Is there any cough medicine or drops, throat spray that is compliant?? I'm almost 2 weeks in and have a sore throat and cough.

[Sammie d]

Last night I started having to clear my throat a lot and it started to hurt. Then a cough came on and made it worse.is there anything I can get for relief?? I already tried a throat coat hot tea and it didn't help as much as I wanted.

[DataLady]

Hi Sammie, I just posted the same question - I need a throat lozenge - however a temporary fix I did was I froze a banana and then sliced it into 1/2 inch slices - and sucked on the frozen slice - it was especially helpful when I woke up in the middle of the night with my throat completely dried out.  Hope this helps

[Sammie d]

Hey DataLady, I did search through the forum and they said to try throat coat tea - which I have and am drinking. Though that doesn't help at night with my coughing and then I wake up with no voice and my throat is on fire. My cough is from a post nasal drip and I am 14 days into my 30 and don't want to start over for some miniscule sugar in cough medicine. All the other natural remedies have something that is non compliant. I am sure there is something out there... we just need to find it!!

[Jihanna]

First, doctor's orders trump Whole30 rules... so if it comes to down to it, it's much more important that you're well than for you to skip out on potentially helpful things just because they contain a little sugar (like cough medicine).

For the sore throat, my suggestion would be gargling and drinking hot tea. My personal favorite sore throat gargle starts with 1/2 - 1 tsp of sea salt with a few drops of clove essential oil on them, then warm water to dissolve until I can bear the strength of it. For tea, I usually will put 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice in a mug and add warm water, then steep black or peppermint tea in it.

For the nasal drip, what works for me is a little more complicated. I use eucalyptus oil (or something like vaporub) on my chest, then sleep facing down (with a washcloth or something under my face to prevent draining from meeting my sheet). Peppermint oil works pretty well for helping to clear nasal passages, too, through inhalation -- so using peppermint tea (see above) might be a good option there, just smell the tea while it's steeping and even while you drink it.

If you do have to head to the doctor, you can see about getting a prescription for codeine, which you'd gargle but not swallow. I don't suggest attempting to suppress the coughing unless it's not productive, though -- if your coughs are bringing up mucus, it's a good idea to allow your body to continue cleaning shop while you instead focus on trying to relieve the nasal drip and throat soreness. I hope that helps, and I'm so sorry you're feeling a bit miserable.

[AR3825]

I had this same problem 5 years ago on day 28. I don’t know if it was the fact that I was sick or the fact that I had 2 days left, but as soon as I saw the sugar content I pretty much cried hysterically because I didn’t know what to do, and at the time I couldn’t find a post that addressed it. It was bad. I’m glad it’s being addressed now.