This is one of my favorite sore throat remedies. One of my friends shared one with me that has more stuff in it, but I never buy radishes and only rarely have red onion around, and besides, it’s got so many things in it that it would take a year of making it when I’m sick to remember it without looking up the recipe. Not to mention that I don’t have Internet anymore, so looking up the recipe would consist of writing it down on my need-to-do-online list and waiting until the next Friday or Sunday to get it. And then going to the store for ingredients. And considering that this cold I am just getting over started on a Monday. . . well, you get the picture.

This remedy is one that I sort of invented myself. It’s quick and easy to make, and it really helps a sore throat. I’m sure it also helps the cold too, but then colds are usually viruses that just need to run their course, so it might not shorten it much. Could help the intensity, though. Anyhow, here goes:

Lisa’s Sore Throat Remedy

About ½ cup lemon juice (I always estimate this)
A little water (maybe a quarter cup or less)
3-4 cloves of garlic, mashed, minced, or pressed (so they blend better)
As many dashes of cayenne pepper as I think I’ll be able to handle, plus a couple more
A little honey (maybe a tablespoon—I never measure)

Blend the above, gargle, and swallow. Simple.

Now here’s the theory behind why I made it. Garlic is a good antibacterial and I think antiviral too. I don’t know where my Green Pharmacy book is to check. Well, I do know where it is. . . somewhere between 5 and 10 feet away from me, in one of those boxes that are stacked about 5 high. . . But I think it’s common knowledge that garlic is good for you, and that it kills bad things in you, so that’s why garlic. Lemon juice is soothing to sore throats—at least in the long term. I sometimes use fresh lemon, but it about doubles prep time trying to avoid the seeds, and I rarely have fresh lemons around anyway, so I just use the stuff in the jar. Maybe if I got a citrus juicer. . . Anyhow, it’s good for you too.

Cayenne pepper is a stimulant that attracts blood to whatever it touches (they say to put it in your socks to warm your feet—but I’ve never tried it). It dilates the blood vessels, allowing more oxygen and white blood cells to reach the area. Also, the capsicum (I’m so proud that I remember that word without looking it up!) is a pain killer. Once the burn dies down (in less than two minutes, I assure you), the pain-killing part has begun to work.

The honey does more than just help it taste better. Honey also has antibacterial properties. If I don’t have time to look up proof sites before posting this, do the research yourself. But suffice it to say, though liquid, it never spoils, so that has to count for something! Anyhow, it also tends to coat things, and I have found that the cayenne burns a tad bit longer (not much, though) when I use the honey, meaning it’s staying there a bit longer, doing it’s work. I have made this without honey, but it is much harder to get down.

So even though I have had a bad cold, I have not endured much of a sore throat—only first thing in the morning, before I got around to making this concoction. And that was usually the last I felt of a sore throat until the next morning. I always make it fresh for me, and gargle a mouthful every 5-15 minutes (often during breakfast preparations), until it’s gone. That would be 4-5 doses. I don’t think I’d want to take them one after the other. I like hot food, but not burning in my throat, and thanks to the gargle, that’s where this stuff burns!

Also, I always swallow, so that I can get the full benefit of the garlic. Some people don’t believe in taking cayenne internally. That’s fine. I won’t argue with you. Let me just say that #1 this is a medicinal use, and #2 if you don’t want to swallow, you don’t have to! As far as I’m concerned, it has benefits, especially medicinal ones, and I will use it from time to time, especially medicinally.

I have made this for my daughter, minus the cayenne and about triple the honey and the water, and after about 3 days she started liking it. She didn’t at first. So I started using it as a way to make her stop complaining about her nose.

“Every time you say, ‘My nose bothers me,’ I’ll have to give you some medicine.” Then I would follow through. It took some work to get those first few doses down (including some threats of sitting on her and pouring it down her throat). I should clarify that a “dose” for her was less than 2 ounces, and since it didn’t have cayenne, and since she didn’t gargle it, I made her drink it all at one sitting. Well, today just before lunch, she said, “Ohhhh, my nose hurts. Mommy, I need some medicine.” Bless her heart! Too bad I didn’t have any and was just about to sit down to lunch! But I told her that the main ingredients in the medicine were in the sour cream that I was putting on her salad (lemon and garlic), and that seemed to satisfy her.