12 Natural Gargles For Sore Throat

As an official comeback from a very long hiatus on this blog, posts will now be every 12th of the month.

For this official return, here are the 12 natural gargles for soothing your sore throat which is relevant during this COVID-10 worldwide pandemic.

1. Salt and water - mix 1⁄4 teaspoon salt in 1 cup warm water.  Note: mix a fresh batch of gargle for every use. Better to waste a bit pouring it out than to leave it in your glass, where it might become contaminated with bacteria. Also, do not swallow the gargle; spit it out!
2. Hot sauce and water - add five shakes of ground cayenne pepper (or a few shakes of hot sauce) to a cup of hot water for sore throat relief. The capsaicin in chillies helps soothes pain and fights inflammation. Note: Don’t try this if you have open sores in your mouth. 
3. Ginger, honey and lemon - mix 1 teaspoon each of powdered ginger and honey, 1⁄2 cup of hot water, and the juice of 1⁄2 squeezed lemon. Pour the water over the ginger, then add the lemon juice and honey, and gargle. Honey coats the throat and also has mild antibacterial properties. 
4. Sage and apple cider vinegar - Sage has been used as a throat-soother for centuries. One recipe to try during cold and flu season: grind 2 tablespoons each dried sage and thyme into a mason jar with 2 cups apple cider vinegar. Leave covered at room temperature for two weeks, then strain out the herbs. When you’re ready to gargle, mix a couple of tablespoons of the sage mixture into a small glass of warm water. Another herb with cold-busting properties is thyme.
5. Turmeric and water - This yellow spice is a powerful antioxidant, and the traditional system of medicine called Ayurveda, rooted in Hinduism, has used turmeric to fight pain and inflammation for centuries. To try it yourself, add 1/2 teaspoon of the ground spice to a cup of warm water and use up to three times a day.
6. Clove tea - Add 1 to 3 teaspoons of powdered or ground cloves to warm water, then mix and gargle. Cloves have soothing properties, explains acupuncturist, Elizabeth Trattner. Plus, they also have antimicrobial properties that can help stop the growth of bacteria, according to research in Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal. The spicy mixture can also be used as a mouthwash to help tooth pain, she says.
7. Spicy tomato juice - For temporary relief of sore throat symptoms, try this tasty gargle: 1/2 cup each of tomato juice and hot water, plus about 10 drops of chilli sauce. Bonus: capsaicin from chillies boosts circulation.
8. Goldenseal, echinacea, or myrrh and water - Gargling with these herbal anti-inflammatories can soothe swollen and sore throat tissue, says Trattner. Try several drops of herbal tinctures in a small amount of warm water.
9. Apple cider vinegar and salt - Anecdotal evidence suggests that apple cider vinegar can help a sore throat, and research does show that it has antibacterial properties. Gargle with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt dissolved in a glass of warm water; use several times a day if needed. For a gentler treatment, combine 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon every four hours.
10. Licorice root powder and water - Licorice root may soothe a sore throat and help eliminate cough-inducing phlegm; a 2013 study of more than 200 people found that surgical patients who had gargled with a licorice solution prior to anaesthesia were less likely to develop a sore throat post-surgery.
11. Green tea - This one is actually a sore-throat prevention measure, since one health benefit of tea is the ability to fight infections. Next time you brew a cup of green tea, make a little extra and gargle with it. A 2016 review of research found that gargling with tea may have a preventative effect against the flu virus.
12. Raspberry tea - This is an old home remedy for a sore throat because of the anti-inflammatory properties. One recipe calls for pouring one cup of boiling water over two teaspoons of dried raspberry leaves or packaged raspberry tea. Steep for ten minutes, then strain and let cool a bit. Gargle while warm.

References:
Sore throat remedies: 12 natural gargles that may ease the pain
ETH Podcast #COVID–19: Try gargling!