Sore Throat? Which Homeopathic Remedy will Help?
- Joanna Mikhail
- Dec 6, 2025
- 4 min read
Homeopathic Remedies for Sore Throat: How to Know Which One Fits
Sore throats can feel similar, but the details make all the difference in choosing the right remedy. Here’s a guide to the most common options and when each is relevant.
My first tip to finding the right remedy is stop reading here, put everything away and observe what is happening in your body. Ask yourself these key questions and then, only then, start reading about different remedies. if you do it the other way around and start reading about the remedies first, you may get confused as every remedy will seem to fit.
Questions:
1. Onset & Trigger
Did it start suddenly or gradually?
Was it after exposure to cold, wind, or a chill, or after stress or emotional upset?
2. Pain Quality
How would you describe the pain? sharp, stabbing, cutting, raw, burning, or scratchy?
Does the pain feel deep, like a lump, or on the surface, like irritation of the throat lining?
3. Location & Side
Is the pain left, right, or central?
Does it involve one tonsil more than the other?
4. Aggravating & Relieving Factors
Does it worsen with movement (talking, swallowing, turning head)?
Is it better with warmth or cold drinks?
Does swallowing solid vs. liquid make a difference?
5. Associated Symptoms
Fever, chills, or sudden heat?
Hoarseness, voice loss, or dryness?
Swelling, redness, or white spots in the throat?
Weakness, drowsiness, or heavy limbs?
Anxiety, irritability, or restlessness?
6. Timing & Pattern
Worse morning, afternoon, evening, or night?
Does it come with a routine or seasonal pattern?
7. Sensory or Emotional Overlay
Do you feel oversensitive to touch or pain?
Is the pain accompanied by emotional tension, grief, or anxiety?
Once you know the answer to these questions, then you can go ahead and match the symptoms of your sore throat with the characteristics of a remedy. Here are my top sore throat remedies. I've underlined the keynotes of each symptom.
1. Aconite (Aconitum napellus)
When it fits: Use within the first 24 hours of feeling symptoms and very often it will stop a sore throat in its tracks. Use when the pain came on suddenly. it could be after exposure to cold wind or a shock (but not always). The throat is raw, dry, and painful, sometimes with fever and restlessness.
Key clue: The person is anxious, startled, and wants to be alone, often describing the pain as intense or cutting.
2. Gelsemium (Gelsemium sempervirens)
When it fits: The throat soreness comes gradually, often with fatigue or heaviness. Fever may be mild, and the person feels weak, sleepy, or drowsy.
Key clue: The person may feel “paralyzed” by tiredness, voice may be hoarse, and swallowing worsens the weariness rather than sharp pain.
3. Bryonia (Bryonia alba)
When it fits: Sore throat with sharp pain that worsens with any movement, especially talking, swallowing, or turning the head.
Key clue: The person wants to stay very still; even moving the head or speaking intensifies the discomfort. Mouth may feel dry, and lips cracked.
4. Apis (Apis mellifica)
When it fits: Throat is swollen, hot, and burning, often with stinging pain. it will feel 'like a bee sting' and that's because this remedy is made from a bumble bee - remember 'Like Cures Like.'
Key clue: Pain improves with cold drinks or ice; swallowing is uncomfortable, and the throat may look red and puffy. Often comes with a feeling of tightness or pressure.
5. Argentum Nitricum (Arg-n)
When it fits: Throat soreness with tingling, rawness, or sudden stabbing pains, often on the right side.
Key clue: Anxiety or nervous tension may accompany the pain. Swallowing can feel like something sharp is sticking, and there’s often a craving for sugar or cold drinks.
6. Lycopodium (Lycopodium clavatum)
When it fits: Sore throat with gradual onset, worse in the late afternoon or evening. Pain may feel deep, like a lump, often with a hoarse voice.
Key clue: Right-sided preference, often worse at 4–8 pm, with accompanying bloating or digestive issues. The person may be irritable or impatient.
7. Hepar sulphuris (Hepar sulph)
When it fits: Throat feels very raw, sore, and sensitive, often with small white spots or a tendency to pus formation. This is good to use if you think the sore throat has developed into an infection. But there are other remedies for infections to. I would recommend speaking to a homeopath at this point to make sure you get the right match of remedy, potency and dosage to avoid further complications down the line.
(See my blog about remedies for Infections here!)
Key clue: Cold aggravates, warmth relieves. Person may be irritable, oversensitive to pain, and worse at night. Swallowing triggers coughing or gagging.
Bottom line:
Aconite: sudden
Gelsemium: weak
Bryonia: worsened by movement
Apis: pain stinging like a bee sting
Argentum Nitricum: anxious
Lycopodium: worse in late afternoon
Hepar Sulph: if its developed to infection
1. Choosing the Potency
30C: Most commonly used for acute situations. This potency works well when symptoms are moderate, well-defined, and recent.
200C: Used when symptoms are more intense, overwhelming, or rapidly escalating. Often chosen for a stronger, shorter-acting effect.
Rule of thumb: Higher potencies (200C and above) are more “dynamic,” can act faster, but are generally taken less frequently. Lower potencies (6C–30C) can be repeated more safely.
2. Repetitive Dosing
In an acute situation, you can use small, repeated doses of 30c for faster relief.
Example method:
Take 3 pellets at 10-minute intervals, up to 3–4 times as needed, until improvement is noticed.
Once symptoms start to ease, stop repeating—this prevents “overstimulation.”
Here is a video about repetitive dosing.
Key principle: Homeopathy is reaction-driven, not volume-driven. You’re giving the body a stimulus to respond; once it does, further doses aren’t needed.
If you would like to speak to a Homeopath to discuss remedy selection, potency and dosage, I'd be happy to help, please book here.
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