If you just listened to my last post, you won’t believe what you are about to read!
Yesterday, I lost my voice. The virus that Kim had been carrying around for two weeks had finally won and I was suffering greatly in the vocal chord department. When I woke in the morning, I could whisper and talk slightly, and had a painful cough.
I felt horrible all day, couldn’t function very well in meetings and the like, and my boss suggested I go home at 4pm. So I did, coughing and spluttering all the way home. After a lovely dinner cooked by Kim, I hit the hay at 8.30pm and slept all the way through till 8am.
My chest felt on fire! All I could do was croak and grunt, and when I coughed it felt like someone was rubbing sandpaper in my throat. I called in sick and spent a few more hours in bed.
At 10am, I hit upon the idea of seeing if there were any natural remedy’s for laryngitis. I consulted a book titled “Nature’s Medicines”, published by Readers Digest, which we picked up second hand off of eBay. There were a few remedies for sore throats and laryngitis, so I chose upon the simplest one. A Thyme infusion. I knew I dried all those herbs for a reason.
I put a couple of tablespoons of dried thyme into my tea mug, added boiling water and let it infuse for 10 minutes. A wonderfully fragrant and savoury tasting tea resulted. I drank it down, and still feeling knackered had another sleep for a couple of hours.
I awoke at about 2pm, and something wonderful had happened. I could talk again, albeit in a deep gruff voice, and it wasn’t painful any more when I spoke. The congestion around my vocal chords had been shifted. However it still hurt a lot when I coughed.
The book suggested 3 cups per day, and I have had a second cup now, and it has improved a little more. As for the sore throat, I have been using the juice of one lemon, 1 heaped teaspoon of honey and topped it up with boiling water. This helps to sooth the throat and make it tolerable.
With another cup of thyme tea before bed, my voice should be nearly back to normal tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Does anyone else have a remedy for laryngitis that they would like to share, or even a sore throat for that matter? Comments appreciated.
Kimmie’s ginger, lemon and honey tea
In a big plunger place:
1/2 lemon, sliced
about 4cm of fresh ginger, finely sliced
a heaped teaspoon of honey
Fill the plunger with hot water.
Leave to steep for 5 – 6 minutes and then drink the tea.
For this to be effective you need to drink a lot – at least 4 – 6 cups per day.
*Can add garlic.
Get well soon~!
Nice one Kimmie. I will give it a go, as I have some fresh ginger.
Gav
This is a nice idea Kimmie..i certainly would try it right away, coz I’ll have my duty tomorrow at 12 midnight, as a call center agent here in the Philippines.. Voice matters most in this kind of field.. I know I will get over this! -thanks Kimmie..
Oh, Kimmie, that sounds great, I could do with some, but I used the last of the lemons for gremolata!
I have been taking Manuka Active honey, and organic coconut oil (supposed to have antiviral and antibacterial qualities because of the lauric acid) for my head cold, as well as extra Vit B supplements, as I believe this one came about because of stress. Plus lots of cups of teas, and rest.
Hope you feel better soon, Gavin.
Thanks Bec, I hope you are on the mend!
Gav
Sage tea (=pouring hot water over sage) helps for a sore throat (best to be sweetened with honey) – I just had some for my head cold – also added some fresh grated ginger – seems to work – good food, fresh air, talking to friends (laughing!) – and rest 😉
hope you are feeling better soon
greetings from Spencer, MA, usa
Heidi
Cheers Heidi, I have been using sage today, with a little ginger, and it works great
Gav
A couple of years ago here in Canada we had the ‘swine flu’ pandemic scare. When limited quantities of a vaccine became available this was allocated first to young children and pregnant women as these two groups were the most susceptible. We all know that the flu season is in winter and as spring and summer come along flu generally goes away. We also know that the body creates vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. A study showed that the lowest levels of vitamin D were in young children and pregnant women.
So, people started adding things together and wondered if there was a connection between resistance to viruses and vitamin D. Along with many others I have been taking 1000 IU of vitamin D every day for the last two years and have been remarkably free of any virus colds or flus.
Your sore throat Gavin may be bacterial but anyway vitamin D can’t hurt, especially as you are coming into your winter.
Get well soon as Friday should be cheese making day!!
David
Cheers David. I spent the morning in the sun soaking up the rays. Great advice.
David above has recommended what I was going to — vitamin D in the form of sun. My friend Con who is of Greek heritage goes into the sun in the backyard for at last two hours at the first sign of a cold, he also recommended to me swallowing a whole clove (peeled) of garlic with water. It works.
I’ve found that once you are over the virus plenty of yoghurt and fresh fruit helps a lot.
I’m a big believer of the ginger, honey & lemon tea too. I mince up the ginger, let it steep with the honey and water, and squeeze half a lemon just before I drink it. If you put the lemon in too soon, the vitamin C will evaporate.
We also use thyme tea once cold for mouth ulcers, after dental work and gargle for inflamed tonsils or glands- good stuff!
Ginger tea with honey and lemon also works for me. It’s a good drink for sore throat and laryngitis. You can also try apple cider vinegar plus ginger. These are among my list of the best sore throat home remedies.
Big thanks for useful information, particularly Kimmie. Best recipe