Everything2
Near Matches
Ignore Exact
Full Text
Everything2

Sore throat cure

created by Katyana

(thing) by QEDrakmar (1.5 y) (print)   ?   (I like it!) 1 C! Sat Jun 03 2000 at 7:17:35

Well, now I feel obliged. Here's one for you:


  • Place 2 cups of brandy in a medium saucepan.
  • Begin to simmer over low heat.
  • Add 1-2 cups honey.
  • Add the juice of one lemon.
  • Simmer over med-low heat until about half of the alcohol has boiled off.
  • Pour into large, comfy mug.
  • Drink.
  • Enjoy.

    • (idea) by ghostprovidence (3.5 y) (print)   ?   (I like it!) Thu Jul 15 2004 at 16:41:57

    Conventional Wisdom suggests the following remedies for a sore throat:

    1. Water --
      ingest copious amounts of H20.
    2. Warm Tea + Honey --
      try a little divination, maybe.
    3. Humidity --
      treat the air you breathe with a humidifier.
    4. Salt Water --
      mix ¼ tsp. salt to ½ cup water, employ as a gargle several times daily.
    5. Drugs --
      acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or other non-narcotic analgesic for mild pain.
    Ok, fine, well and good, but is this advice worth a dime? Discussion follows.

    #5. The recommended drugs are well-studied; their only effect in the case of a sore throat is pain relief. They may make you feel better, but they aren't doing anything else to alleviate your ailment.

    #4. It is probable that gargling with a salt water solution serves to flush the infected tissues of the throat. The high salinity of the salt water causes water to diffuse from the tissues of the throat into the salt water solution in an effort to equalize the salinity gradient. This process is commonly referred to as osmosis. Also, local changes in salinity can be detrimental to some viruses and bacteria in laboratory conditions, this may have some limited effects in vitrio as well.

    #3. Dry air can irritate the throat by drying the surface of the throat. Anecdotal 'evidence' suggests that air quality can effect the rate of recovery, however, the primary effect here is comfort.

    #2. Tea (Camellia sinensis) and honey.
    Probable contents:
    Tea
    30%* polyphenols --->(high complexation affinity to metals, alkaloids, and biologic macromolecules)
     4%* alkaloids --->(caffeine-like substances)
     1%* phenolic acids --->(gallic acids/amino acids)
    Honey
    82% sugars/carbohydrates
     0.5* proteins and minerals

    Hard to say what the physiological effects of this concoction are exactly, since its such complicated soup of chemicals. The most prominent effects seem to be an increase in blood sugar from the honey, and a response to the caffeine and other alkaloids in the tea.

    #1. Water, water, everywhere. Water is essential, with very few exceptions, to all processes in the human body. This advice seems to be motivated by the notion that, since your throat hurts, you may not be drinking enough fluids to stay properly hydrated. Its not that your body requires large amounts of water to deal with your sore throat, the concern is that you are slightly dehydrated to begin with. Drink up.

    *by dry weight
    Sources:
    http://web.ukonline.co.uk/webwise/spinneret/life/osmsis.htm
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000982.htm
    http://www.chemsoc.org/exemplarchem/entries/2001/loveridge/index-page3.html
    http://www.teatalk.com/

    printable version
    chaos

    Do not use the toaster: It will catch on fire White Men Can't Jump Fisherman's Friend suggest
    Sex Games Deep Throat blow job prenuptial agreement
    echinacea How to tackle someone 666 sleeping with earplugs
    Guide to Chord Formation : 6th Chords Divination Share and enjoy drink
    Interactive Fiction Hot Toddy Tessular suck
    conventional wisdom August 26, 2006 The Marlboro man dildo
    Y'know, if you log in, you can write something here, or contact authors directly on the site. Create a New User if you don't already have an account.
    		   Epicenter
    Login
    Password

    password reminder
    register

    Everything2 Help

    Cool Staff Picks
    Nodes your sibling would have liked:
    Night of the Living Dead
    rules of killing (human edition)
    Wedge-tailed eagle
    Scissors that shed their safety
    Thoughts on Hate Crimes
    Turnings in American history
    Catharsis, or Living for the Cool
    Catullus 16
    Woody Allen
    Andrea Dworkin
    What gets us out of bed in the morning
    Ball lightning
    I fear I will be nothing
    New Writeups
    anndandridge
    Dorothy Dandridge(person)
    PaulM
    ignominity(idea)
    Clarke
    Multiculturalism(idea)
    aneurin
    Earl of Landaff(person)
    Heitah
    Pseudocide(idea)
    XWiz
    Google Knol(lede)
    Mythi
    July 24, 2008(personal)
    locke baron
    The fall of Earth(fiction)
    BookReader
    Fear the Cold(dream)
    Pavlovna
    Kathleen MacInnes(person)
    stainedglass
    1(fiction)
    kalen
    Three "T"s(idea)
    octillion369
    Undead(idea)
    archiewood
    Ico(fiction)
    Heisenberg
    Why I love Everything2(log)
    This page courtesy of The Everything Development Company