I get these quite regularly and nothing really seems to work. My doctor has put me on various types of antibiotics over the years and nothing has been highly effective, so i have to let them run there course and just keep my throat as numb as possible (which can become very annoying)
I use Covonia throat spray which, altough it still is not as good as i've known it to be for other people, is probably the best thing i have used of all the medications. I also take honey and lemon syrup to keep it moist as drinking water does not help at all.

Does anybody have any other suggestions? I'm not even looking for things to help cure it anymore as i have come to terms with the fact that i have to just wait it out for a couple of days/weeks or however long they decide to stay. I just need something that will maybe help with the pain, the burning, the itching, the stinging, etc ...

a few natural solutions to help.

try gargling with salt water, tastes fowl but it is good at clearing any 'build up' in the throat.

get some ice lolly making kits then make up some honey, lemon and water and make your own soothing ice lolly's to suck and numb the area.

also it might be worth seeing if you have some trigger for these. look at foods, stresses anything that seems to set them off and try and deal with that as well.

hope this can be of some help.

ice lollys sounds fun, i'll be sure to give that a try. I have been gargling some anti-septic mouthwash my mom got from the dentist, i will see how that goes before trying salt water!

I have tried to find a trigger but they really are random. I recently went months without getting one, then got three in the space of 2 months - each worse than the previous

Echinacea with goldenseal root, from holland and barret, my gp recommended it as I get laryngitis a lot, it doesn't stop me getting it but it's cut the length by half.

Thanks Avalyn I will check that out next time I get into town.

I second opalmoon with the gargling with salt water, very effective to anethesise the throat and drink hot water with honey and lemon in too!

I will get some honey and lemon to make with hot water but for now i have a honey and lemon syrup cough mixture. Do you think it would help to heat a bit of that maybe?

try warming the mixture up as the heat will soothe. maybe try gargling it before swallowing it that should coat the throat nicely.

the echinachea that avaylyn recommended is great just for boosing your immune system making the syptoms not last as long.

and as for the ice lollies they really work a treat my son has terrible throat infectin and these always seem to make him feel better

At the moment i am eating vanilla ice cream to soothe and cool my throat, and i shall try heating the mixture soon. Thanks =]

try drinking water with lots of ice cubes in as well. milk products can sometimes increase infection as the feed the bugs.

there is a remedy you can get from the local chemist my partner swears by it and if anyone complains of a bad throat or cough he is running for the bottles with us running for cover. it is truely fowl but it works. you will need a bottle of pulmo bailey and a bottle of sandersons. you gargle one and take the other. be warned it will knock you out and make you sleep but it destroys anything living in your throat. it stops any irritation.

we were given this mix by a friend when in 4 hours i drank a whole bottle of cough mixture and still my throat was getting worse till i couldnt speak. in 24 hours the itching irritating in my throat stopped. the down side is it tastes sooooooo bad so i always make sure to follow it with a nice lolly after to remove the taste.

i will have to make some ice cubes but i've tried drinks with ice in and it isnt even cooling or moistening my throat. Nothing seems to be working this time, it just keeps gettin worse.

well then get the pulmo bailey and the sandersons then. nurses call it pharmy smack cos it really does knock you out but it might help. you know what they say the worse it tastes the better it is for you

ah true that. I might give it a go. I mixed the honey and lemon syrup with warm water - didn't taste as good as i'd hoped

Being a typical Taurean I get a lot of throat infections and the like, If you take a tablespoon of honey in the morning if you feel that little niggle of a sore throat coming on, so many healing properties, touch wood! I've not had one for months now! hope this helps as well

I am a Taurean too!!! Good luck keeping that up, i didn't have one for months either. As soon as i said it to someone i got one. Typical aye?

I definitely agree with the teaspoon of honey (I take it every morning) and the other helpful advice you've been given. Maybe you could also consider some crystal therapy? Obviously you're perhaps best to speak with a registered crystal healer, but I know certain crystals are good for the throat area/chakra. Among them are blue lace agate, turquoise, citrine and I also read green aventurine. There will no doubt be more and some may be more effective for you than others.

Well it took longer than usual but the throat infection has almost completely cleared up now. I just hope it stays that way for a very long time. Thankyou for all the advice - i took honey, and will continue to do so on a regular basis as it is very nice =]
As for the other suggestions, i didn't manage to get time to go buy anything, and by the time i had some free shopping time it was starting to clear up but thanks anyway i'll keep all the options in mind for next time.

Sage is good too for throat infections.

A strained infusion of sage or rosemary used as a gargle will help really sore throats.

Oh, I wish I'd read this days ago! I've just had the most horrendous sore throat that has lasted for over a week. As a teenager I used to suffer from them regularly, but having allowed a very, very bad one to run its course I haven't had much trouble since. I'd only told someone about how I'd 'cured' my tendency for sore throats two days before I started with this last one. I'll keep my mouth shut in future......if nothing else it might keep the bugs out.

Sore throats can be caused by the Candida fungus. I heard that a way to get rid of Candida is to take 1 teaspoon of Bicarb in a glass of water every day for a month, then have two weeks off, then take it for another month.
I have just heard about this remedy and I would be really interested if anyone tried it, I also read a report that some doctors suspect that this fungal infection is the root cause of most cancers. I'm not totally convinced but it is interesting that the number of cancers cases have risen massively since people have been consuming more and more sugar / sugary foods.

Another natural remedy, not the nicest though!

Thinly slice red and white onions and garlic and lay them out flat on a large plate/dish sprinkle with natural demerara sugar. Leave over night at room temperature.

A syrupy liquid will have formed.

Mix two teaspoons of this liquid with a small amount of hot water and sip and if at all possible try to gargle with it also.

It tastes foul though, be warned!

An old friend of mine used to recommend a tea of lemon juice and thyme for poorly throats. Works pretty good