A polite word about cayenne pepper

When I returned from nearly back-to-back Pass the Baton trips to Texas and Georgia, states well into full-on Spring, I brought back a wicked sore throat, a stentorian cough, and laryngitis.

I attributed it to pollen. During my last day in Georgia, pollenologists tallied record-setting pollen levels of 9,369 particles of pollen per cubic meter of air, smashing the previous day's record of 8,164 particles. The previous high was recorded in August of 1999. To put that in perspective,15 particles per cubic foot can cause sniffling and sneezing in people with bad allergies. 

Teabags travel well

Pollen or not, I had a sore throat. Time healed it, of course, but it got an assist from gallons of green tea, honey, and cayenne pepper inspired by the first clickable choice from Sore Throat Cures. More than 400 people had weighed in on this topic, more than three times the second choice (apple cider vinegar with 131).

For one cup of tea

( I now drink this all day, every day, using Bigelow Green Tea With Lemon and Green Tea Decaffeinated with Lemon.)

Fill a microwave safe cup with water. Heat for 2 minutes. Steep green tea (decaffeinated for nighttime), 1/2 tsp honey and 1/16 tsp cayenne for three minutes. Drink.

For a kick-starter gargle:

Fill a microwave safe cup with hot water. Heat for one minute. Add 1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne and 1/2 tsp honey. Gargle every 15 minutes for two hours.