For minor nasal or throat infections you can try using a saline nasal spray or salt-water gargle to see if this remedy can bring down some of the swelling. Make by adding ½ tsp salt to 8 oz warm water.For the throat, gargle the salt water for a total of several minutes, changing the water as necessary. Repeat the entire process later in the day.
To reach the nose area, you can also use a sterile dropper. Fill the dropper with warm salt water solution and hold head back or sideways to allow the water to pass through the nasal canal. You can hold your head back long enough to let the water drip down the back of the throat.
Serious infections should be seen by a doctor or acupuncturist, as they may not respond to this simple method.
Yes, it’s generally accepted in the Caribbean that at the onset of a cold or a sore throat, the remedy was a good sea bath. Gargling with warm salt and water was also part of the get well routine.
I didn’t realize that there is a salt water tradition in the Caribbean, which makes a lot of sense now that I think of it. I find that salt is an amazingly simple and helpful home remedy!