Most sore throats are caused by viral infections and clear up on their own within five to seven days. In the meantime, a combination of simple home remedies and over-the-counter options can significantly reduce pain and speed healing. What works best depends on what’s causing the soreness and how severe it is.
Saltwater Gargle
Gargling warm salt water is one of the fastest, cheapest ways to ease throat pain. A hypertonic salt solution (roughly half a teaspoon of salt dissolved in eight ounces of warm water) draws excess fluid out of swollen tissue through osmosis. This reduces inflammation and creates a less hospitable environment for the microbes living in your throat. Research on gargling with a 3% sodium chloride solution in patients with non-bacterial pharyngitis found that the high-salt environment also accelerates cellular repair in throat tissue by triggering structural changes in the cells that line your throat.
Gargle for about 15 to 30 seconds, spit, and repeat several times a day. You won’t damage anything by doing this frequently, and many people notice relief within the first session.
Honey
Honey coats and soothes irritated throat tissue, but it does more than just feel good going down. A systematic review published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine found that honey reduced overall symptom scores, cough frequency, and cough severity compared to usual care. Across multiple studies, it consistently outperformed doing nothing and performed comparably to standard over-the-counter cough treatments. You can stir a tablespoon into warm (not boiling) water or tea, or take it straight off the spoon.
One important note: never give honey to children under one year old due to the risk of botulism.
Staying Hydrated and Keeping Air Moist
A dry throat hurts more. Warm liquids like broth, tea, and plain warm water keep your throat moist and help thin mucus that may be draining down the back of your throat. Cold liquids and even ice pops can also numb mild pain.
If you’re sleeping in dry air, especially during winter with heating running, a humidifier helps. The ideal indoor humidity for respiratory health sits between 40% and 60%. Below that range, the mucous membranes lining your throat dry out and become more vulnerable to irritation. A simple hygrometer (available for a few dollars) tells you where your room sits.
Over-the-Counter Pain Relief
Standard pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen reduce throat pain effectively. Ibuprofen has the added benefit of reducing inflammation, which is often the main source of that raw, swollen feeling. These work systemically, meaning they address pain throughout your body, not just at the throat surface.
For more targeted relief, throat lozenges containing benzocaine (a topical anesthetic) numb the area directly. The numbing effect kicks in within 5 to 15 minutes and lasts up to two hours. Lozenges also stimulate saliva production, which keeps the throat moist between doses. Menthol lozenges offer a milder cooling sensation that can make swallowing less painful even without an anesthetic ingredient.
Throat-Coating Remedies
Some remedies work by physically coating the irritated lining of your throat with a protective layer. Marshmallow root is the best-studied example. It contains polysaccharides, long sugar molecules that form a gel-like substance when mixed with water. This mucilage sticks to the mucosal lining of your throat (a property called bioadhesion), creating a temporary barrier that shields raw tissue from further irritation. Marshmallow root is available as a tea or in lozenge form.
Slippery elm works through a similar mechanism and is commonly found in herbal throat lozenges and teas. Both are generally well tolerated, though they can slow the absorption of medications taken at the same time, so space them apart by at least an hour.
Zinc Lozenges
If your sore throat is part of a cold, zinc lozenges may shorten the overall duration of your illness by a few days when started within 24 hours of symptoms appearing. The key is early use and letting the lozenge dissolve slowly so the zinc contacts your throat tissue directly. Zinc can cause nausea on an empty stomach, and some people find the taste metallic, but short-term use during a cold is generally safe for adults.
What to Skip or Use Carefully
Apple cider vinegar is a popular home remedy, but its high acidity can actually irritate an already inflamed throat and esophagus. Undiluted apple cider vinegar also erodes tooth enamel. If you want to try it, always dilute it heavily in water and drink through a straw, but be aware that there’s no strong evidence it helps a sore throat more than simple saltwater gargling does.
Alcohol-based mouthwashes can dry out and further irritate throat tissue. Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke significantly slows healing. And whispering, counterintuitively, strains your vocal cords more than speaking softly in your normal voice.
Signs Your Sore Throat Needs Medical Attention
Most sore throats don’t require a doctor visit. But certain symptoms point to a bacterial infection like strep or a more serious condition that home remedies won’t resolve. The CDC recommends seeing a healthcare provider if you experience difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, blood in your saliva or phlegm, excessive drooling in young children, joint swelling and pain, a rash, or dehydration. A sore throat that doesn’t improve within a few days, or one that gets progressively worse, also warrants a visit.
A high fever (above 101°F) combined with swollen, tender lymph nodes in your neck, white patches on your tonsils, and no cough is the classic pattern for strep throat. Strep requires antibiotics to prevent complications, and no amount of honey or saltwater will clear a bacterial infection on its own.