? "Raise the head of the bed instead," as recommended by WebMD. This will prevent your neck from getting stuck in an awkward position that can also make breathing more labored. By putting "large books under the legs of your headboard" and making sure they are nice and sturdy, you will get a better angle without sacrificing your comfort or your air flow. 

A comforting cup of tea can help you feel more relaxed when you're sick with a sore throat, and give you some much needed pain relief. Dr. Stephen Parodi, an infectious disease expert, told Prevention, "Warm tea or other drinks can help soothe the inflammation, clear nasal passages, and reduce the amount of mucus coming from the nasal passages that might further irritate the throat." 

A nice hot sip of ginger tea with its anti-inflammatory properties could put you on the road to recovery. If ginger isn't your thing, perhaps a cup of peppermint tea will do the trick. Menthol, an active ingredient in peppermint, provides a cooling benefit; furthermore, it has antibacterial benefits. Looking for something more subtle for your sick day?  For "a more classic herbal tea," tea sommelier Lisa McDonald told Prevention, try "chamomile with a touch of honey. The tea is very calming, and the honey offers a smooth sweetness to help coat the throat." Chamomile has also been shown to "lubricate" and soothe the throat.

If your mom ever put you in a steamy bathroom when you were a kid during a middle-of-the-night coughing fit, she did it for good reason. Take heed from your wise mama; next time you are feeling not so great with a sore throat to boot, hit the showers — and turn up the temp. 

Breathing in this swampy warm air can help with swelling and discomfort. If you don't want to hop in the shower, you can get the same effect at the sink. First, let the tap run very hot. "Drape a towel over your head and lean into the sink to breath in the steam," suggested Healthline. The site also recommends boiling a pot of water for a half an hour to "increase humidity in your house." You can even enhance the experience simply by adding "a tablespoon of menthol ointment." This will help if your sore throat is linked to congestion. Running a humidifier would, of course, do the trick as well.

As of this writing, there isn't clear-cut proof that lemon can cure or help your sore throat. However, as explained by Medical News Today, lemons are high in Vitamin C, a nutrient which many people believe boosts the immune system. Some research has indicated that Vitamin C could shorten the duration of a cold — so if you've got a sore throat, a case of the sniffles, or a cough, it certainly can't hurt and might even help. Just don't expect a squeeze or two of lemon to magically cure your illness.

Penn Medicine explained that lemons may help to loosen mucus. A teaspoon of the citrus ingredient in a cup of warm water might just do the trick. And, hey, it tastes better than the institution's other recommendation: Gargle with warm water mixed with a small amount of hot sauce. Hard pass.

Think you might be coming down with something? If you feel that telltale drip, drip, drip in your throat, get ahead of the curve and crush that sore throat before it even begins using some raw garlic. 

New York-based holistic physician Michael Finkelstein told Real Simple that garlic is antimicrobial and antibacterial, and it might even be able to ward off symptoms and illness. As explained by the publication, when garlic is chewed, cut, or crushed, the compound allicin is activated — and this is where the real healing benefits are. Of course, eating raw garlic is not going to earn you any friends.

Dr. Finkelstein recommends warming a clove in the microwave for a few seconds to reduce the overpowering taste. Next, crush the garlic and spread onto a cracker. Even if it doesn't end up helping your throat, it could be good for your overall health. But maybe consider trying garlic supplements instead; they are known to lower cholesterol and reduce blood pressure (via Real Simple).

"Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food," goes the old saying that is sometimes attributed to the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates. Although reasonable minds may differ regarding the extent to which this notion ought to be taken literally (via Medical News Today), the notion that a nice, hot bowl of soup can help soothe a sore throat is practically ubiquitous. 

Actually, all hot liquids have the power to temporarily relieve sore throat pain, according to Professor Ron Eccles, an expert on the common cold (via Medical News Today). In part, this is because hot fluids promote salivation, which can relieve any dryness associated with sore throat. But soups that are rich in vitamins and minerals can help speed recovery. This includes chicken soup made with chicken bones, according to Livestrong. It also includes soups made with carrots, onion, garlic, ginger and other anti-inflammatory foods.

Maryland-based internal medicine physician Dr. Sonya Chawla recommends sticking with lower-sodium soups, because salt can be dehydrating (which is essentially the opposite of what you want when your throat hurts). Dr. Chawla also recommends avoiding spicy soups.

