When I worked in an assisted living, I was very interested in all of the home remedies that the residents shared with me. The recipe I use most often for sore throats is: take equal parts of honey and apple cider vinegar. Then take a spoonful at a time to relieve a sore throat. However, I've done a little more research, and though I've not tried most of these, I will list ideas suggested by others.

• Drink marigold (calendula) hot tea
• Gargle with marjoram
• Suck on slippery elm lozenges
• Drink licorice tea
• Drink marshmallow root tea

I have found that if I feel a sore throat coming on, I try to nip it in the bud, and take preventative measures before it gets to be a raging pain. I generally begin a regime of echinacea, some tylenol or aspirin for pain, and goldenseal if I believe it's infection-related. 9 times out of 10, the sore throat is gone by the next morning.

Of course, a cup of hot tea is always soothing, and even if you are not using any of the herbal teas recommended above, sipping the warm liquid seems to do wonders to an irritated throat.