Sore Throat
27 Ways to Put Out the Fire Swallowing your pride can be pretty painful. But when just plain swallowing hurts, you have a real problem. After all, it's hard to go even 15 seconds without swallowing at least once. And the more you try not to, the more you find yourself doing it. Combine a sore throat with a rasping cough and you know the meaning of torture.
Sore throats are often the early warning signs of colds or the flu. But they can exist independently as the result of some other viral or bacterial infection. Sometimes they're just minor irritations caused by winter's low humidity or too much cheering at a football game. Whatever the cause, here's how doctors say to make the most of a sore situation.
Suck on lozenges. If your sore throat is caused by a viral infection, antibiotics won't help it. But medicated lozenges containing phenol may do some good, says Venice, Florida, ear, nose, and throat specialist Hueston King, M.D. The phenol can kill surface germs, thereby keeping the invaders in check until your body has a chance to build up its resistance. And its mild anesthetic action numbs raw nerve endings so your throat doesn't feel as scratchy. These lozenges come in various strengths, so follow package directions.
Spray away pain. By the same token, phenol-containing throat sprays can also give topical relief. But as Ohio Northern University pharmacology professor Thomas Gossel, Ph.D., R.Ph., points out, the duration of contact between the spray and the irritated tissues is relatively brief. Lozenges simply last longer.
Give zinc a chance. Zinc lozenges can help the kind of sore throat that's associated with a cold, says Donald Davis, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Clayton Foundation Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. "We gave people one 23-milligram tablet of zinc gluconate every 2 hours—but we instructed them to let it dissolve slowly in their mouths rather than just swallowing it. The zinc relieved their sore throats as well as several other cold symptoms."
But Dr. Davis cautions against taking such large amounts of zinc for more than seven days, because it can interfere with other minerals in the body. If you don't like the taste of zinc, look for zinc-containing lozenges.
Gargle! If it hurts when you swallow, the sore area may be high enough in your throat for gargling to bathe and soothe it, says Dr. King. So gargle frequently with one of the solutions below. But be aware that if you're hoarse or have a cough, the sore spot is further down, and gargling won't help.
Stage-Door Remedies
Actors can't afford to be upstaged by sore throats. So we asked some professionals how they perform comebacks when their throats are acting up.
- Several mentioned the time-honored salvo of lemon juice and honey in hot tea or water, sipped throughout the day.
- All had their favorite lozenges. Actor, director, and writer George Wolf Reily likes Ricola herbal mints from Switzerland. "They're great when you have to do two shows a day and your throat is hurting."
- Singer Geoffrey Moore prefers Halls Mentho-Lyptus drops. "They don't contain any anesthetics to dull the feeling in my throat."
- Actor Norman Marshall favors sucking on lozenges for immediate relief.
- Another of Marshall's favorite remedies is a tablespoon of baking soda in a large glass of water. "I sip this throughout the day whenever my throat's irritated or I feel a cold coming on."
- Actress Elf Fairservis humidifies her sore throat with a facial sauna. "I just inhale the steam for about 10 minutes. If I can spare the time, I do it three times a day until I feel better."
- From a preventive standpoint, actor and singer William Perley protects his throat by "staying as healthy as I can and eating lots of carrots for their vitamin A. Also, I've been told by vocal teachers not to irritate my throat by clearing it too much."
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Saltwater. Mix 1 teaspoon of table salt in 1 pint of warm or room-temperature water, says Dr. Gossel. That's just enough salt to mimic the body's natural saline content, so you'll find it very soothing. Use every hour or so, but don't swallow the liquid if you're concerned about your sodium intake.
Chamomile tea. Colorado nutrition counselor Eleonore Blaurock-Busch, Ph.D., president and director of Trace Minerals International, a clinical chemistry laboratory in Boulder, favors warm chamomile tea to relieve irritated membranes. Steep 1 teaspoon dried chamomile in 1 cup of hot water. Strain. Let it cool to lukewarm and gargle as needed.
