Sore Throats

Due to a recent illness in the children, I got to thinking it might be fun to post my favorite sore throat remedies. (Except where noted, these remedies are good for anyone and are actually classified as “food.” Thus, you can’t take too much anymore than you could eat too much spinach.)

1) Get a drink of water. When you are dehydrated your throat will sometimes hurt. Try it, anyway.

2) Massage the throat- Begin at the bottom of the ears and slowly and gently rub your own neck at the base of the jaw line towards the middle. It really helps! Lasts twenty minutes or so. (Be VERY gentle doing this to someone else, especially a child. You can do damage)

3) Sore Throat Tea- (Use flavors to taste)
     a. 1 cup warm water
     b. 1 (+ or -) Tablespoon lemon juice (vitamin C will fight the infection and the acid will kill germs)
     c. 1 (+ or -) honey (honey is anti-bacterial as well as a soother)
     d. 1/2 or so teaspoon ginger or cinnamon (optional). Anti inflammatory, anti microbial.
4) Herbal “up the anti”- Replace the water with an infusion (tea) made of:
     a. Echinacea (immune booster. Take a break from it every 6 weeks or so)
     b. Yarrow (all around invader fighter. Use only for short term.)
     c. Lemon grass (immune booster)
     d. Rose petals (and/or hips) (high vit C plus astringent to kill bacteria)
     e. Wild cherry bark (tastes good and soothes)

5) “Taste? Who cares about taste? I’m sick!” (I very seldom have to go this far. Add one or more to the above infusion)
     a. Elderberry (fruity tasting immune booster. I sometimes use it at the above level.
     b. Licorice (good bug fighter, but my kids hate the taste. Don’t use if you have a heart problem)
     c. Cinnamon (all around bug fighter as well as blood sugar balancer)
     d. Cayenne pepper (makes all other herbs work better, bug fighter, metabolism speeder, and high in C)
     e. Cloves (bug fighter)
     f. Thyme (bug fighter)
     g. Garlic (the pre-antibiotic antibiotic. It was used on wounds from the battlefield in World War I. It will kill all but the worst germs, sometimes better than modern antibiotics)

How to make an infusion:

Pour one cup of boiling water onto your herbs (one teaspoon each. Add more water if you are doing a lot of herbs).

Let steep covered for ten minutes to an hour (the longer it steeps the more powerful the medicine but the more bitter the taste).

Strain out the herbs, sweeten (preferably with honey. Alternately, put a teaspoon or so of Stevia in the herbs before steeping) to taste.

Drink.