In the dry climate of spring, many people experience dry and sore throats. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that there are 4 diet therapies that can effectively alleviate pharyngitis. Let's learn about them below.
Symptoms of Pharyngitis
1. Discomfort in the throat
This includes a feeling of foreign body, burning sensation, dryness, and sometimes slight pain. These discomforts are particularly pronounced after talking or singing for a long time, and can be relieved or disappear after rest.
2. Change in voice
The voice can become hoarse, rough, and even completely lost. Patients feel that their speech is lighter and weaker, with a lower tone and a dull and laborious feeling. These symptoms can be relieved or disappear after voice rest, but reappear after using the voice again. The symptoms fluctuate and worsen over time, causing distress to patients. Hoarseness is the most common symptom, with a lower and rough voice. The symptoms are more severe in the morning and improve gradually with activity. Coughing up pharyngeal secretions can alleviate the symptoms, but they worsen again the next morning. Hoarseness is reduced after voice rest, but worsens with more talking. It becomes intermittent and eventually becomes persistent.
3. Coughing to clear the throat
Before speaking or singing, there is often a desire to cough to clear the secretions in the throat. There is an increase in pharyngeal secretions, and it often feels like there is sticky phlegm. This condition is often caused by excessive shouting. There is not much phlegm when coughing, but this dry cough becomes a long-term habit, leading to nasal congestion, runny nose, mouth breathing, and irritation of the throat mucosa caused by inflammation secretions. These conditions can easily cause edema and congestion of the vocal cords, which can eventually lead to vocal cord hypertrophy or nodules, and even develop into polyps, resulting in hoarseness.
4 Diet Therapies to Relieve Throat Discomfort
1. Lo Han Guo Pear Drink
Ingredients: 1 lo han guo, 2 pears.
Method: Put the clean lo han guo and pears in a clay pot, add water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes. Drain the water and drink.
2. Tremella Lily Drink
Ingredients: 10g tremella, 20g rock sugar, 10g lily, a little honey.
Method: Soak 10g of tremella in water for 12 hours, put it in a bowl, add rock sugar and lily, and steam in a steamer for 1 hour. Stir in honey and consume on an empty stomach every morning.
3. Tendrilleaf Fritillary Bulb Pear Soup
Ingredients: 1 pear, 25g rock sugar, a small amount of tendrilleaf fritillary bulb.
Method: Wash and peel the pear, cut it open and remove the core to form a pear cup. Put a few tendrilleaf fritillary bulbs and rock sugar in the pear cup, cover it with the pear lid, and secure it with a toothpick. Put the pear in a bowl, add rock sugar and water, steam over water for 30 minutes.
4. Goji Berry Congee
Ingredients: 15g goji berries, 150g glutinous rice.
Method: Rinse the glutinous rice and goji berries separately, soak them in water for 30 minutes, and cook into congee with low heat. Take 1 bowl daily. This congee has the effect of nourishing yin and moisturizing the throat, and is suitable for people with chronic pharyngitis and dry throat.
How to Prevent Pharyngitis
1. Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and eating spicy foods are the root causes of many diseases, and pharyngitis is particularly affected. Smoking, alcohol, and spicy foods can cause severe irritation to the throat, so it is important to quit smoking and drinking to prevent pharyngitis.
2. The climate in the northern regions is relatively dry, especially indoors where people gather, so it is best to keep the air humid and clean whether at home or in the office.
3. Professionals such as teachers, actors, and singers often overuse their voices. They should take moderate breaks, exercise actively, and seek timely treatment for systemic diseases.
4. Pharyngitis is caused by bacteria, and the oral cavity is a breeding ground for bacteria. Neglecting oral hygiene for a long time can easily cause bacterial infections and lead to pharyngitis. Therefore, it is important to maintain oral hygiene by brushing your teeth in the morning and evening and after meals.
