When a family member is suffering with a sore throat, it can be easy to pass it off and expect them to get on with taking care of themselves – but we usually want to do our best to help our family. Take a look at our top tips on how to take care of someone with a sore throat.
1. Gargle Salt Water
The NHS recommends gargling with warm, salty water as this can help soothe a sore throat and shorten how long it lasts. Pour half a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water and gargle at least once every three hours. But do note that gargling with salt water is not recommended for children
2. Get Some Rest
This is perhaps one of the most important things you can do – however, your loved one might be looking for a quick recovery, making this one of the more difficult tips to implement. This is important because viruses are responsible for 85% to 95% of adult sore throats and with this in mind, their body needs to be well-rested to combat the virus that may have caused the sore throat in the first place.
3. Keep Hydrated
Preventing dehydration is crucial. Encourage your loved one to sip regularly by keeping some drinks close by. You can never go wrong with water, but you can also feel free to get some teas, fruit or vegetable smoothies, and soups. Make sure the drinks are not too hot as these could further irritate the throat.
4. Get your saliva flowing
Suck ice cubes, crushed ice, ice lollies or hard sweets to get your saliva flowing.
Remember not to give young children anything small and hard to suck because of the risk of choking.
5. Avoid Coffee or Alcohol
This one should go without saying but many are convinced that alcohol cleanses the throat. This is just a myth and alcohol can actually dry the tissues out further and exacerbate a sore throat. As tempting as it may be to give your loved one what they ask for, you need to say no to both alcohol and coffee as they are likely to agitate a sore throat.
6. No Smoking
Cigarette smoke is just as harmful to your loved one’s throat as it is to any other part of their body. The heat from cigarettes leaves a throat dry which gives rise to the inflammation. Kindly ask those that smoke not to do so in the house, especially not while your loved one still has a sore throat.
7. Take medicated throat lozenges
To aid in a speedy recovery, try Strepsils Honey & Lemon Lozenges. They provide fast acting relief from first signs of a sore throat. Strepsils Honey & Lemon combine the soothing effect of lozenges with two antiseptics to fight infections and provide fast acting relief to prevent sore throat pain from getting worse.
8. Take care of yourself
It’s all well and good stepping up to help a loved one get back to full health, but try not to do this to the detriment of your wellbeing. Be sure to wash your hands often.
For hard hitting sore throat pain relief, clinically proven to work for up to 2 hours. Contains Hexylrsorcinol.
Strepsils Honey & Lemon Lozenges
Contains 2,4-Dichlorobenzyl alcohol 1.2mg, Amylmetacresol 0.6mg – two antiseptic ingredients that fight throat infections to prevent sore throat pain from getting worse.
Strepsils Original Lozenges
Contains 2,4-Dichlorobenzyl alcohol 1.2mg, Amylmetacresol 0.6mg – two antiseptic ingredients that fight throat infections to prevent sore throat pain from getting worse.
Strepsils Honey & Lemon Lozenges, Strepsils Original Lozenges. Contains 2,4-Dichlorobenzyl alcohol 1.2mg, Amylmetacresol 0.6mg. For ages 6+. Always read the label.
This information is not intended to diagnose, in case of any doubt please contact your pharmacist or GP.
RB-M-00635
