What is a throat compress?
A compress for sore throats is a classic household remedy for complaints such as sore throats and hoarseness. A distinction is made between cold and warm as well as moist and dry compresses. The principle of application is the same for every throat compress: A cloth (warm or cold, damp or dry) is placed around the neck and covered and secured with at least one other cloth.
How does the neck compress work?
A warm neck compress provides the body with warmth, promotes blood circulation and has an antispasmodic effect. As a result, the throat compress relieves the pain of pharyngitis or tonsillitis, for example. A cold throat compress, on the other hand, removes heat from the body and slows down inflammatory processes. It relieves pain, causes the blood vessels to contract and reduces swelling.
If the neck compress is also made wet (moist-warm or moist-cold neck compress), this intensifies the effect because the moisture retains the heat or cold for longer.
Sometimes a neck compress is only aimed at this physical effect. However, there are also throat compresses with additives (herbal tea, lemon, quark, essential oils, etc.) which intensify or extend the effect.
What ingredients do you need for a throat compress?
For a moist throat compress you need
- Intermediate towel: The intermediate towel should be larger than the inner towel. A cotton, linen or terry towel is best suited.
- Outer cloth: Holds the wrap in place. A woolen scarf, terry cloth or thick molton cloth is suitable for this.
- Bowl
- Water or herbal infusion (e.g. camomile or sage tea)
- Additional fastening material if necessary (plaster, bandage or similar)
Of course, you do not need water or a bowl for a dry neck compress. However, if you want to make the neck compress with additives such as curd cheese or essential oils, you should also have these ready, for example:
- lemon
- curd cheese
- Essential oils (e.g. sage, eucalyptus)
- If necessary, knife, fork, spoon or spatula (for spreading curd or other additives)
For all swaddling, it is important that the cloths can be applied tightly to the body. The cloths should not be too large, but also not too small for the corresponding part of the body.
How do you apply the neck wrap correctly?
Place the wrung-out cloth on the neck from the front without creases. Leave the spine free – otherwise the damp wrap can cause tension in the neck. Now wrap the intermediate cloth tightly around the inner cloth. Use the thicker outer cloth to secure the warm compress to the neck.
Leave the warm, moist neck compress on for 20 to 30 minutes or for as long as you feel comfortable. Then remove the compress and dry the damp neck with a towel if necessary. The patient should then rest for 30 minutes.
Never cover a moist compress (regardless of whether it is warm or cold) with foil or other impermeable material – heat build-up can occur.
Another variation is the warm lemon neck compress: the juice and peel of a lemon in hot water can enhance the effect of the neck compress. Among other things, lemons have anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties. Add the juice and grated peel of an organic lemon to the hot water, then place the inner cloth in it and leave to soak.
You can also use essential oils together with a fatty oil as a carrier oil for an oil neck compress. Here is a recipe that is recommended for tonsillitis: Add three drops of eucalyptus oil to one teaspoon of fatty oil (e.g. almond oil). Ideally, you should have warmed the carrier oil slightly in a water bath beforehand. Then apply the oil mixture to the inner cloth. Place this on the painful area of the neck, cover it with an intermediate cloth and secure the whole thing with a woollen scarf. Leave on for 30 minutes or even better: apply before going to bed and leave on the neck overnight.
For children, the use of essential oils should be discussed with a doctor or aromatherapist beforehand – some oils irritate the mucous membranes and cause breathing difficulties. In addition, you should generally test the tolerance of essential oils before using them: rub a drop of the oil into the crook of your arm. If no skin irritation (such as redness, itching) occurs within the next few hours, you can use it.
For a cold and moist throat compress (also known as a Prießnitz throat compress), proceed in the same way as for a warm and moist compress – except that you moisten the inner cloth with 10 to 18 degrees cold water (dip it in or pour it over). Leave the compress on for 30 minutes if you have an acute sore throat, or for several hours if you have a sore throat. Then remove the compress and ideally protect your neck from the cold with a woolen scarf.
Another variant of the compress is a cold curd compress on the neck. To do this, spread 250 to 500 grams of low-fat quark (room temperature) on a gauze compress and place it around the neck. Cover the curd compress with a dry cloth and secure the compress with a larger outer cloth. For acute inflammatory processes, leave on for a maximum of 20 minutes, otherwise until the quark is dry. Rest afterwards. Apply once or twice a day. You can read more about this in the article Curd compress.
What complaints does a throat compress help with?
A warm throat compress is said to help with the following complaints:
- Sore throat
- hoarseness
- bronchitis
- tonsillitis
- Laryngitis
With the addition of lemon, the warm throat compress is particularly effective against bronchitis and congested airways, for example in the case of a cold.
When is a neck compress not recommended?
A warm neck compress should never be used for acute inflammatory diseases. In the case of cardiovascular diseases, any heat treatment should be discussed with a doctor beforehand. Before applying a hot compress, you should always test the temperature on your forearm first. The same applies in particular if the neck compress is intended for a child or someone who cannot perceive temperature stimuli well (e.g. diabetics) – this can easily lead to burns.
A cold neck compress should never be applied if the patient is cold, has cold limbs or chills. The temperature of the forearm should be checked before applying the compress. As with hot compresses, this is particularly advisable if the patient is a child or a person with impaired temperature perception.
The following also applies: If the patient finds the (hot or cold) neck compress uncomfortable, remove it immediately!
Home remedies have their limits. If the symptoms persist over a longer period of time and do not improve or even get worse despite treatment, you should always consult a doctor.