Therapy
There is a variety of home remedies from naturopathy for sore throats, most of which are easy to make and can be used effectively at home. In most cases, these home remedies can relieve the symptoms of a simple cold. If the symptoms do not improve after three to five days despite self-treatment, if high fever, difficulty swallowing or visible pustule in the throat area occur, or if the lymph nodes in the neck swell considerably and a pronounced feeling of illness sets in, a doctor should be consulted.
The most important measure for colds and sore throats is regular drinking. This keeps the mucous membranes moist and reduces irritation of the oral mucosa. Drinking plenty of non-carbonated water or herbal teas is the basis of any home remedy for sore throats.
A cold neck wrap can help to relieve pain and inhibit inflammation. A linen cloth is moistened with cold water, wrapped around the neck and a dry woollen scarf is tied over it. In this way, the cold neck wrap can absorb and accumulate your own body heat, thus acting as a heat application.
Another household remedy provides that a moist cold wrap is additionally spread with fresh curd cheese and wrapped directly with the curd side around the neck. Boiled potatoes can also be wrapped around the neck when cooled and mashed. A linseed wrap is made by boiling linseed in water and then pounding it to a pulp, which is then spread in a damp linen cloth and wrapped around the neck.
Neck wraps are especially effective if they remain on the neck for a long time (e.g. overnight) and can have a soothing effect on sore throats and hoarseness.Regular gargling can also help with sore throats, as the pharyngeal mucosa is usually dry, irritated and inflamed. Gargling with sage or chamomile also counteracts inflammation in the throat and pharynx, kills bacteria and viruses and promotes wound healing. If, for example, you gargle with chamomile tea every two hours, this household remedy can effectively help to alleviate sore throats.
Sage and chamomile are not only suitable for gargling, however; because of their anti-inflammatory and germ-inhibiting effect, they are also used as teas for internal use for sore throats. Often, in addition to sore throat, there is also aching limbs. In this case, sage and chamomile can be supplemented with willow bark, the active ingredients of which are similar to those in painkillers such as acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin®).
It is possible to compile a tea herb mixture in the pharmacy, which is adapted to the individual complaints. Herbal teas made from thyme, ginger, mallow or the well-known hot (or cold) lemon are also recommended. Inhaling with medicinal herbs has also proven to be a household remedy for sore throats, it has an expectorant effect and clears the nose and sinuses.
Camomile and sage, but also thyme (has a germicidal, expectorant and expectorant effect), aniseed or fennel (has an expectorant effect) are suitable as inhalation additives. Berries are a popular household remedy for colds due to their high vitamin content. Sea buckthorn and rose hip, blackcurrants and blackberries and elderberries are said to have a good effect especially for sore throats, coughs and hoarseness.
A sweating cure after a hot bath can also have a positive effect on the complaints. Basically, it is advisable to keep the body and especially the feet and neck warm. The use of sore throat tablets can also help to alleviate discomfort by stimulating saliva production and keeping the mucous membranes moist.
Sweets with Icelandic moss or ribwort plantain can also protect the mucous membranes and help with the immune system. In order to strengthen the immune system, one should stay in healthy ambient air, avoid rooms in which smoking is practiced, as well as strongly heated rooms. Warm heating air dries the mucous membranes additionally and inhibits the mucous membranes in such a way in their important defense function, which can favor a cold.
The most important household remedy besides sufficient liquid supply is rest and protection. In case of sore throat, fever or indisposition, it is advisable to stay at home and allow yourself some rest. You can read more about this topic here: Home remedies for sore throatsEvery tea unfolds its pain-relieving effect through its essential oils and tanning agents.
Which type of tea should be used for sore throats is mainly left to the individual taste. Sage tea, chamomile tea and ginger tea are suitable as anti-inflammatory. With ginger tea, care should be taken to prepare it fresh as so-called “ginger water” if possible.
To do this, a fresh ginger tuber should be cut into thin slices and then boiled in water for ten minutes. In this way, the ginger releases as many of its essential oils and tannins as possible into the water. If you also want an expectorant component, you should prefer thyme tea and sweeten the tea with honey.
As a matter of principle, care should be taken that each tea is not drunk too hot. In most cases, the mucous membrane in the throat area is irritated by secretion or coughing as part of infections of the upper respiratory tract. Too hot tea would only cause additional damage to the mucous membrane.
