How to Heal a Sore Throat: Top 5 Drinks for Sore Throat Relief

With proper hydration, some sore throat lozenges, and these science-backed at-home sore throat remedies, relieving your sore throat symptoms is easier than you think.

While it hurts to swallow when you have a sore throat, drinking an at-home sore throat remedy can help relieve your symptoms more quickly. Here are four science-backed beverages you can consume to speed up your recovery.

This delightful concoction helps alleviate one of the most common symptoms of sore throat, difficulty swallowing, in two ways:

1. By reducing inflammation and fighting infection with honey’s anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties¹
2. By boosting the body’s immunity with the vitamin C in lemon

As for the recipe, there is really no single way to go about preparing this homemade sore throat remedy. Just mix the ingredients to taste. 

If your throat aches when swallowing, another at-home sore throat remedy you can try is chamomile tea. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory and lubricating properties³, it can help not only alleviate your symptoms, but also speed up your recovery.

Just like honey, ginger also has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties⁴, which can help relieve the following symptoms of sore throat:

• Pain
• Redness and swelling
• Itchiness

But that’s not all. In one study, ginger has also demonstrated antiviral properties⁵, stimulating the body’s immune system to help eliminate viruses While human studies are needed to confirm its efficacy, ginger shows great potential as an antiviral agent.

Experts recommend staying hydrated when you have a sore throat to help ease the pain and thin any mucus build up.⁶

But this is not the only reason to drink lots of water to help fight your sore throat. A study by the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut found that dehydration can compromise your body’s natural defenses against infection.⁷ Long story short, if you want to recover faster, you need to keep your water intake up.

Green tea can likely reduce the pain associated with sore throat thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties. This is based on a study that found that gargling green tea can help reduce the pain associated with sore throat⁸ in patients that have undergone endotracheal extubation.

Aside from the drinks we have seen so far, taking any of the following Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils) variants can help provide immediate relief from the symptoms of mild throat:

• Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils) Original
• Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils) Extra Strong
• Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol + Ascorbic Acid (Strepsils Orange With Vitamin C)
• Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils) Cool Sensation
• Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils) Honey & Lemon
• Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils) Warm Sensation with Ginger Flavor
• Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils) Lemon Sugar Free Lemon

These lozenges are all proven effective in helping relieve mild sore throat in three ways:

1. By inhibiting the growth of bacteria and viruses⁹ known to exacerbate throat conditions
2. By stimulating increased saliva production to minimize throat irritation and dryness
3. By acting as a mild numbing agent, reducing the discomfort associated with the condition

For severe sore throat, on the other hand, patients six years old and up can take Hexylresorcinol (Strepsils Max). Thanks to its antiseptic, anthelmintic, at local anesthetic properties¹⁰, it’s clinically proven effective against the symptoms of severe sore throat.

However, if your severe sore throat is accompanied by swelling, Flurbiprofen (Strepsils MaxPro) is the better choice. It’s specially formulated to combat the pain, inflammation, and difficulty swallowing¹¹ associated with severe sore throat in patients 18 years old and up.

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When to See Your Doctor

While sore throat typically heals on its own, please see your doctor if you experience any of the following:

• Your symptoms persist beyond seven days
• Your symptoms worsen
• Your symptoms keep coming back
• You develop a fever
• You experience severe pain or neck stiffness
• You develop difficulty breathing
• You start drooling
• You develop hoarseness or a muffled voice

The Bottom Line: Relieving Sore Throat Symptoms Is Easier Than You Think

By simply staying hydrated, consuming any of the drinks we’ve seen today, and taking  Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol + Amylmetacresol (Strepsils), relieving your symptoms should be a breeze. For more information on how to manage a sore throat or if your symptoms persist or begin to worsen, please consult your doctor.

References:

1. Honey for Your Sore Throat and Cough, available at https://health.clevelandclinic.org/honey-for-sore-throat-and-cough. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
2. When Your Baby Can Have Honey, available at https://health.clevelandclinic.org/when-is-it-safe-to-give-honey-to-my-baby. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
3. Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
4. How Does Ginger Help a Sore Throat?, available at https://www.healthline.com/health/ginger-for-sore-throat#1. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
5. Fresh ginger (Zingiber officinale) has anti-viral activity against human respiratory syncytial virus in human respiratory tract cell lines, available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23123794/. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
6. Sore Throat? Here's What to Do, available at https://uhs.umich.edu/strep. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
7. Immune Function: Basic Considerations of Exercise and Hydration, available at https://ksi.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1222/2015/04/Immune-Function-and-Hydration.pdf. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
8. The Effect of Green Tea Gargle Solution on Sore Throat After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Randomized Clinical Trial, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5018145/. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
9. Spectrum of bactericidal action of amylmetacresol/2,4-dichlorobenzyl alcohol lozenges against oropharyngeal organisms implicated in pharyngitis, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6276617/. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
10. Hexylresorcinol, available at https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB11254. Accessed on 29 November 2024.
11. Efficacy of flurbiprofen 8.75 mg lozenge in patients with a swollen and inflamed sore throat, available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27146963/. Accessed on 29 November 2024.