Diluted lemon juice. Dr. Blaurock-Busch also suggests a little lemon juice squeezed into a large glass of lukewarm water.
Spirits. "Sometimes I add a spoonful of bourbon or whiskey to a large glass of warm water and use that to gargle," says Dr. Gossel. "It's just enough alcohol to help numb a sore throat."
Humidify the room. Sometimes a sore throat upon awakening is caused by sleeping with your mouth open. Ordinarily, your nose moistens air headed for your throat and lungs. But breathing through your mouth bypasses that step, leaving your throat parched and irritated.
New Jersey otolaryngologist Jason Surow, M.D., recommends a bedroom humidifier to get the environment nice and humid. "Use a bedside model even if your heating system has its own humidifier," he says. "The built-in units just don't do a good enough job, especially if you have a forced-air heating system, which is very drying in itself."
Get up a head of steam. In the face of a worse-than-normal dry or sore throat, supplement your bedroom humidifier with steam inhalations, says Dr. Surow. Run very hot water in the bathroom basin to build up steam. With the water running, lean over the sink, drape a towel over your head to capture some of the steam, and inhale deeply through the mouth and nose for 5 to 10 minutes. Repeat several times a day if necessary.
Open your nose. If part of the reason you're breathing through your mouth is that your nose is clogged, says Dr. Surow, open it with an over-the-counter decongestant nasal spray, such as Afrin. But limit its use to a day or two. And follow directions carefully, he cautions, because these sprays can become addictive.
MEDICAL ALERT
Strep Throat and Other Problems
A strep throat can start suddenly and hurt like the dickens. If untreated, it can lead to more serious problems like rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. Because so many different viruses and bacteria can cause sore throats, a throat culture is needed to identify strep. Fortunately, says Hueston King, M.D., strep is a bacterial infection and responds quite well to appropriate antibiotics.
Other reasons to see a doctor, says Jerome C. Goldstein, M.D., include:
- Severe, prolonged, or recurrent sore throats.
- Difficulty breathing, swallowing, or opening the mouth.
- Joint pains, earache, or a lump in the neck.
- Rash or a fever above 101°F.
- Hoarseness lasting two weeks or longer.
- Blood in saliva or phlegm.
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Inhale sea breezes. If you can't actually go someplace humid like the ocean, get the same sort of salty atmosphere from a saline nasal spray, available at any pharmacy. When you inhale the mist, says Dr. Surow, the salt-based spray moistens your nose and drips down the back of your throat to help increase humidity there. Among the brands available are Naturade, NaSal, and Ayr. Unlike decongestant nasal sprays, the saline formulas are not addictive.
Down some aspirin. It doesn't occur to most people that a sore throat is a pain like any other physical discomfort, says Dr. Gossel. Aspirin, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen will effectively deaden the discomfort. (No one under age 21 should be given aspirin because of the risk of Reye's syndrome, a life-threatening neurological disease.)
Increase your fluid intake. Taking in as much fluid as you can will help hydrate your parched throat tissues, says Dr. Surow. Although it doesn't really matter what you drink, he says, here are a few things you might want to avoid. Thick, milky drinks coat your throat and may produce mucus, making you cough and further irritating tissues; orange juice may burn an already inflamed throat; caffeine-containing beverages have a counterproductive diuretic effect.
Wrap your throat. Dr. Blaurock-Busch finds that a warm chamomile poultice, applied directly to the throat, relieves discomfort. To make the poultice, add 1 tablespoon of dried chamomile flowers to 1 or 2 cups of boiling water. Allow it to steep for 5 minutes before straining. Soak a clean cloth or towel in this tea, wring out the excess, and apply to the affected area. Leave it on until the cloth is cold. Repeat if necessary with more warm liquid.
Load up on garlic. "Garlic is one of the best natural antibiotics and antiseptics," says Dr. Blaurock-Busch. She recommends taking garlic-oil capsules (15 grains) six times a day. But if it causes you any adverse reaction, try another remedy.
