Sore throat: 7 French grandmother remedies

A sore throat is usually a viral inflammation, and it usually passes on its own. That is worth saying first, because everything below is about being more comfortable while it does, not about curing anything.

French grandmothers had a short list for this. Warm liquids, a gargle, honey, and patience. Here are seven of them, with the ages they suit, and then the part that matters more than any of them: how to tell a sore throat that will pass from one that needs a doctor.

The ginger, lemon and honey infusion

This is the one that gets made most often, and the one worth doing properly.

You need

• ¾ inch (2 cm) fresh ginger root
• 1¼ cups (300 ml) water
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey, thyme or eucalyptus if you have it
• The juice of ½ organic lemon

How to make it

1. Grate the ginger. Peel the fresh ginger and grate it finely.
2. Heat the water. Bring it to a simmer, 176 to 185°F (80 to 85°C). Do not let it boil hard.
3. Steep. Off the heat, add the grated ginger, cover, and let it steep for 10 minutes.
4. Strain and finish. Strain through a fine strainer. Let it cool to about 104°F (40°C), then stir in the honey and the lemon juice. Adding honey to water that is still very hot is a waste of good honey.

Makes 1 cup · 5 minutes of preparation, 10 minutes of steeping.

A word on what it does and does not do. It is warm, it is soothing, and honey coats the throat. Beyond that, we are careful: the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has looked at ginger for nausea, menstrual cramps and osteoarthritis, and it does not establish ginger as a treatment for sore throat. So this is a comforting drink with a long tradition behind it, not a medicine.

Honey, on the other hand, has something in its favor. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that honey outperformed store-bought cough syrup at reducing how often and how badly children coughed at night, and suggests 2 to 5 mL for children 1 year and older. That is also why honey opens our cough remedies, where the same spoonful does the same job on the other half of the problem.

Never give honey to a child under 1 year, in this infusion or in anything else. It will not help, and it can cause infant botulism.

On ginger and medication, the NCCIH is plain: if you take any medicine, talk to your health care provider before using ginger. During pregnancy it says ginger supplements may be safe and to check with your provider; while breastfeeding, little is known.

The salt water gargle

Dissolve one level teaspoon (5 g) of fine salt in one cup (250 ml) of lukewarm water. Gargle for 30 seconds, bringing the water well to the back of the throat, then spit it out, do not swallow. Three times a day, after meals and before bed, for three to five days.

A gargle is also the French answer to a bout of hiccups, done with ice-cold water rather than salt: the method is in our hiccup remedies.

For older children and adults. A young child who cannot gargle reliably will swallow it, and salt water is not meant to be drunk.

The apple cider vinegar gargle

Dilute two teaspoons (10 ml) of raw apple cider vinegar in ¾ cup (200 ml) of lukewarm water. Gargle 30 seconds, two or three times a day.

Rinse your mouth with plain water afterward, every time, and do not keep this up more than three days in a row. Vinegar is acidic enough to wear at tooth enamel, and a sore throat is not worth a dental bill.

The thyme infusion

Pour one cup (250 ml) of just-simmering water (176°F / 80°C) over one teaspoon (2 g) of dried thyme, or two good sprigs of fresh thyme. Cover, steep 10 minutes, strain, and add a teaspoon of honey once it has cooled to about 104°F (40°C). Up to three cups a day, between meals.

Thyme is one of the oldest throat remedies in the French kitchen. We will leave it at that rather than dress it up.

The clove infusion

Pour one cup (250 ml) of boiling water over three cloves, lightly crushed with the back of a spoon. Steep covered for 10 minutes, strain, then add the juice of half an organic lemon and a tablespoon of honey. Two cups a day, lukewarm, for no more than three days: cloves are strong, and more is not better here.

Propolis lozenges

Let one propolis lozenge melt slowly in your mouth, three times a day, without chewing. Five days at most.

Not if you are allergic to bee products. Propolis comes from the hive, and an allergy to bee products is a real contraindication, not a formality.

Steam inhalation

Boil one quart (1 liter) of water, pour it into a large heat-proof bowl, add three drops of Eucalyptus radiata essential oil, keep your face about 12 inches (30 cm) above the bowl, cover your head with a towel and breathe through your mouth for 10 minutes.

Adults only. Two separate reasons, and both are enough on their own: a bowl of boiling water at face height is a scald risk for a child, and essential oils are not for young children’s airways. The NCCIH makes the same point about menthol, which should not be inhaled by or applied to the face of an infant or small child because it may affect their breathing. Do not improvise this one around children.

The same bowl and the same towel, with rosemary instead of eucalyptus, is what French grandmothers used against the headache that sits behind the face: it is in our headache remedies, with the same warnings.

When to see a doctor

This is the section that matters most, because a sore throat is one of those symptoms that is nearly always nothing and occasionally something.

Call your doctor, or your child’s pediatrician, if:

• the sore throat does not improve over the course of the day, especially after drinking water;
• there is fever, headache, stomachache, drooling, or signs of dehydration;
• there is a rash, a stiff neck, difficulty breathing or swallowing, severe ear pain, or repeated vomiting.

That list follows the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance for children, and the same signs are worth acting on in an adult.

If there is a fever alongside it, the age thresholds that decide whether to call are set out in full on our fever page, and for a baby under 3 months they are lower than most people expect.

The one distinction worth memorizing. Cough and runny nose are not typical symptoms of strep throat in older children. A sore throat that comes with a cough and a runny nose is usually viral. A sore throat without them, with fever, swollen glands and pus on the tonsils, is the pattern that makes a doctor reach for a test.

Strep is not diagnosed by looking. MedlinePlus explains that a provider diagnoses it “with a rapid test or a throat culture,” and will prescribe antibiotics if treatment is needed. Without treatment, these infections can lead to serious health problems. No gargle and no infusion changes that, and none of them should delay the phone call.

FAQ

Can I give this tea to my child?

Above 1 year, yes, without the honey below that age and without ever giving honey to an infant. Keep it lukewarm rather than hot, and skip the gargles until your child can reliably spit rather than swallow.

Does gargling with salt water actually cure anything?

No, and it does not claim to. It is a comfort measure with a long history. If the throat is not improving over a day, that is the signal to call, not to gargle harder.

Why do French grandmothers put honey in everything for the throat?

Because it coats, because it tastes good enough that a reluctant child will drink it, and because it was always in the cupboard. It is also the one ingredient here with genuine evidence behind it, at least for nighttime coughing in children over 1.