★★★★★
After days of the worst pain in my throat and feeling absolutely awful, not being able to eat or sleep, I tried gargling with 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in 1/4 cup warm water, every 2 hours. This stung mildly for about 30 seconds and then...relief which lasted! I just couldn't believe it!!!! Just be careful not to get it on your lips.
In between gargling I frequently sipped apple cider vinegar and manuka honey mixed into warm water. I added as much as I could tolerate - the recipe I read (I think) said a few tablespoons of each in 1 cup of water but I found this too sharp and also didn't want that much sugar. I basically tried to keep my throat bathed in this drink as much as I could and the relief was amazing. I really started to feel better immediately. So much more relief than medicated lozenges. I was better in a couple of days, which is the length of time antibiotics are supposed to take to work too.
