My throat hurts and it hurts even when I swallow saliva. What’s going on?

If you have a sore throat and it hurts when you swallow saliva, it is often caused by a cold. You must rest, drink plenty of water, eat a light diet, and avoid spicy, irritating, or greasy foods. In severe cases, you can take some cold medicine.

1. What to do if you have a sore throat due to a cold

1. Yin-nourishing and heat-clearing drink

Use 12 grams of Asparagus cochinchinensis, 12 grams of Ophiopogon japonicus, 9 grams of Platycodon grandiflorum, 6 grams of Sophora flavescens, 30 grams of Rhizoma Cyperi, and 6 grams of Licorice each time, decocted in water and taken, 1 dose per day. It has the effects of nourishing yin, clearing heat, detoxifying and relieving sore throat. Suitable for treating sore throat, acute pharyngitis and tonsillitis, etc.

2. Monk fruit and plum decoction

Use 1 snow pear or 30 grams of dried snow pear, half a monk fruit, and 20 grams of raspberry, decoct in water or drink instead of tea, 1 dose per day. It has the effects of nourishing yin, clearing heat and detoxifying. It can treat acute and chronic pharyngitis.

3. Tremella, Adenophora and Egg Drink

Use 10 grams of Tremella fuciformis and 10 grams of Northern Adenophora each time, decoct in water to extract the juice, then beat in 1 to 2 eggs, and after the eggs are cooked, add appropriate amount of rock sugar and take it. It has the effects of nourishing yin, clearing heat, and moistening the lungs. It is suitable for treating symptoms such as dry throat, sore throat, thirst, etc. caused by yin deficiency and lung dryness.

4. Decoction of Adenophora, Polygonatum, and Radix Ophiopogonis

Use 15 grams of Adenophora sibiricum, 10 grams of Polygonatum odoratum, 10 grams of Ophiopogon japonicus, 3 grams of Radix Trichosanthis, and 6 grams of Cortex Lycii each time, and take before water, 1 dose per day. It is very effective in relieving vocal cord fatigue and preventing and treating hoarseness; it is also effective for cough after illness, persistent fever due to yin deficiency, etc.

5. Plum Drink

Use 5 black plums each time, crush them, put them in a cup, soak them in appropriate amount of boiling water for 15 minutes, remove the residue, slowly swallow them, once a day. It has the effects of astringing yin and promoting body fluid. Suitable for treating chronic sore throat and hoarseness.

2. Dietary taboos during colds

1. Avoid sweet and greasy food: Sweet and greasy food hinders the normal functioning of the spleen and stomach, breeds phlegm and dampness, and aggravates symptoms of cough and sputum. Therefore, patients with colds should not eat desserts, cakes, or glutinous rice pastries.

2. Avoid spicy and hot foods: Spicy foods such as peppers and mustard will help generate fire and phlegm, making the phlegm sticky and difficult to cough up, aggravating headaches and nasal congestion.

3. Avoid grilled and fried foods: Grilled and fried foods, such as fried toast, fried pork chops, barbecue, etc., although they are fragrant and delicious, they are not easy to digest, which delays recovery and is not conducive to early recovery of the disease.

4. Avoid strong irritating condiments: Curry powder, pepper powder, and chili powder are all highly irritating and harmful to the respiratory mucosa, making it dry and spasmodic, causing nasal congestion, choking, and coughing, aggravating the patient's symptoms. Therefore, patients with colds should not eat it.

5. Avoid marine fish, persimmons, tobacco, alcohol, etc.