Pomegranate is known to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer properties and has been used medicinally throughout history, according to Manal S. Mansouri, a professor at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via an academic paper he wrote that was published in 2019 in the Pharmacophore Journal. "Recently," Dr. Mansoury wrote at the time, "numerous studies have proven the effectiveness of ... pomegranate juice in the treatment of" no less than 15 separate medical conditions, including sore throat. Mansoury credits the active plant ingredient ellagic acid, an antioxidant that is found in abundance in pomegranate seeds and pomegranate juice, for this. 

That said, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health appears to be somewhat skeptical about pomegranate's efficaciousness in treating major illnesses and conditions such as "heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol levels, cancer, and diabetes," at least until more scientific research firmly supports these claims. However, other healthcare professionals back up the notion that pomegranate can help soothe a sore throat. "Pomegranate is a known for having high amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants that can help you quickly recover from a sore throat," according to Healthcare Associates of Texas. In fact, consuming the seeds may be particularly helpful at reducing the swelling and inflammation that's causing your throat to hurt. 

"Breathing in moist air can help soothe swollen tissue in your nose and throat," according to Healthline. Indeed, "if you've noticed an increase in the number of sore throats you've had this season, then it may be time to invest in a humidifier," according to Dr. Charlotte Smith, writing for the Penn Medicine Health and Wellness blog. "Dry air, especially during the harsh, cold days of winter, may be the cause of your sore throat," she explains. The purpose of a humidifier is to keep the ambient air moist, which can be beneficial when it comes to keeping the airways, including the sinuses, open.

If you're already dealing with a sore throat, Dr. Smith recommends bolstering your humidifier's efficacy by adding a small amount of either vapor rub for relief from immediate soreness or hydrogen peroxide to help keep germs from spreading to others in the home (via Occupational Health & Safety). In each case, a tablespoon or two is sufficient. If you don't have access to a humidifier and you're looking for immediate relief, go with the steamy shower trick (via Healthline). If and when you decide it's time to invest in a humidifier for this purpose, Healthline recommends going with a cool mist humidifier, which can be found at many retailers. 

There's no doubt this trick for sore throat relief is about as primitive as it gets, but that's not a bad thing. According to Sunbeam, people have been successfully making themselves feel better with heat therapy for thousands of years. Like food as medicine, heat therapy is another Hippocrates-approved treatment modality for discomfort. Healthline explains that a heated compress applied to any part of the body can help reduce discomfort and possibly even speed up the healing process, because it increases blood flow to wherever it is applied. In addition, MedicineNet notes that a warm compress applied to the throat can help relieve the discomfort associated with swollen lymph nodes.

To use a warm compress for sore throat relief, MedicineNet recommends using a warm heating pad or hot water bottle, or, making your own warm compress the old-fashioned way: wetting a hand towel with hot water, wringing out the excess (and making sure it's not burning hot) before placing it on the skin covering the throat. If you're feeling chills, or just to keep the compress in place, a cozy scarf can help.

As you may already be aware, arnica (full name: Arnica montana) is a daisy-like flower that has been used medicinally for centuries, per St. Luke's Hospital. Arnica gel can help soothe achy muscles and heal wounds. However, arnica can also be taken orally, albeit only in its homeopathic pill form; consuming the arnica flower itself can be toxic (in pill form, the arnica content is diluted to safe levels). 

When taken in pill form, arnica has shown promise in relieving sore throat, according to a 2017 study published in Sage Journals. That study actually comprised two case studies of post-operative patients with severe sore throat owing to intubation (which is standard procedure when a patient is placed under general anesthesia). In both cases, after three doses of homeopathic arnica (200CH dosage) over the course of 36 hours, sore throat symptoms cleared within 48 hours. Since homeopathic arnica pills are still considered experimental, if you're interested in trying this sore throat remedy, you might want to check with your doctor first. 

When all else fails, it might be time to head to the pharmacy to pick up an over-the-counter medication. Of course, not all syrups and pills are created equal, which means it is important to really tune in to your symptoms to find the treatment that is right for you. Otolaryngologist Gregory Levitin explained to Verywell Family that a sore throat alone might call for a different medication than a sore throat in tandem with other unpleasant symptoms. Yes, it is critical to remember that a sore throat can be indicative of lots of potential illnesses or allergies so when in doubt or if the sore throat persistent, see your doctor.

In the meantime, Dr. Levitin advised checking the ingredients in the OTC bottle you take off of a drugstore shelf. Acetaminophen is often an active pain-relieving ingredient to help with the physical discomfort you're feeling whereas phenylephrine is a common nasal decongestant ingredient that helps with inflammation. You should also check for guaifenesin, as it "works to loosen or thin out the secretions." Always read the label and follow specific instructions when taking a new medication.