Most people that have had a sore throat or an intense cold know how painful or annoying this can be. You can feel quite ill because of these conditions. A sore throat can have many causes. Maybe you have a dry throat and this is impairing the ability to swallow. Or you are suffering from an inflammation or infection. In almost all of those cases, gargling with salt can offer quick relief. Salt purifies and softens.
It is mainly the purifying function of salt which is why gargling offers relief. But not only that. Salt also removes piled up lymphs in your throat. The saline solution (salt dissolved in water) absorbs as it were the extra moisture in the tissues, much like a sponge does. It is a fact that tissues that have been infected by bacteria, swell up. Swollen tissue presses with all its might against your throat wall. Your throat wall is very sensitive and therefore the pain can be quite intense. Not only can you remove piled up lymphs through gargling, the salt also grinds away the fungus and bacteria attached to your throat wall that are the cause of the inflammation or infection.
You will quickly notice after gargling that you will feel some sense of relief. The effects are thus directly noticeable. You might have to do this a couple of times however before the sore throat completely disappears. Therefore rinse your throat (do not swallow the saline solution!) a couple of times a day, preferably directly after waking up, during the day and before you go to bed. Any throat pain causing bacteria and fungus will by doing this not get a chance to multiply.
If you are troubled by intense throat pains, then you take a glass and you fill it with lukewarm water (definitely not hot water!). Then you take half a teaspoon of salt (preferably sea salt, rock salt or pink himalayan salt) and you let it dissolve in the water. Take a sip, tip your head backwards in your neck and gargle for about 30 seconds. You then spit out the water and again take a sip and gargle for another 30 seconds. Do this a couple of times more and then rinse your mouth with pure drinking water. Are you experiencing a sore throat, throat inflammation or throat infections more often?
Then you can gargle once in a while as a preventive measure! Because studies have shown that gargling, even though you do not have any physical complaints, can reduce the chances on infections in the throat by about 40 %!. It thus comes down to it that gargling with a saline solution, even when you are healthy and do not have any conditions, can be good for something. You can for example decide to gargle once every month.
Some people do not like or are unable to gargle. The one person because he or she is scared to swallow some of it, and the other because of a physical disability or old age. But it can also be the case that you are simply not a fan of gargling. For those people there is an abundant amount of other remedies available against a sore throat. Instead of gargling, the drinking of honey water also works soothing for the throat. Besides this, honey has the property that it is antibacterial. If you do not eat or drink too much honey (because there are also a lot of sugars in honey) it is also very healthy. You take a big spoonful of honey an pour it into a glass or mug with warm water. Stir a little and drink! It soothes the pain.
Did you know that gargling with salt water can also be a very effective measure to stop that annoying tickling cough, or prevent it? Do this for instance just before you go to sleep. You will clear up your throat from slime and bacteria and the salt also soothes the throat wall. Combine this with honey tea for optimum effects. Be careful: always spit out the saline solution and rinse your mouth well with drinking water. It is harmful for your kidneys when you take in too much salt. So if you are experience itchiness in your throat or this cough? Dissolve one tea spoon of salt in lukewarm water and off you gargle!
The front 2 nose openings, that we also simply call the nostrils, are the connection between the nasal cavity and outside air. While the back two nose openings are found internally, and are in connection with the nasal cavity. In your nasal cavity you find the three turbinates. These are abundantly covered with mucus. All kind of dust particles, bacteria and viruses that you find in the air and breathe in through the nostrils are stuck in the mucus of the nose. The cilia in this mucus will cast the unwanted invaders to the outside again. In some cases the mucus becomes irritated and swells up. This can have multiple causes.
The result of a stuffy nose is that you can not really breath freely anymore. This can of course be annoying. What helps well against a stuffy nose is the rinsing with salt water! The salt extracts tissue fluids which is why your mucus becomes smaller again and you can breathe more freely. Besides you will also rinse a lot of dirt, bacteria and viruses out of your nose. In this way you will offer relief to the mucus.
Go to the pharmacy and buy for a few cents a so called "neti pot" or something to inject the saline solution into your nose. Add a teaspoon of salt to the neti pot or a cup of lukewarm water. Make sure that all of the salt is dissolved properly. Then you suck a part of this saline solution with your injection or take the neti pot in your hand. Then you tilt your head backwards and spray the saline solution slowly into your left nostril. If you are using the neti pot you can simply inhale through your left nostril while holding the tip of the pot to your nostril. Make sure with either way of doing it to not swallow the solution, as it will now be coming down your throat. Spit out the salty water. Do the same for the right nostril. Repeat this for both nostrils a couple of times. After this you will start to notice that you can breathe more freely now.
Do you have problems with your gums? Maybe they are too swollen, coloured red or just painful? Probably you are suffering from inflamed gums. Make sure you make an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible. Then you can already rinse your mouth with a saline solution. Salt knows a purifying function as we explained earlier already. Not that your gums will simply disappear, like snow does before the sun. But do count on that it relieves some of the pain and may prevent the inflammation from becoming more sever.
People with hay fever are recommended to rinse their throat and nose cavities daily with a saline solution. It is the case, in combination with special hay fever medicines, that severe hay fever complaints are to be prevented. Hay fever allergy is caused by pollen that plants, trees and flowers give to the air. When inhaling it causes an over sensitive reaction. Do a lot of pollen remain in your nose mucus and throat mucus, then as a hay fever patient you will experience a severe allergic reaction.
With a saline solution you rinse away a lot of pollen, by which the condition soon loses its strength. In the morning an evening the production of pollen in Spring and Summer is the highest. Therefore rinse when waking up and before going to bed. And gargle with the saline solution to remove the pollen in your throat cavity.
