Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
Pharyngitis is a common inflammation of the throat. Besides seeking prompt treatment, people with pharyngitis can make four drinks at home as supportive therapy to relieve pharyngitis and a dry, itchy, sore throat, and to lessen its effects on daily life and work.
1. Monk Fruit Tea
Steep one monk fruit (luo han guo) with a little green tea in boiling water and drink. Monk fruit clears the lungs, soothes the throat, moistens the intestines, and relieves constipation. It works very well for a swollen, sore throat and a dry, itchy throat. Note, however, that it has a certain laxative effect, so people prone to diarrhea had better take it sparingly.
2. Water Chestnut and Pear Soup
Wash and peel 10 water chestnuts; peel and core 2 pears and cut them into chunks. Add a suitable amount of water, bring to a boil, add a little rock sugar if you like, and drink it all at once or in several portions. Water chestnuts quench thirst, detoxify, warm the middle, and benefit qi; used with pears, they keep the cold nature of the pears from harming the stomach. In fact, crushing water chestnuts and drinking the juice directly can also treat acute and chronic throat discomfort.
3. Platycodon and Licorice Decoction
Steep 15 grams of platycodon root (jiegeng) and 30 grams of licorice root in boiling water and drink. Platycodon opens the lungs, dispels phlegm, soothes the throat, and expels pus; licorice clears heat and detoxifies. With licorice to drain fire and platycodon to open the lungs, the heat is released and the lung passages are cleared, so the dryness, itching, and pain in the throat will naturally ease.
4. Fresh Ginger and Radish Juice
Wash and crush 100 grams of white radish and 50 grams of fresh ginger, extract the juice, mix, and hold it in the mouth before swallowing. White radish removes heat and stops coughs; fresh ginger regulates qi, stops vomiting, resolves phlegm, and dispels cold. Used together, they resolve phlegm and quench thirst. The fresh juice also moistens dryness, so this remedy can treat acute and chronic sore throat, loss of voice, and similar symptoms.