I’ve been sick for most of the week and last couple days I have had a really bad sore throat. I had been sucking on cough drops and other common things to try to relieve my sore throat, but it kept getting worse and worse, to the point where I could barely manage to swallow. As a kid I had tonsillitis and strep throat probably on average 5-6 times a year, but back then it was taboo to take your tonsils out so I spent a fair share of my time at the doctors office and on amoxicillin and other antibiotics. Well I hadn’t had strep in a long time and was worried that this had to be strep again. I was just dying so as usual I went to the internet to find a solution.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and I am only posting this because I heard such great things about it and had such wonderful results myself, please consult with your physician before trying this magical elixir.

image by: André Karwath aka Aka

What I found was what appears to be a pretty fail safe cure for a sore throat over at earthclinic.com. They recommend that you you gargle with Cayenne Powder. Now before you think it’s crazy, go ahead and read the 135 people or so that have commented on the site about their amazing results. Believe me I was a little skeptical at first too and the thought of gargling with cayenne pepper powder makes you cringe, but honestly it is not that bad, not even near as bad as a common sore throat. You don’t really taste the cayenne at all and the only part that burns a little is when you spit it out the tip of your tongue burns a little bit and if you get it on your lips it will also burn a little, but nothing unbearable at all and nothing that won’t go away with a quick rinse of fresh water (note don’t gargle the fresh water as you want the cayenne to stay on your throat and work its magic.)

My Recipe
I don’t think there is really a science to this thing as if you read around there are tons of different recipes and all seem to have very good results. So here is what I did to make my cayenne sore throat elixir.

• 1 standard drinking glass of hot to warm water
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne powder
• a couple pinches of salt for good measure (most people say its not necessary but it won’t hurt)

That’s it! Just simply take a mouthful and gargle away. There are two things that I want to point out though. One you will need to constantly stir the elixir right before you gargle as the cayenne likes to settle at the bottom and two you may want to gargle with your eyes closed as maybe I’m just a bad gargler, but one time I did gargle some of the mixture into my eye (note: cayenne pepper in the eye burns)

My Results
Like I said I was to the point where I could not swallow anymore. Within minutes of gargling the cayenne powder and water I could feel a marked improvement. I kept gargling my glass of water and cayenne powder on and off for about 45 minutes and my sore throat kept dissipating and dissipating. When I woke up this morning I noticed two things. One my sore throat was essentially gone and two my sinuses and throat were completely free of any kind of gunk you get when you are sick. I feel so clear and so good I just had to let others in on this little miracle. Certainly this remedy should not take the place of seeing your doctor if your conditions do not get any better, but for about 10 cents of cayenne powder it’s worth a try to see if you can save a costly trip to the doctor. I can’t think of a cheaper remedy to a common ailment that has such excellent results. In fact the next time I get a head cold I am going to try some cayenne gargling because it really does clear everything out and the process is not nearly as bad as it sounds. I honestly feel amazing today compared with how I felt last night and the 3 days before that.

Other options from Earth Clinic
Hot Apple Cider Vinegar & Cayenne Pepper
I did not try this one, but it seems to have similar success. This one you actually drink rather than gargle and again people feel great. The recipe is found on the same page as the cayenne gargling.

Again all of the credit goes to the wonderful people at Earth Clinic for posting this cure and commenting on the results.