Home remedies
In addition to the common medications for hoarseness, there are also some home remedies with which the unpleasant symptom itself can be treated well. The most important point is sufficient moistening of the affected mucous membranes. Drinking a lot helps to keep the mucous membranes and vocal chords supple.
It is best to drink still, not too cold water in small sips. Juices are not recommended for hoarseness, the acids in fruits are irritating, so you will feel pain when drinking. If you spend a lot of time in closed rooms, you have to pay attention to sufficient air humidity, especially in winter.
The dry air in heated rooms only harms the vocal chords even more when you are hoarse. This can be remedied by wet towels that are hung up in the room, bowls filled with water or humidifiers. Sweets with a wide variety of active ingredients have the advantage that they not only stimulate salivation, but also taste good.
Drinking tea not only moistens the mucous membrane, but ideally directly counteracts hoarseness. Cold teas with sage, thyme or mint have a liberating and soothing effect on the mucous membrane of the throat. Honey can be added to the tea.
Honey has a slight antimicrobial effect, so in the event of a cold it can speed up recovery and ensure that symptoms subside quickly. Cold teas or teas especially for hoarseness can be bought in almost every supermarket, health food store or drugstore. Alternatively, you can also make your own tea.
All you need are the right herbs such as sage or peppermint. The herbs are poured over with boiling water, then the infusion is left to steep for a while before drinking. Also helpful for hoarseness are infusions of onions and honey.
For this, you cook an onion, mix the resulting juice with some honey and let the mixture steep for a while. Another well-known household remedy is the preparation of gargling solutions. You can gargle with salt water or olive oil, for example.
When gargling with salt water you should be careful, however, because swallowed salt water usually leads to vomiting. More gentle is therefore the method of inhaling saltwater steam. Alternatively you can also inhale chamomile steam.
To make an inhalation solution, boiling water is put into a pot or bowl and either salt or chamomile is added. Then place a towel over your head and shoulders, bend over the steaming bowl and breathe in slowly through your nose and out through your mouth. The steam is not only beneficial for the vocal chords and throat, but also frees the nose and has a decongestant effect on the nasal mucosa.
When using this method, however, care must be taken, as boiling water and steam can lead to severe burns or scalding. It is advisable to let the water cool down a little before inhalation and not to bend too tightly over the bowl. There is also the Vicks Vaporub® cold ointment available without a prescription, which can help to alleviate hoarseness when used by inhalation.
Hoarseness caused by laryngitis or similar conditions can also be treated with warm compresses. You can choose between curd compresses, potato compresses and compresses with healing earth. The respective ingredient is applied to a cloth and wrapped around the neck.The potatoes must be cooked for this.
Healing earth is also spread on a cloth and placed on the neck. It is best to wear a thick woollen scarf over the wraps to prevent the heat from being lost to the outside. Generally it is recommended to wear a scarf in case of hoarseness. Heat is good for the vocal chords, while cold or cold air is additionally irritating.
