# Recommend me a sore-throat medicine **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651 "2005-01-31T20:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/1 "2005-01-31T20:11:48Z")
I am just getting over a cold. Well, after a cold I always get these \*\*horrible \*\* sore throats, with stabbing pains. Been to the doctor before on these, and I will probably go again. He never has much to say, but I was wondering: What do Dopers use as sore-throat medicines? It’s hard to find sore-throat stuff only, and I don’t want to dose myself up with pills. Those sprays don’t really work for very long. I use Halls, and they help a lot, but they don’t seem to heal them any quicker. Any ideas? Symptoms: I am not coughing, and it is very hard to swallow due to the pain. I feel my lymph nodes are swollen up, and it hurts faintly when I am not swallowing. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/2 "2005-01-31T20:18:06Z")
I use the mentholatum flavor cough drops. by the bag. try zinc lozanges too, and get plenty of Vitamin C. Get well soon! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/3 "2005-01-31T20:30:28Z")
I swear by Ricola Lemon Mint throat drops now. Halls make me feel sick to my stomach, but the Ricolas taste yummy. They help when I have that tickly, never-ending cough, too. Fresh pineapple can also help a sore throat. Something to do with the enzymes in it, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/4 "2005-01-31T20:39:42Z")
Take some advil. I never thought about it until a doctor told me to do so when my sore throat made me cry, but in retrospect it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/5 "2005-01-31T20:47:50Z")
Advil or Tylenol might help, I’ve been known to use those when dealing with a sore throat. Cold frozen stuff (ice cream, sorbet etc.) can feel _lovely_ going down a sore throat. OK, they’re lovely any time, but they truly do feel good when I’ve got a sore throat… to the point where **Papa Zappa** and I call ice cream “throat medicine” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/6 "2005-01-31T20:51:09Z")
The ice cream sounds like a good bet. Didn’t really occur to me since I am not normally fond of ice cream (I know! blasphemy!) And I looove Halls, always keep some near me. Oh, and Ricola is yummy tpp, but not strong enough. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/7 "2005-01-31T22:55:31Z")
Crushed tylenol or advil or something with some hot tea with lemon and honey is what I always use for a sore throat. And lots and lots of chloraseptic spray. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/8 "2005-01-31T23:00:56Z")
Have you tried the Halls Fruit Breezers? Amazing how they create saliva.I can hardly talk without drooling with one in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/9 "2005-01-31T23:19:44Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Crushed tylenol or advil or something with some hot tea with lemon and honey is what I always use for a sore throat. > > And lots and lots of chloraseptic spray. Tea with lemon is vile. Black licorice is vile. We’re just not doing well here, are we? Seriously, I do drink tea constantly, but the effects don’t last much beyond the drinking part of it. Chloraseptic spray is the same thing, the effects are quick. I just went to the grocery store though, and bought mint chocolate chip ice cream. (My favorite) Can’t wait until dinner’s over and I can eat that! I’m considering spoiling my dinner over it. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/10 "2005-01-31T23:40:01Z")
When I was a kid, the sore throat remedy of choice was a gargle with warm salt water every couple of hours. I still use it–don’t know if it heals, but it does soothe temporarily. Of course, the aftertaste will make that ice cream taste like shit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/11 "2005-01-31T23:48:03Z")
I would recommend avoiding the ice cream and even cold drinks; they might temporarily soothe your throat, but they could also retard the healing process (maybe a bit, anyway) and stiffen any phlegm that might be hanging about. Personally, if I get a sore throat, I drop all caffeinated beverages and switch to warm fruit drinks, or soup. Heated chicken broth with a spoonful of horseradish, or a dash of Tabasco, or a twist of black pepper is often the best way to clear that tickly throat - in my experience, a tickly cough is often the result of a bit of mucus or something that is either too sticky and congealed to cough up, or has worked its way into a place where coughing just isn’t exerting the necessary forces to shift it. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/12 "2005-01-31T23:55:43Z")
Gargling with listerine helps with me as well but I’d rather drink the tea. ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/13 "2005-02-01T00:43:33Z")
Theraflu I swear by the stuff. The lemon kind isn’t particularly yummy, but it works. They also have it in a cherry flavor. You can add a little sugar to either flavor to help. It really does help. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-sore-throat-medicine/287651/14 "2005-02-01T01:20:41Z")
Well, I am both pleased & disappointed to see that I do most of the stuff in here already. Theraflu - I swear by it, too. But I’ve been taking it all weekend & am down to only two per day now: when I get up and when I go to bed. This is only my third day on it, but I hate medicine. I usually drink it with (Chinese) chrysanthemum tea, makes it taste decent. This tea has no caffeine. Gargling: with Listerine, but more often the old stand-by of salt. This works excellently. I got some “Ice Blue” cough drops - my favorite! - and they are really helping. I had some ice cream tonight, and then a little after that had a cough drop and it did the trick. Oh, and unfortunately I’ve been off caffeine since Friday (when I started feeling sick). I don’t really want coffee, but mentally I miss it. Nothing more satisfying than a good cup of java.