February 22, 2022
The Vitamin Shoppe’s blog, What’s Good, extensively cited Dr. Leena Guptha, DO, MBA, BCTMB, Pacific College’s Academic Dean of Online Education in a recent article about ways to alleviate the pain and discomfort of a sore throat from your own home, using ingredients and materials you can find yourself.
Obviously, given the ongoing pandemic, rule out COVID-19 first through testing–especially if you were exposed recently. Sore throats can result from many other factors than disease, however. Allergies, pollutants, and generally dry air can all cause inflammation in your throat as your body attempts to right itself.
Dr. Guptha suggests essential oils to soothe a sore throat, particularly thyme oil: “this powerful essential oil has therapeutic properties that make it great for a throat that needs some tender loving care,” she says, citing a study published in Medicinal Chemistry that indicated that thyme can boost the immune system. Guptha also recommends peppermint oil in a 4:1 dilution, an ingredient also frequently found in throat lozenges.