Whether mild or severe, a sore throat can make your life miserable. When the simple act of swallowing becomes painful, medical intervention is required. Many people choose to treat a sore throat with store-bought fruit juice in hopes that the vitamin C will soothe irritation. The problem is that these juices are full of sugar that has been shown to increase inflammation, potentially making a sore throat feel even worse.
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Essential Oil Remedies For Sore Throat Infographic[/vision_pullquote]
Fortunately, nature has given us everything that we need to combat the pain associated with a sore throat. Essential oils are affordable, completely safe to use and loaded with incredible healing properties that can both treat the pain associated with a sore throat and fix the underlying cause, whether it’s a virus, allergies or a bacterial infection.
What Causes a Sore Throat?
Despite the fact that most of us experience a sore throat several times throughout the year, few of us are aware of why this pain occurs. The answer is inflammation. When the immune system believes that it is under attack, it responds by sending white blood cells to the area in order to fight a potential infection. These white blood cells rush to the tissue of the bronchial tubes, causing them to become swollen and painful.
To treat a sore throat, a potent anti-inflammatory agent is required. This will treat the pain and swelling. Fortunately, most essential oils possess powerful inflammation-fighting abilities. By inhaling essential oils, you are exposing the affected tissue to their wondrous healing properties.
Additionally, many essential oils are capable of fighting allergies, bacterial infections and viruses. Several oils also boost the immune system’s ability to fight infections overall. Therefore, the next time your throat feels sore, you should reach for these essential oils instead of over-the-counter medications and sugary juices.
Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender essential oil tackles a sore throat in many different ways. For one thing, the oil is renowned for its anti-inflammatory properties. These anti-inflammatory properties are so powerful that inhaling the oil can eliminate intense inflammation within the respiratory system. One study found that the oil is powerful enough to stop an asthma attack. As asthma is caused by extreme inflammation of the bronchial tubes, it’s safe to say that this oil can quickly reduce the inflammation that’s making your throat feel sore (source).
In fact, another study found that the oil can successfully eliminate inflammation of the bronchial tubes, treating bronchitis effectively (source).
Lavender essential oil possesses a high level of antioxidants as well. New research shows that antioxidants can treat and prevent bodily infections of all kinds by boosting the immune system’s ability to fight off illnesses. These antioxidants help keep the cells of the body safe from damage, giving the immune system the ability to devote all of its attention to protecting the body from viruses and bacterial infections. One study found that lavender’s high antioxidant levels help fight diseases (source).
Plus, lavender essential oil boasts incredible antibacterial properties. If your sore throat is the result of a bacterial infection, you can use this oil to eradicate the underlying cause (source).
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Peppermint Essential Oil
When the tissue of the throat is inflamed, it becomes irritated. This irritation is what causes that itchy sensation that accompanies a sore throat. This itchiness causes a person to cough excessively, resulting in a throat that becomes even more painful. A powerful soothing agent is required to break the cycle. Fortunately, peppermint essential oil can quickly soothe throat irritation thanks to its leading chemical compound, menthol.
Interestingly, menthol is used in many over-the-counter sore throat and cough remedies because of its incredible soothing power. When inhaled, the oil’s anti-inflammatory properties get to work quickly, treating inflammation while the oil’s cooling and numbing abilities eliminate the pain of a sore throat.
Menthol acts as an expectorant, decongesting the throat and reducing inflammation along the bronchial tubes so that you can breathe easily and kiss that sore throat goodbye (source). Studies have also found that the oil can increase lung capacity thanks to its profound effects on the respiratory system (source). Thanks to its cooling effect on the body, the oil can even reduce a fever that may accompany a sore throat (source).
Additionally, the antibacterial properties in peppermint oil help to eliminate any bacteria within the respiratory system that may be causing the sore throat (source).
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Clove Essential Oil
Clove essential oil can dramatically reduce the pain of a sore throat when inhaled. The oil has the unique ability to reduce inflammation and irritation along the tissue of the throat by coating it in a protective film that soothes pain (source). This will eliminate a cough and relieve you of that sore sensation when you swallow. Plus, as an expectorant, clove essential oil gets rid of that annoying congestion by thinning the phlegm that makes it difficult to breathe (source).
Because clove essential oil is packed with anti-inflammatory properties, it can reduce inflammation when inhaled. Because a sore throat is the result of inflammation, inhaling this oil will return your throat to its normal state, giving you relief from that pain at last (source).
