When you suffer from a sore throat, all you need is relief from the irritation and pain in your throat. This article mentions a simple yet very effective home remedy for sore throat using ginger and honey. What’s more, the treatment is safe for use by pregnant women and children older than one year.
Sore throat is a common illness in adults and children and is often caused by either viral infections or allergies. It can be very uncomfortable, and you feel annoyed while suffering from a sore throat. Especially, young children get cranky due to the irritation and pain they feel in the throat. Now, there is good news! A simple home remedy with ginger and honey can ease the irritation and pain and soothe your throat.
Natural home remedy using Ginger and Honey to soothe a sore throat
Most of us pop a lozenge to relieve a sore throat. Though lozenges seem to soothe your throat, the relief will not be for long. More importantly, they do not help in reducing your symptoms.
On the other hand, ginger and honey can provide you relief and hinder the progress of the infection.
The active component Gingerol present in ginger has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, ginger is a great remedy for both upper respiratory and lower respiratory infections.
You can use ginger for almost all symptoms of respiratory infections, including sore throat, nasal block, runny nose, cough, postnasal drip, and fever.
Also Read: 4 Awesome Ginger Remedies To Try For Very Common Health Issues
Similarly, honey also has a long history of use as a remedy to bacterial and viral infections. Particularly, honey works very well as a cough suppressant and is a boon to mothers of young kids who have trouble sleeping due to cough. Make sure to buy natural honey without artificial sweeteners or colours for the honey to work on your cold symptoms.
That said, the two simple kitchen ingredients do a marvellous job of soothing a sore throat.
Ginger-honey natural remedy for sore throat: Preparation
1. Make ginger juice
Take 2-inch fresh ginger and peel the skin. Wash the root well and grate it into fine threads using a grater. Squeeze the juice out of the threads.
You can do this by holding the grated ginger between your fingers or in cheesecloth and squeezing the juice. Or, you can use a blender and make a batch of ginger juice to be stored in the fridge.
Pro tip: If you are making a batch, use up the juice within a day and not more than that. Because fresh ginger juice tastes strong and spicy and stored juice loses the taste with time.
2. Mix ginger juice and honey
Mix equal amounts of ginger juice and honey. An adult can take 1-2 tablespoonsful at a time. A child can take one tablespoonful. Further, you can take this remedy every three hours a day.
Warning: Do not give this remedy to children less than 12 months old.
As soon as you consume this ginger-honey remedy, you will feel the sore throat getting less irritating. Besides, take the mixture every three hours, and you will notice the symptoms reducing. Also, it may not progress into a severe infection.
Along with this remedy, gargle your throat with warm salt water; you are sure to feel great relief.
Is it safe to use in children and pregnant women?
Apart from being an amazing natural remedy for sore throat, the ginger-honey combo is safe to use in children older than 12 months.
Besides, pregnant women who must be careful while taking antibiotics for infections shall try this remedy as soon as they sense a sore throat. Most often, the condition would settle soon without aggravating into a lower respiratory infection.
Also Read:
Expert Talk: Foods To Avoid Or Limit During Pregnancy And Why
To conclude,
When you start on home remedies, as soon as you notice the cold or flu symptoms, there is a high chance that the symptoms will disappear in a day or two. Both ginger and honey are proven remedies for relieving sore throat and are effective in adults and children. So, the next time you wake up with a sore throat, treat yourself with a spoon of ginger-honey juice. However, if you feel the infection progressing, do not hesitate to visit your GP.
Images: canva.com
