Throat Spray

My 13 year old daughter developed a classic upper respiratory illness.  Her cold symptoms included cough and congestion, but her main complaint the first couple of days was her sore throat.  I gave her a tablet of ibuprofen to help with the discomfort during the day, but I also wanted to help the actual problem, instead of just treating the symptom.  I made her a cooling throat spray with licorice root, echinacea root, and dried wolfberries being the main herbal ingredients, and then I added Thieves, ginger, and lemon essential oils.

My first steps were to make teas from the licorice, echinacea, and wolfberries.  Because I used the root form of the licorice and echinacea, I needed to decoct them–this is a low and slow method done on the stove top.  I placed 1 tablespoon of each herb in a pan and covered with one cup of water.  After it came to a boil, I covered the pot and let it sit for 40 minutes.  Then I drained the herbs using a strainer and saved the tea.

Once the herbs are strained, gently press on them to remove any remaining liquid.

Licorice root has analgesic properties to help soothe a sore throat.  It’s flavor adds a sweet accent to the spray.  Echinacea root in a immune system booster, but also calms and coats inflamed throat tissues.  Learn more about these two herbs from another of my posts, “Sore Throat Tea.”

The wolfberries I made using a different method simply found on the back of the bag.  I covered the bottom of a measuring cup with a handful of wolfberries.  Once 8 ounces of water came to a boil, I let it cool slightly and then covered the berries with the water.  This I let sit for 5 minutes and then strained.

Cover bottom of the jar with dried berries

Let the berries sit in the hot water

Gently strain the berries

Wolfberries I explained in a previous post, “Wolfing Down Muffins.”

After these two teas cooled, I added them to a glass spray bottle.  I added 2 drops of each of the essential oils of Thieves (Young Living’s blend), ginger, and lemon.  Adjust these essential oils to taste preference.  For example, I am fond of the antiseptic properties of ginger, but the warm spiciness may be a little much for younger palettes.  I store this spray bottle in the refrigerator so the cool temperature feels even better on sore throats.

*Thieves is Young Living’s trademarked blend of lemon, clove, eucalyptus, cinnamon, and rosemary essential oils.  I love using it daily for overall wellness, but it is great to keep on hand for those more acute times.

I purchased the wolfberries and the essential oils of Thieves, ginger, and lemon through Young Living.