Home Remedies for Sore Throats During Allergy Season

Allergy season is upon us, with children especially susceptible to showing allergy symptoms like a sore throat. Allergic reactions that cause sore throat are especially common during the spring season, as allergens like pollen are widespread in the air. Treating sore throat is important, as it can worsen over time if left untreated and require stronger medication to treat. Thankfully, you can treat symptoms caused by common allergies at home with simple home remedies for sore throat.

Home Remedies for Sore Throat

There are many home remedies that you can try for alleviating the symptoms caused by airborne allergens. These remedies allow you to feel better without having to ingest any medicine. You should opt for non-drug solutions to common allergies as much as possible, as even common OTC medication like antihistamines come with potential side effects.

A woman with sore throat sitting on the bed.
There Are Many Home Remedies That You Can Try During Allergy Season (Image Source: Shutterstock)

Keep It Simple With a Salt Water Gargle

The most-often advised remedy by elders when it comes to treating sore throat is gargling with salt water. You can treat symptoms caused by a variety of conditions with a salt water gargle, including sinus infections, viral respiratory infections, and common colds.

Woman gargling salt water.
Keep It Simple With a Salt Water Gargle (Image Source: Shutterstock)

Salt helps pull fluids out of tissue, causing bacteria to wash out. Not only can salt water gargling help you feel better, it can potentially prevent the condition from becoming worse. In a randomized study, it was found that salt gargling helped reduce the risk of upper respiratory tract infections by around 40% during the cold and flu season. Other studies have also found that regular gargling with salt water can help with sore throat symptoms. This offers concrete proof that salt water gargling is beneficial for the throat, although it is certainly not a miracle cure and cannot completely prevent the onset of respiratory infections.

Here is a two-minute Youtube video with a quick tutorial on gargling with salt water.

How to Gargle Salt Water

Honey Ginger Tea or Hot Water With Lemon and Honey

Some people prefer an alternative to gargling with salt water, like hot tea, to alleviate sore throat symptoms. A very famous home remedy for sore throats is honey ginger tea. It is both delicious and offers plenty of relief to symptoms caused by a sore throat. Ginger is also known as a bloat reducing food, so this tea can help you feel better if you are prone to bloating as well.

Making honey ginger tea is simple, as the recipe is included in the name, though you can dress it up a little with some allspice to give it an extra kick. The rich combination of ginger and honey gives the tea a soothing and delicious flavor. Ginger is also anti-inflammatory, so it helps provide relief and improve symptoms caused by infections

ginger, lemon, honey, and garlic on a wooden table
Try Ginger Honey or Lemon Honey Tea (Image Source: Shutterstock)

To make honey ginger tea, all you do is take some peeled ginger root and boil it for at least fifteen minutes, so all the good flavor and benefits of ginger are released into the water. You can add some tea bags as well if you are feeling drowsy and want a good caffeine kick. Caffeine has also been linked to pain alleviation by a few studies, as it can help lower your perception of pain and improve your sleep patterns. 

Once everything is boiled, strain the liquid in a cup of your choice and add some honey. Add just enough that you can taste the honey without the concoction becoming too sweet for you to drink, then add some lemon juice for a tangy kick. Lemon juice is a rich source of vitamin C and helps increase saliva production so your membranes remain moist and the throat does not feel itchy. 

If you are in a hurry, or simply don’t want to invest much effort in brewing a ginger honey tea, you can simply take some hot water and put in lemon and honey. Both honey and lemon have unique health properties that promote healing when you have respiratory infections or symptoms caused by allergic reactions. Regardless, whether it’s ginger honey tea or hot lemon honey water, you must sip the brewed drink at least three times a day to feel better, until symptoms are relieved.

Apple Cider Vinegar Uses, and Benefits of Eucalyptus Steam Inhalation

Both honey and vinegar are said to have antiseptic properties, so it’s only natural that you should increase their use when you have a sore throat. In fact, the use of apple cider vinegar has often been encouraged in beauty tips, either as a tooth whitener or as part of a mud mask. There are many apple cider vinegar benefits, one of them being alleviation of symptoms caused by a sore throat.

Apple cider vinegar has antimicrobial properties that help in your body’s fight against infections. As it has an acidic makeup, consuming apple cider vinegar diluted in water can help break down mucus in your throat and stop the infection from spreading. To properly dilute the vinegar, take one tablespoon in a full glass of water. Make sure to not consume more than two glasses in a day, as it is very strong.

Apple cider vinegar with several apples on a wooden surface.
Apple Cider Vinegar Has Antimicrobial Properties That Help in Your Body’s Fight Against Infections (Image Source: Shutterstock)

In addition to apple cider vinegar, eucalyptus has a very strong aroma that makes it great for steam inhalation. You can easily make eucalyptus steam by adding a few drops of eucalyptus oil into the steam maker and directly inhaling the steam. The oil helps reduce the production of mucus by reacting to the mucus membranes, loosening it so you can cough it up.

This is excellent if you have some blockage in your throat, as it can reduce the blockage and help you breathe better. Sore throat is often caused by constant coughing, and reducing the blockage can help reduce coughing over time, alleviating sore throat symptoms.

These Age-Old Remedies Work!

Of course, you must take any medication that has been prescribed to you by your doctor. But if your symptoms are mild, they are likely to go away in a couple of days with common home remedies. We have presented some of the best age-old remedies that have been passed down for generations across the planet. Your symptoms of sore throat are bound to disappear within a few days after starting these remedies. However, if your symptoms persist, you should contact your GP and seek proper care.