If Tony can ask how to handle blisters, then I'm gonna go ahead and put this out there.

How do you deal with a sore throat? Really, the whole having a cold thing doesn't bother me that much. I mean, sure it sucks, but you get over it. Its the sore throat that really kills me. If I could be put down for a few days while it healed, I think I really might go with that option.

If all I can get is temporary relief, then thats fine. I've tried those antiseptic sprays that taste like shyte. Problem with those is I can't seem to have the spray hit the right spot -- so I end up with a numb tongue.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Greetings!

Hmm... Well, if the sprays do not help, I am not sure. Usually, I personally prefer a nice warm / hot mug of thick soup (tomato or something with a bit of body to it) sipped slowly from a thermal mug. Simplistic, but it feels good for a while.

My standard advice would unfortunately be "Get some decent meds from the US". Here (NL) everything decent would be prescription-only - and the MD's here don't prescribe them. "It's just a sore throat, take a week off and it will be OK".

An old school remedy that I have always used is gargling with very warm water and salt. I use a little tumbler glass with a tablespoon of salt. Then its "Fishermans Friend" lozengers.

I normally just suck Strepsils. They're some sort of lozenge type thing.

The new Strepsils "extra" are brilliant; the old ones just tasted nice/disgusting (depending on the flavour) but did nothing for the pain. The "extra" ones work better on me than the numbing sprays that always manage to hit every bit of your throat except the painful part.

Hugo

yeah I think i'm gonna try gargling with warm water and salt. And then instead of spraying the stuff, I think i might just gargle with that as well. Maybe that'll be the equivalent of a nuke.

You must have different bugs down there in Huntington beach than we do up here. When I catch a cold, the sore throat is the least of my worries. Usually, the sore throat is only the first symptom, and it's very mild and lasts about a day before the bug moves on to my sinuses and my chest.

The chest is the real problem for me. After the rest of the cold is done, I get a persistent cough that hangs around in my chest for up to a month afterwards, slowly fading away until I don't notice it any more.

I have to second the salt water thing. Definitely works for me. And for the record, the oil in chicken soup really does help sooth a sore throat. If, like mine, the soreness is caused by sinus drainage, then using Vicks nasal spray works wonders, especially in conjunction with an antihistamine.

the warm water and salt works pretty well, but where do you still find those fishermans friend losenges? I remember those tasting awful but getting the job done.

They're still for sell here in Washington State. You can pick 'em up at just about any grocery store.

I heartily recommend a pint of Guinness followed by a large Bushmills chaser, repeat until oblivion - which is what you suggested in the first place!
Other than that Strepsils are the best for me, I wasn't aware that they had a "Plus" brand.