Tonsillitis or more commonly known as sore throats, often increase in prevalence coming into the winter months with the changing of the seasons, to the colder weather with prevailing winds and of course less sunlight. Our tonsils are our first line of defence in our body. In this blog I am going to give you some helpful homeopathic and natural tips for soothing your acute sore throat.
What are the symptoms of a sore throat?
- Throat pain
- Painful swallowing
- Fever, sometimes with chills
- Red and/or swollen tonsils
- General sense of feeling unwell
Tonsillitis is often diagnosed as throat infection, either of bacterial or viral origin. Antibiotics can be helpful with the bacterial throat infections but not the viral ones, and with the overuse of antibiotics its especially important to look at alternatives. Sore throats can be acute infections, or the tonsils can become chronically swollen with repeated infections. If the latter is what you are suffering with a more in-depth consultation will be best to ascertain deeper acting remedies for you.
With small children it can be more difficult to determine that it is tonsillitis because the first sign may be refusing to eat, a raised temperature or pulling of their ears. If there is a lot of mucus with the throat symptoms there maybe vomiting. If the tonsils are severely infected and are so enlarged, they then could have difficulty in breathing. It is particularly important that you seek professional help if this is the case.
So, what can we do for ourselves to help prevent getting sore throats in the first place?
The number 1 you can do for yourself is boost your immune system and the suggestions below will help you –
- Drink squeezed lemon in warm water each morning
- Do some form exercise each day, preferably outdoors
- Try to get a good night’s sleep each night
- Cut out sugar as much as possible
- Eat as varied diet as possible
- You might consider making you own elderberry syrup or tincture (see below for recipe)
- A meditation or mindfulness session to help with reduce stress can be helpful
- Washing your hands more frequently is always good practice
- If you do get a tickle in your throat a small teaspoon of honey can be most soothing
And of course, you have homeopathy.
Here is a list of homeopathic remedies useful for sore throats depending on what your individual symptoms are
Aconite
First remedy to think sore throat with sudden onset, especially worse at midnight. The symptoms may come on after a fright or shock, or after getting chilled from being out in a cold wind. Throat will be red, burning and have prickling sensation which can radiate towards the ear.
Apis
A person needing Apis will have an inflamed throat which is red and swollen with burning and stinging type pain. They will feel worse from heat and hot things, preferring cold water to help soothe their throat.
Belladonna
Someone who has tonsils which are bright red, with a high temperature and throbbing pain could benefit from Belladonna. Also, their glands will be very swollen, and they will have great difficulty swallowing.
Dulcamara
Sufferers whose problems all start after exposure to damp and cold weather may need Dulcamara. They are aggravated by change in weather especially coming into the Autumn when the evenings get colder. This can also lead to ear pains.
Hepar Sulph
The emotional state of tonsilitis sufferers needing Hepar Sulph is usually angry and irritable. They can suffer from the cold – in fact in extreme cases when they are ill in bed they have to keep totally covered – exposing any part of their body makes them feel worse and aggravates their symptoms. They can be overly sensitive to pain and to touch. The pain is often described like a splinter or fishbone in the throat and can radiate up into the ear. They will desire to be left alone and quiet.
Lachesis
This person will not be able to even open their mouth to show you how bad their throat is, but they will have foul breath and purplish tonsils. Their symptoms will be predominating on the left side and they may have extreme throbbing pain which may move from left to right. There can be a feeling of constriction all around the neck area and because of this they will not tolerate anything near their throat like blankets or clothes.
Merc Sol
The patient needing Merc Sol will have very swollen tonsils with foul breath, dribbling saliva, profuse sweating, worse from both cold and heat. All pains are burning in nature, are very painful and often worse at night. They are very thirsty for cold water which doesn’t quench it.
Phytolacca
The sensation of a lump in the throat is often experienced by the person who does well with Phytolacca. Usually the right tonsil is swollen and more affected which can look a dark red or a bluish red colour. There is great swelling of the tonsils, pharynx and the glands, with pain which can extend up to the ears on swallowing. They will feel thoroughly weakened and exhausted with extremely sore muscles.
Tissue/cell salts
Ferr Phos
This is an extremely useful remedy in the early stages of a sore throat with raw and swollen tonsils starting with a gradual climbing fever. They will be very weak and be very flushed in the face.
Kali Mur
Think of using this tissue salt when the person has very swollen tonsils and glands, so they can hardly breathe. There can be greyish spots or patches on the tonsils or the throat and even the tongue can be also covered in them.
Hypericum and Calendula mother tincture can be helpful to gargle with = 5 drops of it in cooled boiled water.
Recipe for Elderberry Tincture
INGREDIENTS: 100g DRIED ELDERBERRIES, 750ml WATER, HONEY, CHEESECLOTH (you can opt for fresh elderberries too).
IT IS WAY MORE CHEAPER TO MAKE ELDERBERRY SYRUP THAN BUY IT READY MADE. THIS SYRUP HAS THE BENEFITS OF BOOSTING IMMUNITY AND HELP IN THE PREVENTION OF COLDS AND FLUS.
Place the berries and water in a pan and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes with the lid on. I LOVE GINGER and CINNAMON, so I add a few fresh pieces of ginger into the pan whilst the ingredients are simmering.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour the mixture through the cheesecloth and allow the juice to drip through. Extract as much liquid as possible and then add 200ml of honey to the juice and dissolve by stirring well. Store this syrup in the fridge in an airtight container. For extra ‘heat’ or spice you can add in a stick of cinnamon.