Do as the Russians Do. This hot idea comes from Irwin Ziment, Ph.D., director of respiratory therapy and chief of medicine at Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar, California. Mix 1 tablespoon pure horseradish, 1 teaspoon honey, and 1 teaspoon ground cloves in a glass of warm water and stir. "Sip it slowly, keep stirring—as the horseradish tends to settle—and think happy thoughts," he says. Or use it as a gargle. Dr. Ziment says it's his favorite Russian remedy."
Reach for vitamin C. Vitamin C may help build up your tissues to fight the germs that are making your throat sore. "I usually tell people to double the recommended daily requirement of 60 milligrams," says Dr. King.
Toss your toothbrush. Believe it or not, says Richard T. Glass, D.D.S., Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Oral Pathology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and College of Dentistry, your toothbrush may be perpetuating—or even causing—your sore throat. Bacteria collect on the bristles, and any injury to the gums during brushing injects these germs into your system.
"As soon as you start feeling ill, throw away your toothbrush. Often that's enough to stop the illness in its tracks," he says. "If you do get sick, replace your brush again when you start to feel better. That keeps you from reinfecting yourself."
From a preventive standpoint, he recommends replacing your toothbrush every month and also storing it outside the moist, bacteria-prone bathroom. If you think it's expensive to buy so many brushes, he says, consider the cost of just one trip to the doctor's office. You'll do better in the long run to stay well.
Rise to the occasion. Another cause of sore throat in the morning—besides sleeping with your mouth open—is a backup of stomach acids into your throat during the night. These acids are extremely irritating to sensitive throat tissues, says Jerome C. Goldstein, M.D., executive vice president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and a visiting professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Avoid the problem by tilting your bed frame so the head is 4 to 6 inches higher than the foot. (Try using bricks.) But don't simply pile more pillows under your head; they can cause you to bend in the middle, increasing pressure on your esophagus and making the problem worse. As an extra precaution, don't eat or drink for an hour or two before retiring.
PANEL OF ADVISERS
Eleonore Blaurock-Busch, Ph.D., is president and director of Trace Minerals International, Inc., a clinical chemistry laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. She is also a nutrition counselor specializing in the treatment of allergy and chronic diseases at the Alpine Chiropractic Center there, and is the author of The No-Drugs Guide to Better Health.
Donald Davis, Ph.D., is a research scientist at the Clayton Foundation Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the editor of the Journal of Applied Nutrition.
Elf Fairservis is a New York City actress who's done Off-Broadway productions and commercials.
Richard T. Glass, D.D.S., Ph.D., is chairman of the Department of Oral Pathology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and College of Dentistry in Oklahoma City.
Jerome C. Goldstein, M.D., is executive vice president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology in Washington, D.C. He is also visiting professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Thomas Gossel, Ph.D., R.Ph., is a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Ohio Northern University in Ada and chairman of the university's Department of Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences. He is an expert on over-the-counter products.
Hueston King, M.D., is an ear, nose, and throat specialist in private practice in Venice, Florida. He is also a clinical associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas.
Norman Marshall is an actor who has worked in soap operas, movies, and children's theater. He formed the No Smoking Playhouse in New York City and directed it for 11 years.
Geoffrey Moore is a semiretired professional singer living in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He has a one-man program that he performs at nursing homes.
William Perley is an actor and singer. For the past several summers he has starred in the play The Mark Twain Drama in Elmira, New York, which has been aired on PBS.
George Wolf Reily is an actor, director, and writer who's done Off-Broadway and regional theater.
Jason Surow, M.D., is an ear, nose, and throat specialist in private practice in both Teaneck and Midland Park, New Jersey. He's an attending otolaryngologist at both Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck.
Irwin Ziment, Ph.D., is director of respiratory therapy and chief of medicine at Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar, California.
