How To Treat a Dry Throat?

A dry throat, also known as xerostomia is not a serious problem but one in four people are suffering from it. It is a common condition more prevalent in women than men and high rates are observed among older people. Often, it is a result of dehydration, any underlying medical conditions or environmental factors leading to irritation, difficulty in swallowing, and discomfort. 

If it persists, it may impact daily activities and indicate significant health problems. This article explores the causes, symptoms, preventive measures, and treatment methods, including home remedies for dry throat.

What are the causes of a Dry Throat?

One may experience dryness in the throat during winters or changes in weather, due to insufficient water intake, consumption of intoxicants, and health problems like sleep apnea or allergies. These causes are categorised as follows: 

1. Environmental Factors

These include weather conditions and irritants that trigger scratch throat.

• Dry air and low humidity: It is found in winter and other circumstances like indoor heating and air conditioning. Here, due to a reduction in moisture levels, dryness in the throat may occur. 
• Pollutants and allergens: Pollutants like dust, smoke, particulate materials, strong chemicals and allergens like pollen may irritate the throat, causing dryness.

2. Lifestyle and behavioural changes 

The consumption of alcohol, smoking and excessive use of caffeinated drinks affect the water amount in the body which is given below.

• Dehydration: Insufficient water intake may lead to less production of saliva causing dehydration.
• Consumption of alcohol and caffeine: These drinks are diuretics and contribute to dehydration.
• Smoking & vaping: Such habits irritate not only the throat but also affect the lungs and reduce moisture levels.

3. Medical conditions

It considers different condition that contributes to dry throat, such as

• Acid reflux: It is also known as Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). The backup of stomach acid into the throat results in irritation and dryness.
• Allergies: Allergens like pollen can cause symptoms like nausea due to which postnasal drip causes throat discomfort.
• Respiratory infections: Usually, infections like sinus, common colds, and flu/influenza contribute to throat irritation.
• Sleep apnea and mouth breathing: Mouth breathing while sleeping despite the nose and sleep apnea are also the causes of dry throat at night.

4. Medicinal side effects 

Some medicines used for treatment also cause dry mouth as a side effect, as mentioned here

• Antihistamines and decongestants: These medicines are used to reduce mucus production which causes dryness.
• Blood pressure medicines: In some instances, they produce post-effects such as dryness in the mouth and throat.
• Antidepressants & diuretics: These drugs develop dry throat due to dehydration as a result of their effects on the body.

What Are the Main Symptoms of a Dry Throat?

A dry throat often caused by the above reason is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• Persistent throat irritation, discomfort, or scratchiness
• Hoarseness or change in voice
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Increase in thirst
• Frequent coughing or throat-clearing

In this medical condition, one should know when to see a doctor for dry throat. If the associated symptoms persist for two weeks or more and consist of throat pain, difficulty in breathing/ swallowing, fever, and swollen lymph nodes, consultation with a doctor is required to get relief from the underlying conditions.

How to Treat Dry Throat?

Symptoms associated with dry throat often are treated at home using home remedies, while medical treatments are also available for it. Despite that persistence of symptoms requires medical help, the available measures for its treatment are mentioned here.

• Home remedies to treat a Dry Throat

Home remedies for dry throat are the primary measures used for the treatment. These are performed using natural ingredients with minimum side effects. Many of the ingredients are antibiotic and anti-inflammatory, which will cure not only throat irritation but also minor infections. One may apply them anytime, particularly when a doctor is not approachable or at night. Some of the effective home remedies are provided here:

1. Gargle with salt water 

Use a mixture of warm water with a half teaspoon of salt to gargle twice or thrice a day for at least 30 seconds before spitting it out. It will help to reduce bacterial infection (if any), inflammation and relieve irritation. If seasonal irritants such as dry air or allergies are one of the reasons, then this remedy works well.

2. Honey and lemon mix

One can consume a spoonful of honey before bed or a mix of honey and lemon in lukewarm water. Honey being antimicrobial will help to clear mucus with lemon. Also, it coats the throat lining and prevents it from irritants or drying agents. If someone has dry mouth problems for a long time, honey and lemon in such cases may increase the risk of developing tooth decay.

