If you’ve experienced a sore throat before, you can tell how painful and annoying it can be. Sore throats can be downright miserable. The itching, scratching, painful swallowing, and the sensation of burning in your throat can be frightening - especially when symptoms of a more serious illness accompany them.

Most people who suffer from sore throats usually don’t know how to deal with the problem. Although most sore throats get better within a week, you don’t want to aggravate the situation while treating or waiting for it to go. This is why we have decided to do a piece on what to do and what to avoid. Here are some Dos and Don’ts to observe when you have a sore throat.

What’s a Sore Throat?

Sore throats are usually caused by an infection or by environmental factors like dry air. They are generally characterized  by a scratchy, painful, and dry feeling in the throat. Although a sore throat can be uncomfortable, it will usually resolve on its own, except it’s caused by a bacterial infection.

Things to Do When You Have a Sore Throat

A sore throat can feel scratchy, painful, burning, raw, dry, tender, or irritated. The following are what you can do to fix a sore throat:

1. Gargle warm water or salty water: Gargling warm water frequently can help ease the pain and make swallowing easier. However, you should make sure that the water is only mildly warm and not too hot. A throat that is already inflamed is more susceptible to injury.
2. Take Fruits and Hydrate: Drinking plenty of water is the best way to hydrate, especially if you have a dry, sore throat. Creating a drinking regime can help you hydrate adequately. You can also try tea to supplement the water. Besides, taking chilled fruits, popsicles can help soothe a throat that feels inflamed. Fruits like bananas, watermelon are soft and gentle on a sore throat. You can also try fruit smoothies to make it easy to swallow.
3. Drink pomegranate juice: The nutrients in pomegranate juice will help reduce inflammation. It is also known as one of the most heart-healthy juice. It appears to protect the heart and arteries.
4. Enjoy Soups: Taking warm soups and broths help clear the airways, which can reduce sore throat symptoms. However, you should make sure the soup isn’t too spicy to avoid irritating the throat further.

Don’ts of Sore Throat

1. Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine: this may look tough, but the amount of caffeine you consume will affect your sore throat. It’s advisable to cut down on coffee, smoking, and alcohol since these things can dehydrate your body and make the sore throat worse.
2. Avoid Eating Spicy Foods: Spicy food will irritate your throat and cause more pain.
3. Easy with the Ice: Some people think that applying ice to the sore throat is an effective method to heal it, but this isn’t true. Ice will only provide temporary relief and does not address the underlying inflammation causing your sore throat. While you can still use ice to provide soothing relief, it’s more important to try treatment options to heal the sore.