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Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Like peppermint essential oil, eucalyptus essential oil is commonly found in over-the-counter respiratory system medications. That’s because this oil is packed with healing properties that can tackle a sore throat as well as its underlying cause. For one thing, the oil has powerful antiviral properties that can eliminate the virus that is causing your sore throat (source). When inhaled, the oil can boost your immune system’s function as well, encouraging it to fight infections of all kinds. One study found that the oil can treat the herpes virus (source).
Eucalyptus oil acts as a decongestant, thinning the phlegm that can cause you to cough excessively. This is because of the oil’s high level of cineol, a chemical compound known for its ability to decongest the airways (source).
Eucalyptus essential oil is also a powerful anti-inflammatory that is potent enough to treat asthma. When inhaled, eucalyptus oil quickly reduces the swelling caused by inflammation that can cause the airways to close up. This inflammation also causes the tenderness of the tissue that results in a sore throat (source).
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Frankincense Essential Oil
Frankincense essential oil is another essential oil known for its anti-inflammatory properties. When inhaled, the oil will reduce the inflammation that is responsible for a sore throat. In fact, one study found that by inhaling frankincense essential oil, you can treat the inflammation that takes over your body when you’re suffering from the flu virus (source).
Frankincense essential oil also acts as a cough suppressant, loosening phlegm while soothing throat irritation. Therefore, the oil can quickly treat the pain associated with a sore throat (source).
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Lemon Essential Oil
Instead of relying on sugary juices when you’re dealing with a sore throat, grab a bottle of lemon essential oil instead. The oil’s high vitamin C content gives your immune system the boost that it needs to fight the infection that’s causing the throat to become inflamed (source).
Plus, lemon essential oil’s anti-inflammatory properties mean that it can reduce pain and swelling of the throat when inhaled. In one study, rats who were experiencing pain were given lemon essential oil. The study found that the oil significantly decreased pain caused by inflammation (source).
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Tea Tree Essential Oil
In addition to its ability to act as a decongestant, tea tree essential oil boasts an incredible ability to eradicate viruses and bacterial infections that can cause a sore throat (source). By inhaling tea tree oil, you can successfully kill virus cells and dangerous bacteria in the body (source).
Tea tree oil’s antibacterial properties are well-documented. When inhaled, the oil can kill bacterial infections that are responsible for a sore throat (source).
Plus, studies have found that gargling with tea tree oil can treat a sore throat thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties. The minty taste of tea tree oil will freshen your breath and kill bacteria that exists in the mouth as well! (source)
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Rosemary Essential Oil
As an expectorant, rosemary essential oil will eliminate congestion along the bronchial tubes when inhaled. This will protect you from irritating your throat while trying to expel phlegm (source).
Rosemary essential oil also possesses high antioxidant levels, giving it the ability to improve the immune system’s infection-fighting abilities by protecting the body against cell damage (source).
Additionally, rosemary essential oil has antibacterial properties that can treat bacterial infections known to cause sore throats. By gargling with rosemary oil, you can eliminate bacteria that exists in the respiratory system (source).
Plus, the oil has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties that allow it to quickly alleviate the pain of a sore throat. While the anti-inflammatory properties reduce inflammation, the analgesic properties block the brain’s ability to perceive pain (source).
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Oregano Essential Oil
Oregano essential oil can treat a sore throat in many different ways. For one thing, the oil has antibacterial and antiviral properties that can eliminate infections of the respiratory system (source). Additionally, the oil’s anti-inflammatory properties will soothe a sore throat when inhaled (source).
Oregano essential oil can also boost the immune system’s ability to fight infections. Because this oil can be ingested, you can take it as a daily supplement in order to keep the body healthy and free of illnesses (source).
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Lemongrass Essential Oil
Lemongrass essential oil’s anti-inflammatory properties allow it to soothe a sore throat. When inhaled, this oil will eliminate pain and reduce swelling, allowing your throat to return to its natural state (source).
Plus, lemongrass essential oil has been found to kill bacterial infections thanks to its powerful antibacterial properties. If your sore throat is caused by a bacterial infection, this oil can eliminate the illness quickly and safely (source).
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Essential Oils Remedy For Sore Throat Infographic
Summary
It’s clear that essential oils can effectively treat a sore throat without the side effects of many popular medications. For centuries, people have relied on these wonderful plant-based oils to treat this common pain. Now that you know how to treat a sore throat with essential oils, it’s time to ditch the antibiotics and painkillers and allow the power of plants to deliver complete healing.
If you like to use essential oils when you have a sore throat, share your tips with us in the comments section below. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends!