Things that you can do to help with a sore throat

Sore throats are one of the most unavoidable health issues that everyone has to deal with unfortunately, however, with our years of experience with our customers suggestions and our own experiences, we’re hoping that these few suggestions can help alleviate your discomfort.

The causes of a sore throat

Generally speaking, most sore throats are caused by cold & flu viruses. Other reasons could be:

• smoking cigarettes – damages the back of your throat and windpipe with the smoke and nicotine
• allergies to pets – an antihistamine response or sensitivity to pet hair & dander.
• muscle strains from yelling or talking loudly – straining those vocal cords and drying out the throat
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (Acid reflux) – high levels of stomach acid expelling through the top of the stomach into the windpipe & throat

There are some serious causes of sore throats too, such as tonsillitis or tumours but let’s not panic, if you have any concerns or your sore throat doesn’t improve after 2 weeks, we strongly recommend that you seek medical advice.

Here comes the important part, What can we do to stop a sore throat? 

1. Normal over the counter pain medications like Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.  Be aware that they will help with the pain but will not directly combat any bacteria in your throat.
2. Salt water mouth rinse - mix warm water and a tablespoon of salt and gargle but do not swallow (only because it doesn’t taste very nice)
3. Take a scoop of Manuka Honey straight from the jar (One of our staff members has caught a fever earlier, and his sore throat is cured within a week whilst only taking a big scoop of manuka honey every single morning!)
4. Drink a warm water drink with a bit of Manuka Honey and fresh lemon – both are packed with antibacterial properties and by slowly sipping the delicious mixture, the liquid will get to the back of your throat where the problem lies and helps to kill the infection.
5. Encourage saliva creation - so suck on a throat sweet or chew some chewing gum, anything to keep your throat moist.
6. Finally, and most importantly, DRINK LOTS OF WATER!  Keeping yourself hydrated with lots of fluid (particularly water) makes sure that your throat and windpipe don’t dry out (which can cause a lot of the pain and discomfort of a sore throat), plus with the extra water, your kidneys appreciate getting the infection out of your body as soon as it can.

And what we can do to reduce our susceptibility of sore throats.

There are a few things you can do to reduce your susceptibility to sore throats that include:

1. Drink more water – this helps your body effectively flush out infections & bugs from our digestion system.
2. Keep your throat moist – encourage saliva to be generated, so use chewing gum or another food to stimulate your saliva.
3. Have a dose of Apple cider vinegar a day – it helps to settle any digestion/stomach acid issues
4. And when you’re in an active infection time, try to reduce the amount of spicy & sugary food you eat to reduce any acid reflux reaction.