Home Remedies - Part Seven

Whether it's grandpa's secret recipe for a hot toddy, or Uncle Bob's sure fire cure for the hiccups, home remedies have been around for a long time. Between the rising cost of medicine and the length of the lines in the waiting rooms, more and more people are turning to home remedies for their minor illnesses. This series is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to home remedies. It should go without saying that the remedies in this series are for entertainment purposes only.

Sore Throat

Take a sock you have worn into a boot and worked in for almost a week so that it has a bad odour. Tie it around your neck. ~ Appalachian Folk Remedy

Get three toads and tie them by the legs with a string. Let them stay in the sun until they decay away; wear the string around the neck. It is a simple and certain cure. ~ A Number of Receipts For Curing Man and Beast, 1855

Honey has long been used as a sore-throat remedy. It has antibacterial properties, which can help speed healing. It also acts as a hypertonic osmotic, which means that it draws water out of inflamed tissue. This reduces the swelling and discomfort. Add several teaspoons to 1 cup of hot water or herbal tea.

Chamomile tea is one of the best natural remedies for a sore throat. Its analgesic properties can provide rapid relief for throat pain and headaches. Administered every few hours, chamomile tea can also reduce fever and prevent dehydration.

An old home remedy for sore throats is a tea made with lemon, apple cider vinegar, cayenne, and honey. It is made by adding one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper, the juice of 1/4 lemon, and one teaspoon of honey to a cup of hot water.

Honeysuckle flower is one of the most commonly used sore throat remedies in traditional Chinese medicine. Health food stores occasionally carry it, but it is primarily sold in Chinese herbal stores. Make a honeysuckle tea by bringing one quart of water to a boil using this method: add one cup of honeysuckle flowers (not the leaves), steep for at least 10 minutes, covered, and then strain. Up to four cups a day are typically recommended.

Marshmallow, a herb that grows in North America and Europe, has been used for centuries as a sore throat remedy. It contains mucilage, which is thought to coat and soothe sore throats. Make a marshmallow root tea by adding one tablespoon of the dried root to a cup (8 ounces) of boiling water, steeping it covered for at least 10 minutes, and then straining. Herbalists usually suggest drinking up to three cups a day.

Take two new-laid eggs roasted moderately hard, and the pap of two well roasted pippins. Beat them well together and add to them as much curds of posset made with ale. Having incorporated them all very well, apply the mixture very warm to the part affected, shifting it, if need be, once in five or six hours. ~ The Family Magazine, London, 1741

Sage is another effective cure for a sore throat. Half a litre of boiling water should be poured on a handful of sage leaves. When moderately cool, a little vinegar and honey should be added according to taste. This mixture should be used as a gargle. A teaspoon of this mixture call also be taken internally at the same time. Sage is highly valued because of the oils and tannins in it that give it its antiseptic and astringent properties.

A gargle prepared from fenugreek seeds has been found to be a very effective remedy for treating a sore throat. To prepare this gargle, two tablespoons of fenugreek seeds should be put in a litre of cold water and allowed to simmer for half an hour over a low flame. This should then be allowed to cool to a bearable temperature, strained, and then used entirely as a gargle.

Gargling with salt water can fight against bacteria and reduce throat inflammation and pain.

Tamarind is also beneficial in the treatment of sore throat. Tamarind water should be used as a gargle. A powder of the dry leaves and an infusion of the bark can also be used for preparation of a gargle for treating sore throat.

Tie a bag of red ants around the neck. After the ants are all dead, the throat will be well. ~ Avery’s Almanac, 1837

Apply a flannel sprinkled with spirits of hartshorn to the throat, rubbing Hungary water on the top of the head. Or, snuff a little honey up the nose. ~ Reverend John Wesley, Primitive Physick, 1747.

Cinnamon is regarded as an effective remedy for a sore throat. One teaspoon of coarsely powdered cinnamon, boiled in a glass of water with a pinch of pepper powder, and two teaspoons of honey can be taken as a medicine in the treatment of this condition. Two or three drops of cinnamon oil, mixed with a teaspoon of honey, also give immense relief. You could also use ginger along with cinnamon and honey to prepare one of the most effective sore throat remedies for quick sore throat relief. Both ginger and cinnamon are highly valued for their healing properties and have been widely used among naturalists and in traditional medicine to aid the treatment of sore throats and throat infections in a variety of sore throat home remedies.

Liquorice is a recognized home remedy for sore throat in all parts of India. A small piece of raw liquorice should he chewed or sucked for treating this condition. The healing property of the herb soothes inflammation quickly.

Slippery elm was once a popular drugstore remedy for sore throats in North America. The herb was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia, a compendium of drug standards, until 1960. A member of the elm family, the slippery elm tree (Ulmus Rubra Muhl) grows primarily in the eastern region of North America. For sore throats, herbalists use the inner bark of the tree. The inner bark contains mucilage, a gel-like substance that swells when it is mixed with water. The mucilage is thought to coat the throat, reduce irritation, and soothe sore throat. Steep 1 teaspoon of the inner bark in 2 cups boiling water, strain and drink.