Home Remedies to Help Soothe Your Child's Sore Throats

Sugar-free icy poles

Serving up sugar-free ice blocks is one way to assist with hydrating and soothing children’s sore throats, especially those who find swallowing water too painful. If you have the time, try making your own. It’s easy to make nutritious ice blocks by blending fresh fruit with water or coconut water in a blender, then pouring them into ice-cube trays and putting them in the freezer.

Honey

Raw honey is a good option, with a sweet taste that soothes and coats the throat. You can add honey to drinks with lemon or eat it on its own.

Current health advice is to not give honey to children under the age of 12 as it can contain bacteria.²

Homemade soup

There's no home remedy quite like a bowl of soup, and it's a great way to get your child eating something nourishing that could also soothe their throat.³

Soups are a great option, as they’re easy to swallow, and you can make them very nutritious with added vegetables, soft noodles and optional soft meat.

Salty water

If your child is old enough to manage it, gargling warm water with salt stirred in can reduce discomfort. A basic recipe can be made by mixing 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of warm water.⁴

These are just four options for relieving a sore throat naturally and from the convenience of your kitchen, but you can also look to your medicine cabinet for relief for your child.

An analgesic medicine like Nurofen for Children can help by providing temporary relief of a painful sore throat, in addition to other cold and flu symptoms that often go hand in hand with sore throats, such as headaches, fever and body aches.

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References:

1. Worrall G. Can Fam Physician 2011;57(11):1289–1290.
2. Grant KA, et al. Community practitioner 2013;86(7):44-46.
3. Thielmann A, et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016;2016:6949202.
4. Lin CT and Raman R. J Prim Care Community Health 2012;3(2):80-2.