A warm temperature, on the other hand, is often perceived as beneficial and has the effect that the essential oils best wet the mucosa when warm. In addition, they also unfold their pleasant aroma when warm and can thus also clear the respiratory tract. Tea varieties with a high acid content should be avoided if you suffer from sore throats.
Fruit tea is therefore not suitable for the relief of sore throats, as the acid contained in it only further strains the irritated mucous membranes. Whoever suffers from sore throat and has neither medication nor household remedies at hand can help against the sore throat by drinking enough liquid. Normal water is sufficient to regularly wet the irritated mucous membranes in the throat.
The effect is to protect the mucous membranes from drying out and thus support their own body function as protection against pathogens. If there is already a colonization with pathogens, the liquid supply acts like a rinsing effect. Superficial pathogens are thus rinsed off and then killed by the gastric acid in the stomach.Pathogens that have already penetrated the mucosa can be eliminated in the form of a secretion with the help of the offered liquid.
Thus, more saliva can be produced in the mouth and throat area with anti-inflammatory enzymes and the mucous membrane itself can also secrete secretion with foreign material. Whoever also suffers from an increased temperature ensures the maintenance of his or her circulatory function by increasing the amount of fluid drunk. With every degree of temperature increase, the amount of liquid needed increases by about 10%.
Depending on the size and age of the patient, this means an increased requirement of about one glass of water per degree temperature rise. Furthermore, a sufficient supply of vitamins, trace elements and proteins can support the body’s own healing process. Therefore, even with a sore throat, it is important to eat well and in a balanced way to cover the energy requirements.
Otherwise, apart from drinking and eating, only simple aids such as a scarf or a warming bathtub remain. Both serve rather the own well-being and relieve additional symptoms of a cold illness. Medicines should always be adapted with sore throat to the releasing causes.
For example, sore throat should be treated with a cough suppressant and sore throat should be treated with an inflamed, swollen mucous membrane by anti-inflammatory drugs (antiphlogistics). Freely for sale are above all herbal preparations in the pharmacy. Juices with thyme or marshmallow extract are particularly suitable for cough relief.
Anti-inflammatory preparations with eucalyptus or cineol, for example, have an anti-inflammatory effect. If an additional antipyretic effect is required, ibuprofen is suitable. In addition to its anti-inflammatory aspect, ibuprofen also has an analgesic effect.
Drugs with added caffeine should be avoided. Although they do improve one’s own well-being for a period of time, they often lead to an overestimation of one’s own performance. Instead of recovering at home, caffeine is used to push the body and the affected person goes to work.
The effect is often an aggravation of the symptoms after the effects have subsided. Even high doses of vitamin C are only partially suitable for shortening the duration of the disease. It is rather recommended to eat a sufficient amount of fruit per day.
Who wants to reduce the illness duration absolutely, should focus rather on expectorant products with for example ivy. Cough removers help to remove pathogens and foreign material from the body and thus enable faster healing, although they can shorten the duration of the disease by a maximum of two days. These topics may be of interest to you:
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The working principle of homeopathy is based on the assumption that “similar things may be cured by similar things” (according to Hahnemann/Founder of Homeopathy).
In the case of sore throat, this means identifying a plant that causes the same symptoms as the sore throat. These should then be taken in diluted form, so that a cancelling effect can be achieved. For colds with sore throats, globules with calendula (calendula), aconitum (wolfsbane) or ichthyolum (shale oil) are suitable.
All globules should be taken several times a day depending on age and general condition. The recommended potency should be in the range of D4 to D6. The combination of numbers and letters indicates how much the mother tincture itself has been diluted with parts of solvents.
D4 therefore means a 1:10 000 000 dilution and D6 a 1:1 000 000 dilution. Due to the strong dilution, the effect is very mild and supports the own healing process rather than directly interfering with it. Homeopathic remedies are therefore very well suited for mild sore throats.
From a D4 potency they are also freely available in the pharmacy. In most cases the complaints disappear after a short period of a few days. In a few cases, complicated processes occur, which make intensive antibiotic treatment necessary.
In some cases, however, infections spread throughout the body by strepotococci, with adverse effects on the heart, must be feared. Since sore throat is generally a symptom of various causes and it is not possible to say exactly what causes the sore throat, no further prophylactic measures are known apart from general measures to strengthen the immune system (balanced diet, regular exercise). Further tips can be found at our partner
