Home remedy — kitchen traditionHome remedySafety level: Gentle household or food-level use
Warm Salt-Water Gargle
Half a teaspoon of salt dissolved in warm water and gargled.
Also known as: Namak pani gargle, Saline gargle
Overview
Half a teaspoon of salt is dissolved in a glass of warm water. A mouthful is gargled at the back of the throat for around thirty seconds and spat out, repeated two or three times a day.
What it is traditionally used for
Short-term comfort for a sore or scratchy throat.
Ingredients used
- Rock Salt(Saindhava Lavana)Primary
Who it may suit
- adults
- teens
- children over 6
Minimum age: 72 months.
Safety essentials
Do not swallow the salt water. Difficulty breathing, drooling, a muffled voice or a swollen neck needs emergency care, not a home gargle.
Who should avoid it
- Young children who cannot gargle safely
- People on strict salt restriction who might swallow it
- People with mouth ulcers made worse by salt
Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Generally customary in pregnancy as the water is not swallowed.
Children: Only for children old enough to gargle and spit reliably, usually from about age six.
Stop and seek medical care if
- Difficulty swallowing or breathing
- Drooling in a child
- Voice muffled or a swollen neck
- Fever above 38.5C beyond 3 days
- Sore throat lasting more than a week
Evidence note
condition. src/content/conditions.ts#sore-throat