Most throat infections are viral, resolve on their own within 7 to 10 days, and respond well to simple home care. Symptoms typically peak between days 3 and 5, so the first few days often feel the worst. The goal during that window is to reduce pain, keep your throat moist, and support your body while it fights the infection. Here’s what actually works.
Gargle With Salt Water
A saltwater gargle is one of the fastest ways to temporarily relieve throat pain. The salt draws excess fluid out of swollen tissue through osmosis, which reduces inflammation and eases that tight, painful feeling when you swallow. It also helps clear mucus and may limit the spread of infection deeper into your airways.
The standard recipe is one teaspoon of table salt (about 6 grams) dissolved in eight ounces of warm water. Gargle for 15 to 30 seconds, spit it out, and repeat a few times. You can do this several times a day. Some people find a milder solution (roughly a third of a teaspoon per cup) more comfortable, and it still provides relief.
Use Honey to Coat and Calm the Throat
Honey does more than just taste good. A systematic review in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine found that honey reduced cough frequency and cough severity more effectively than usual care, and it also improved overall symptom scores. Its thick consistency coats irritated tissue, creating a protective layer that soothes on contact. You can take a spoonful straight, stir it into warm tea, or mix it with warm water and lemon.
One important limit: never give honey to a child under 12 months old. Honey can contain spores of the bacterium that causes infant botulism, a serious condition that affects a baby’s nervous system and muscle control. For older children and adults, honey is safe and genuinely helpful.
Stay Hydrated With Warm and Cold Liquids
Dehydration makes a sore throat worse. When you’re congested, you tend to breathe through your mouth, and every mouth breath dries out already-inflamed tissue. Drinking fluids throughout the day keeps your throat’s mucous membranes moist so they can do their job trapping and clearing bacteria.
Warm liquids like broth, herbal tea, or plain warm water are soothing and help loosen congestion. Cold options work too. Ice chips or cold water can numb the area slightly and reduce the sensation of pain. There’s no single “best” temperature. Alternate based on what feels good to you in the moment.
Add Moisture to Your Air
Dry indoor air, especially in winter with heating running, pulls moisture from your throat and intensifies soreness. A humidifier in your bedroom can make a noticeable difference overnight, when mouth breathing during sleep tends to be worst. Aim to keep indoor humidity between 30% and 50%. Above 50%, you risk encouraging mold growth, which creates its own set of problems. If you don’t have a humidifier, sitting in a steamy bathroom for 10 to 15 minutes offers temporary relief.
Over-the-Counter Pain Relief
When home remedies aren’t enough on their own, pain relievers can take the edge off. In a randomized trial comparing the two most common options, ibuprofen (400 mg) outperformed acetaminophen (1000 mg) at every hourly check over six hours. Patients rated ibuprofen better for pain intensity on swallowing, difficulty swallowing, and overall pain relief, with the difference in pain relief becoming significant from two hours onward. Both were well tolerated with no serious side effects.
Ibuprofen has the added benefit of reducing inflammation, not just blocking pain signals, which is why it tends to work better for throat infections specifically. Throat lozenges and sprays containing menthol or a mild numbing agent can also help between doses by keeping the throat moist and providing short-term surface relief.
Herbal Options Worth Trying
Certain herbs contain compounds called demulcents, substances that form a slippery, protective film over irritated mucous membranes. Marshmallow root is one of the best-known examples. When mixed with water, it creates a gel-like coating that keeps the throat moist and shields raw tissue from further irritation. Licorice root offers similar coating properties along with anti-inflammatory effects. You’ll find both in many “throat coat” teas at grocery stores and pharmacies. These won’t cure an infection, but they can meaningfully reduce soreness while your body heals.
How to Tell If It’s Bacterial
Most sore throats are caused by viruses. Viral throat infections typically come bundled with a cough, runny nose, hoarseness, or watery eyes. Bacterial infections, particularly strep throat, look different. The CDC notes that strep usually presents with a red, swollen throat (sometimes with white patches on the tonsils), swollen lymph nodes at the front of the neck, and tiny red spots on the roof of the mouth. The key distinction: strep throat usually does not come with a cough, runny nose, hoarseness, or mouth sores.
If your symptoms fit the bacterial pattern, a rapid strep test at a clinic takes minutes. Strep requires antibiotics to prevent complications, so it’s worth getting tested rather than assuming everything will resolve on its own.
Signs That Need Urgent Attention
A small percentage of throat infections can develop into a peritonsillar abscess, a pocket of pus that forms near the tonsils. Warning signs include a severe sore throat that gets dramatically worse on one side, difficulty opening your mouth fully, and visible swelling pushing the uvula (the dangling tissue at the back of your throat) to one side. If swallowing your own saliva causes dread because of the pain, or if it takes real effort to breathe or you feel like you’re not getting enough air, that’s an emergency. Abscesses need to be drained and treated with antibiotics, and airway blockage requires immediate care.
For the vast majority of throat infections, though, the combination of salt water gargles, honey, steady hydration, humidity control, and an anti-inflammatory pain reliever will carry you through the worst of it. Most people feel noticeably better by day 5 and are back to normal within 10 days.