Sore Throat Killers

Over the years I have found several things that helped me with a sore throat and sometimes with the cold that came along with the pain in the neck. When I was a child I remembered my Dad making what he called a hot toddy (whisky, honey, lemon juice) for me when I had a bad cold and sore throat. I remember sleeping a lot and probably the whisky made me not care so much about the sore throat. The toddy sure tasted good, felt soothing on my throat, and the lemon juice probably helped some with vitamin C? I have tried the hot toddy remedy as an adult and found that it didn't help very much at all. Maybe if I had three or four of them?

I was a kid in the 40's and 50's and don't remember going to the doctors or being given store bought medicines. I remember that sipping warm wine helped my throat feel better for a while. And I think I remember eating garlic as some kind of cure. We managed to survive all the childhood diseases (no polio or small pox thank you very much) and I only went to the doctors to have my tonsils out.

In the 1970's when I was working near a Mexican restaurant that made their own salsa, I found out that eating hot salsa when I had a sore throat made my throat numb and many times seemed to kill off the cold and sore throat or at least made it more bearable. Hot salsa (homemade works the best) for a long time has became my go to treatment when a cold or sore throat struck. And the hot salsa helped me feel better with a chest cold too.

I eat the salsa with lots of salty tortilla chips with the idea in mind that the salt will make me thirsty and I will drink more. Well, that's my excuse for eating lots of chips. Sometimes I will crave soda and so of course I give in and treat myself to colas and ginger ale. Come to think of it, I eat a lot of my favorite foods when I am sick.

Then Kristine came up with some discoveries of her own: "The vinegar works because it changes the PH balance in your throat. Most viruses and bacteria can't adapt to the sudden change fast enough to survive. A teaspoon or two of Braggs vinegar with Mother in hot water with honey taken three times a day will help enormously with a sore throat. If you can't get that type of vinegar, then dill pickle juice will do the job. Don't heat it up, just pour it straight out of the jar. I tend to use the brand name Claussens kosher dill pickles." ~ Kristine.

I suppose everyone has a favorite feel good home remedy. Everyone is different, but I know that if I hit the very, very, very beginning of a sore throat with one/some of these "cures" I have a chance of winning the battle. Whether or not they really help or not at least I feel better thinking that I'm doing something constructive. I drink a lot of cranberry juice, tea, orange juice, etc.

I do remember getting a sore throat back once when I forgot to throw away my toothbrush. The germs must hide out in the toothbrush ready to strike again.

And then there is my ultimate feel good treatment: Homemade chicken soup! Made with a whole chicken, garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and rice. Just the smell of it cooking makes me feel better (and I bet the steam from the soup humidifies the air?) Chicken soup rules!

I think I took my kids to the doctor too much, but I was so afraid they had strep throat and they did most of the time they were sick. I must have had it as a kid too, but we just had to suffer through it and managed to survive. The girls took lots of antibiotics to get rid of the strep. I wish all we needed was salsa, vinegar, a hot toddy, garlic or pickle juice to make us better.

Disclaimer: This stuff works for us sometimes or just makes me feel better. I'm not saying that anyone else should try it! Best to see a doctor if you are sick!

[1 egg today]

That's my breakfast!

Smiles

~:>