What do you say we leave the Luden’s, Halls and Chloraseptic in the 90s where they belong! Read along if you are ready to embrace safe and natural sore throat treatment at home.
A sore throat can be incredibly annoying especially if it’s nighttime and pain or itchiness is keeping you awake. Let’s take a look at some safe and natural sore throat remedies and products that encourage health rather than hinder it.
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First Things First
If I feel a sore throat coming on, my first step is to make sure I am taking all of the things that help allergies and colds. Sometimes, the sore throat is just due to season change or possibly some food choices that are triggering sinus drainage, but I like to treat it as cold/allergy/illness from the start just in case.
My thought is always that’s it’s best to get ahead of any ailment no matter how small. When I first feel a throat tickle, I start taking elderberry syrup, which I keep on hand. I also start taking vitamin D (if I’m not already) and zinc. Fresh garlic added to meals is another little measure to consider.
All of the support for these measures can be found in my related post, What Prevents a Cold?
I also like to cut out any sugar or dairy. This may seem extreme, but sugar and dairy trigger mucus production for for me. There are a couple of studies that show no link between dairy and mucus production, and while I respect those studies, it’s still a no for me. I may have a sensitivity.
Sugar, on the other hand, is confirmed in studies to increase mucus production and inflammation, which can have a negative impact on sinus related issues. Obviously, everyone is unique, but if you tend to be congested or have excess mucus, I urge to try giving up sugar and possibly dairy too for a bit to see if it helps.
Warm Liquids
Let’s assume you’re already doing all of those first lines of defense. It’s time to focus on soothing a sore throat. I usually start with warm lemon water. Some like to add a dallop of honey to coat the throat, but if you already have thick mucus present this can potentially make it feel even thicker.
Warm Teas
Warm teas are a fantastic option for sore throat treatment at home. I like to keep elderberry and/or echinacea teas on hand, which double as immune boosters. Mint teas are also great for any type of respiratory issue especially a stuffy nose.
Traditional Medicinals makes a throat coat tea that uses slippery elm. I have to admit I don’t love, love the taste due to the licorice in it. However, it does exactly what it says and coats the throat, so I use it when I’m really in need of relief. They now offer this formula in cough drop form—this is a brand-new product that I just happened to stumble across when researching for this post.
Many experts recommend marshmallow root tea for a sore throat. It is said to do an excellent job at coating the throat and calming a cough. Admittedly, I have not tried this one, so I can’t speak to the taste. No, eating marshmallows will not have the same effect unfortunately ;).
If you are not into warm teas necessarily, Target sells the most delicious raspberry tea that I believe can convert a reluctant warm tea drinker. This is usually what I offer my kids when they have a sore throat. Elderberry teas always have a sweet, kid-friendly flavor.
Loose leaf teas offer even more aroma and nutrients. Mountain Rose Herbs is my favorite source for loose leaf teas. You should be able to find most if not all of the above-mentioned teas there.
Cough Drops for Sore Throat Treatment at Home
You want to be thoughtful when shopping for cough drops. I feel like some of them do as much harm as good. Some popular brands contain artificial colors, flavors and too much sugar or artificial sweeteners. A standard Halls cough drop for example is sweetened with sucrose or glucose syrup, or both.
Their “Relief” cherry flavor contains glucose syrup, sucrose and sucralose. Their sugar-free versions are sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame potassium, which is also known as acesulfame K. These are just not things you want to consume especially when you may be battling a cold or other sickness.
I don’t know about you, but I grew up on Luden’s. Looking at the ingredients now, I probably could have just as well been having candy ;). Luden’s ingredients include corn syrup, FD & C Blue No. 2, FD & C Red No. 40, flavors, soybean oil and sucrose. Sigh.
Which Cough Drops are Healthiest
My top picks for the healthiest cough drops are Zarabees Naturals, Zand Immunity and Fisherman’s Friend. All of these are low sugar and do not contain artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.
Once I became a mom, I started to look for cough drops that use natural ingredients and are as low in sugar as possible. Here are some cough drop options that meet those requirements. Sugar in cough drops may seem trivial, but the average cough drop has 3-4 grams of sugar, it can really add up after several days of a sore throat.
Not to mention, that cough drops literally sit on the sides of your teeth. I am not a big cough drop user for that reason.
Zarabee’s Naturals 99% Honey Cough Soothers
Zarabee’s utilizes nutrient-dense honey to throat an irritated throat and sweeten the cough drop. They are free from all things artificial. They offer a version that contains ivy leaf extract to help clear mucus as well as sooth the throat. Zarabee’s contain 2 grams of sugar (as honey) per cough drop.
Zand Immunity
Zand offers traditional menthol cough drops as well as immunity blends made with herbs. They contain natural flavors and colors using brown rice syrup to add a little sweetness. Zand drops are non-GMO, and the company performs quality testing in their Utah lab. The elderberry zinc version below has 2 grams of added sugar per lozenge.
Fisherman’s Friend
If you are a fan of traditional menthol cough drops, Fisherman’s Friend may be the one for you. These cough drops have a strong minty flavor and each drop contains 10mg of menthol. They are made with natural ingredients and each cough drop contains less than one gram of sugar, which is a nice bonus.
Throat Spray for Sore Throat Treatment at Home
Now, let’s move on to my favorite sore throat treatment at home—throat spray. If you were a 90s kid, you may remember Chloraseptic. I just had to look it up and see if it was still around. It is, and the ingredients are just as discouraging as they were in the 90s.
Chloraseptic ingredients include phenol, FD&C Red No.40, Flavors, glycerin and sucralose. All these years and advances later, the label still reads “# 1 Doctor Recommended.” With all of safe and effective products on the market now, I’m more than a little doubtful of their claim.
When we moved into a new home a few years ago, I had an allergy flare up. It created this awful itchy throat that lasted for weeks. I went on the hunt for a throat spray. I was so impressed with the instant relief that I’ve kept one on hand ever since. Here are a few of my favorites that are sure to sooth a sore or itchy throat.
Beekeeper’s Naturals Throat Spray
Beekeeper’s Naturals uses the power of nature and contains only three ingredients: high-grade bee propolis extract, non-GMO vegetable glycerin and purified water. It’s free of artificial preservatives, colors, refined sugar and Paleo friendly. With roughly 9,000 positive Amazon reviews, I’d say the secret is out.
Herb Pharm Soothing Throat Spray
Herb Pharm Spray is made with a blend of echinacea, propolis, hyssop leaf and flower, sage leaf and St. John’s Wort flowering top. The ingredients are organically grown, and no added yuckies.
Let me warn you that this one is stout, but it has an amazing numbing effect even with just one spray. It does not taste good, but my daughter will ask for it, because she knows it means instant relief.
Quantum Health TheraZinc Oral Spray
TheraZinc uses zinc, menthol, clove bud and peppermint oil, cherry bark and slippery elm extract. It is free of all the artificial ingredients and Stevia sweetened. Zinc supports the immune system while the other ingredients coat and calm the throat.
This one is another winner in my book. I have it on hand right now. I think my kids prefer this taste just a little over the other two. It is not quite as strong in my opinion. We seem to use a couple of extra sprays, because of this, but it works amazingly well for us.
Conclusion
Often times a sore throat is just a sore throat. It’s nice to have the right products on hand for these times. Noone wants to lose sleep over a sore or itchy throat. I’m always on the hunt for products that work just as well as popular ones without any of the unhealthy ingredients.
Our bodies just work better when we put in health-supporting, quality ingredients. As always, thanks for stopping by and allowing me to share my favorite strategies and products with you.
