Natural Remedies for Earache & Sore Throat

Everyone has suffered from a sore throat or an earache. These two often occur together, and it becomes painful because your throat feels like it is on fire, it becomes hard to swallow and your ears feel like they are popping. You want quick relief so that you can rest comfortably. Check your cabinets and your refrigerator for some natural remedies to help you to feel better.

Garlic

Garlic can be a good antiseptic and has antiviral and antifungal tendencies, which helps in curing both sore throats and earaches. For a sore throat, it is recommended to consume about two cloves worth of garlic; you can chop it into your favorite dish or soup, or combine it into a preferred drink. For an earache, it is recommended to combine half a clove of garlic with sesame oil to concoct a heated mixture. Use this mixture by dripping a little in each of your ears and letting it settle for 10 minutes per ear. This should provide some relief within a few days.

Massage

Both sore throats and earaches may benefit from some form of massage. For a sore throat, you may want to combine some essential oils, like thyme or sandalwood, to 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Massage the outside of your neck with this mixture, then cover your neck with a scarf to keep the oils in. For an earache, moisten a towel with hot water and wrap it around your head to deliver moist heat to your ears and some comfort and relief.

Hot Liquids

Drink hot water or tea with honey and lemon in it to soothe a sore throat. This combination helps reduce the irritation and throat tickle.

Gargles

Gargling can speed up the process of healing your sore throat. You can try several variations, depending on which one works best for you. If you can tolerate spice, the cayenne pepper gargle works great because it dulls the pain and has antiviral tendencies. Add 5 dashes of cayenne pepper to 1 cup warm water and gargle every 15 minutes. However, if that's not your type, there is also the acidic gargle, which uses 2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar and 1 cup warm water, and often provides prompt relief. The standard salty gargle uses 1 tsp. sea salt and 1 cup warm water; this helps to ease inflammation.

Ginger

Ginger can provide excellent pain relief. Sometimes distributing some juice from the ginger root into each ear will help ease the pain. Drinking ginger tea will also lessen the pain of a sore throat.