13 natural home remedies for sore throat

1. Fluids are a great help. Sufficient intake of water helps in washing away infections quickly from your system.
2. If possible, try to rest your voice for the day. Avoid straining your throat by talking too much, especially talking loudly.
3. The old standard is to gargle with warm salt water (1 teaspoon salt dissolved in one glass of water) at least a few times a day. It eases the scorching feeling in your throat. It works by improving the circulation around the throat area. It also cleans the pharynx, thus enabling your immune system to be more potent.
4. Gargling with an infusion made of henna leaves (mehandi leaves) heals a sore throat as it has antibacterial properties.
5. Mango bark helps to soothe a sore throat as well as other similar illnesses. You need to extract the fluid of the bark which is then ground, and applied to the throat. Ground bark can also be used to gargle by stirring 10 ml of it into 125 ml of water.
6. Baking soda and salt gargle: mix 1/2 a teaspoon each of baking soda and salt with 1/2 a cup of warm water and gargle a few times each day.
7. Put ginger root in a glass of hot water, wait 5-10 minutes and drink. Repeat several times a day.
8. Coarsely powdered cinnamon (dalchini) added to a glass of water along with two tablespoons of honey and a pinch of ground pepper and then boiled, is another remedy for sore throat.
9. Mix 2 tablespoons of sesame (til) oil and one tbsp of honey. Take one spoon three times a day.
10. Avoid fried or cold foods, very cold drinks and anything sour as they can aggravate a sore throat.
11. Another useful home remedy is to fill a tablespoon halfway with honey and then squeeze a lemon to fill up the spoon. Thereafter, add a sprinkle of pepper, put the spoon in your mouth, and suck on it slowly.
12. Garlic (lahsun) is also known to relieve a sore throat as it is a natural antiseptic. It can be eaten as well as consumed in tea.
13. Sucking on hard candy, in the sugar-free variety, helps to keep your mouth and throat moist, which can help you get some relief from a sore throat.