Quote:
Originally Posted by WarMaiden
The best remedy I have found for sore throat is liberal quantities of cayenne pepper in hot water, sipped like it's tea. It burns like the dickens at first, but then it completely numbs the throat. (So effective at dulling pain, in fact, that the active ingredient--capsaicin--is being investigated as a pharmaceutical analgesic.) And it's quite close to being non-caloric.
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I do the same, though I drink my cayenne in either hot bouillon or cold lemonade. I read an article in a magazine about the "healing power" of capsaicin. It's chemically similar to guaifenesin, an otc (and once prescription) decongestant. The otc guaifenesin is fairly expensive, and I stopped taking it regularly when it went otc, because insurance of course doesn't cover otc medications.
Anyway, I read of adding cayenne or other hot pepper powder or sauces to lemonade, and drinking it hot or cold. I make Crystal Light pink lemonade and just add cayenne powder to each glass. I put it in a waterbottle, so I can shake it between drinks (otherwise the cayenne sinks to the bottom, and you get a real kick in the last few mouthfuls).
Lemonade with a KICK, does take a little getting used to. I love spicy food, and it still was weird, but I find it does stop the pain and cough, but doesn't feel numb like anesthetic sprays (I hate that numb sensation, and it always seems to numb the tongue, not the part of the throat that hurts).