Sore Throat: What to Do

resfriado y dolor de garganta

On average, adolescents suffer from two to four respiratory tract infections each year. Children often cool down up to eight times a year. Although respiratory infections are not usually dangerous, they do cause great discomfort by causing weakness in the body, joint pains, colds and sore throats. Raw honey and propolis san fantastic natural products to cure and avoid them.

The most effective honey to end sore throat is eucalyptus honey and lavender honey. Propolis, as nature’s most potent antibiotic is another fantastic natural product to fight these uncomfortable sore throats, among others that we will see later.

You may be interested in our previous article: Where to buy pure or raw quality honey

Causes of Sore Throat

The sore throat usually happens in the cold months with temperature changes. In the summer months they arise from the abuse of air conditioners, which are vehicles for pathogens.

The most common causes of sore throat are colds, flu, coxsackie viruses and mononucleosis.

Home Remedies for Sore Throat

To alleviate this discomfort and cure these infections there is a great demand for remedies, but can all the remedies that advertise helping us against colds? In the German newspaper “Der Spiegel” has recently published an evaluation of numerous studies conducted from 1985 to 2015, exposing the following results. Many of them are very effective, but others are not as useful as they are advertised.

Remedies with a demonstrable effect:

Palliative and attenuating remedy: Paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen reduce pain caused by colds, such as ear, head and joint pain. However, these medications have no effect against colds, coughs and sore throats.

Honey: one of the best remedies is honey. A teaspoon of honey dissolved in hot water, infusion, or hot milk before bedtime helps you fall asleep and reduces coughing, especially in young children. According to Markus Rose, manager of Lepizig’s emergency clinic for youth and intensive care: “Honey has a great cough-reducing capacity.

All honeys have disinfectant, bactericidal and anti-cold properties, but the most effective is eucalyptus honey.

Attention: Children under one year of age should not consume honey, as there is a danger that some colony of bacteria can be found in the honey. Once they reach the intestine, they could proliferate, causing intoxication, which could even lead to paralysis of the intestine and muscle paralysis.

Photo 1: Raw honey, water and lemon

Other remedies may also help:

Decongestant: These are medications that help relieve runny nose and are available in tablets, nose drops or sprays. They can also be found in oral preparations of repeated doses.

Most studies have not shown any positive effect against constipation. In addition, care should be taken if given to children, as an overdose can cause unwanted effects.

According to Rose, nose drops and sprays have the potential to create dependency, so not too long use is recommended. Seawater sprays and frequent rinses are best, decongesting the nose and helping children breathe better and fall asleep without interruption.

Cough medicines: Cough suppressants (drugs to treat irritable and non-productive coughs), which soothe the urge to cough. Expectorants should thin the mucus, relieving the cough. They have been shown to have positive effects in adolescents, but there are no data in children.

Since these drugs are really only a protection reflex, they only act on the nervous system, suppressing the cough reflex. Researchers recommend them only when no other remedy works.

Also, the best expectorant is a good humidification of the respiratory tract and the frequent ingestion of water.

In zinc: Another remedy is zinc tablets, which can shorten constipation by about a day and a half in young people and at the same time relieve discomfort. However, it is recommended to ingest zinc in small doses, as it has side effects, including the desire to vomit and dysgeusia (alteration of taste perception). In addition, a concentrated and pure consumption can cause damage to the immune system as well as other side effects.

For this reason, the German Federal Institute of Risks (BfR) in principle discourages children and adolescents from taking dietary supplements containing zinc. If young people were to take it, the maximum daily amount would be 25 milligrams, i.e. one third of the dose that has a proven effect in curing a cold.

Echinacea extract: Only one in seven studies was able to show a positive effect on the duration of constipation and other accompanying discomforts. The main problem with this extract is that its effectiveness depends greatly on the part of the plant that has been extracted. Its effectiveness also varies depending on the composition of the extract and how it has been produced and used. Also, there is no reliable research to show its possible advantages and disadvantages.

Sore throat is persistent

A sore throat or chronic pharyngitis happens when a sore throat doesn’t heal well. Some people suffer from it almost all year round, and it is only a few weeks a year when these ailments disappear. In this case, we recommend visiting a doctor or specialist.

Source:

The German newspaper  “Der Spiegel”:http://www.spiegel.de

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