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Guest Blog: Dr. Adam Favro from Turning Point Chiropractic

Sore Throat Remedy

Do you ever wake up and your throat is itching, burning and it hurts to swallow? If you’re old enough to read this article, I am sure you have experienced a sore throat. You quickly find yourself in a predicament. You want to drink fluids because it feels so good, but the pain of swallowing is terrifying. I found myself in this very situation and was determined to figure out the origin of the “sore throat” and some ways to get through it.

First, why the heck does this happen? Most commonly it is the result of bacteria in the back of the throat. The bacteria make the skin angry and puts those pain nerves on high alert. When we swallow, the muscles in the throat contract and irritate the surrounding tissue.   There are more serious causes of a sore throat, but for the purpose of this article, we’ll stick to the simple bacteria cause.

Enough is Enough

So, I bundled up to head out to Healthy Living in search of something fun to try to remove the razor blades in my throat. I know from some previous research; local honey is antibacterial and can help speed things up. If you’ve been to Healthy Living before, you know, the tea isle is on the way to the honey isle. That’s right, I name the isles by what’s in them!

Anyway, everyone knows tea and honey go together like pizza and wine, which may be the reason I got this sore throat in the first place. Sugar in wine can be irritating and cause inflammation while cheese increases mucus production. I walk to the tea isle and sit down crisscross-apple-sauce, like a child, in front of the great wall of tea and start to read through my favorite brand: Traditional Medicinals. This California-based company is from one of my favorite towns just North of San Francisco.
I gravitated to a tea called Throat Coat that has lemon Echinacea in it.  After 30 seconds of reading and browsing other teas, I headed to check out: tea in one hand, honey in the other.  My decision to buy this tea was solidified when the woman who cashed me out confirmed this tea was incredible.

          

 

Finally, Relief!

Fast forward 15 minutes to when I was sitting on the couch in amazement at how good I felt. Before I started researching new homemade pizza recipes, I needed to learn a little more about this Echinacea stuff. To my amazement, I found that Echinacea has been found to increase white blood cells. White blood cells help to fight bacteria and infection in the body.

Finally, I was feeling better. Local honey and Echinacea to help fight bacteria. Tea helps soothe the sore skin in the throat. With each sip of tea becoming easier to swallow, I took some time to write about my experience in case you find yourself in the same predicament.

• Dr. Adam Favro opened his Saratoga Springs office in 2011 and has been committed to professional development and community service.