The Easiest DIY Sore Throat Recipe for Any Kitchen

This post is written by contributing author Cory Trusty.

There are many sore throat cold remedies that can be made up in the kitchen. The easiest and most accessible is a simple salt water gargle.  A salt water gargle helps reduce painful swelling and may fight infection as well.  It is a great option especially if you are home bound, and not feeling able or up to going out to the store for cough drops or other remedies and ingredients. Just two ingredients are needed, fine salt and water.

Photo by Sanja Gjenero

Salt Water Gargle

• 8-10 oz very warm water 
• 1/2 - 2/3 teaspoon of fine salt, sea salt is preferable

Notice there is some flexibility with the recipe.  You can dissolve the salt in water and taste it to make sure it doesn't taste overly strong to you.  Swish and gargle with the solution about 4-5 times in a row.  For best results, repeat this every few hours as needed. Older children as well as adults can benefit from a salt water gargle, but it cannot done safely by smaller children. It is dangerous for a salt water solution like this to be swallowed, so make sure your children know how to gargle plain unsalted water before you offer them a salt water solution to gargle.

Photo by Richard Dudley

If you are desperate for a remedy for a young child who can't gargle, here are a few ideas you can try and they are great for adults too in case you have any of these ingredients, or remedies to work with:

• Hot water together with Honey and Lemon
• Hot water together with Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey
• Garlic Honey 
• Sage Pastilles: this is a simple recipe from Learning Herbs that you could actually make up with only sage and honey.  
• Green Tea with Honey
• Elderberry Syrup or Elderberry Tincture

If I have an ear ache together with a sore throat I like to use the salt water gargle together with this Aromatherapy Ear Drop Recipe.  

Be well,

Cory Trusty

Cory's Kanelstrand blog posts are licensed under Creative Commons.  You are free to copy, distribute and adapt Cory's Kanelstrand content provided you attribute it to her by linking back to the original post as well as Cory's AquarianBath.com website.

Cory Trusty is a soap maker, community herbalist, organic gardener, and homeschooling mom to two girls. Cory and her family live in Daytona Beach, Florida. Cory's background is in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Biology.  She is sharing tried and true natural home remedies and mini lessons from herbal classes that she teaches. Cory works full time making soaps, shampoo bars, herbal salves, flaxseed heat packs and more for her website AquarianBath. Read more from Cory at the Aquarian Bath blog. Cory is also a Food and Gardening writer for EcoEtsy and has published in The Essential Herbal Magazine and on the Herb Companion Blog. Connect with Cory on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and Pinterest.