3. Use herbal teas

These are the best drinks for dry throat relief and are a concoction of one or more herbs. Herbal teas like chamomile tea is anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and have soothing properties. Ginger aids in reducing irritation due to its anti-inflammatory and antibiotic nature. It has a significant role in increasing saliva production in patients suffering from type II diabetes. In addition, Slippery elm tea enhances the relief effects by coating the throat. These are easy to prepare by adding their sachet in hot water or boiling some pieces in 200 ml of water for 10-15 minutes.

4. Suck on lozenges or hard candies 

Lozenges, particularly those made up of menthol provide cooling effects for dryness. Sugar-free candies can be used to prevent dry mouth. When we suck lozenges or candies, it stimulates the salivary glands, increasing saliva flow. This increased saliva moisturizes the throat with temporary relief from dryness and soothes any discomfort.

5. Stay hydrated 

Hydration is essential to keep the body away from infections. An average person should drink 8–10 glasses or 2-3 litres of water daily to prevent dehydration. It is recommended to drink 3 litres and 2.2 litres of water for men and women respectively. Other fluids such as juices, smoothies or flower teas can also be used for hydration and stay away from dehydrating drinks including caffeine and alcohol or intoxicants.

6. Humidify your surroundings

Try to maintain a 40–60% humidity level indoors or in the surroundings. Use humidifiers at home to keep the air moist and prevent dryness in the throat. Alternatively, an adequate number of plants can be used as they are natural humidifiers. One can also place some warm water or water near a heat source for more moisture in the air. A hot shower or breathing in the steam is another option for humidification or hydration.

7. Avoid Irritants

The pollutants and allergens should be avoided. In such instances, smoke, particulate matter, and allergens like house dust and pollens can irritate the throat and cause dryness. In addition, spicy and acidic foods may worsen dryness. One can correlate this when salty or spicy foods are consumed, plenty of water is drunk without realizing it.

• Medical Treatments for Dry Throat

As discussed above, home remedies offer various benefits, but when they do not provide relief or the condition worsens, one should seek professional aid. Consequently, dryness in the throat can be treated using medicines available over the counter for the short term or as advised by the doctor based on symptoms. Along with this, underlying health conditions like acidity and allergy have to be managed as suggested below.

1. Use Over-the-counter (OTC) Medicines: Hydrating nasal sprays are helpful to reduce nasal dryness, resulting in throat discomfort. However, throat sprays may be used to numb irritation.
2. Treat underlying conditions: Acid reflex, flu, sinus infection or allergies are the medical conditions that should be cured to prevent dryness in the throat. Treatment for such conditions can be

• Acid reflux: Here, the reflux of acid causes irritation in the throat which may result in dryness. So use antacids to prevent it and avoid spicy, fatty, and acidic foods that contribute to dryness.
• Allergies: As stated in the causes, allergies leading to nausea by the postnasal drip cause throat discomfort. Use of antihistamines with saline nasal rinse to get rid of allergens.
• Sinus infections: In these medical conditions, steam therapy loosens the mucus or pots are useful to clean nasal passages.

Treatment measures like home remedies and the use of medications to cure throat dryness come in handy at the initial stages. Consequently, seek medical help if the symptoms persist or are accompanied by other health issues. Under special circumstances, treatment varies from children to elderly individuals or patients with chronic illnesses.

Preventing a Dry Throat

Lifestyle or behavioural changes play an important when a query appears on how to treat a dry throat. This is because of habits like drinking less water, physical inactivity, consumption of intoxicants and lack of cleanliness, chances of throat irritation or dryness increase. The measures to prevent it are far better than curing it afterwards. Here, some preventive steps are provided which could be adopted to avoid dryness in the throat:

• Drink 2-3 litres of water or fluids per day and include hydrating foods like watermelon, cucumbers, and oranges in your diet.
• Use air purifiers or plants to reduce allergens or pollutants and maintain humidity.
• Adopt good hygiene practices: It includes habits like brushing and gargling using alcohol-free mouthwash. Practice breathing exercises and try to breathe through the nose instead of the mouth.
• Behavioural shifts: Reduce caffeine intake, quit smoking and minimise alcohol consumption. One may sleep with an elevated head position to prevent acid reflux issues.

Also Read: Home Remedies for throat infection

Final Thoughts

Dry throat discomfort can occur due to dehydration, lifestyle adjustments, medical conditions or environmental factors. However, home remedies, namely using humidifiers, staying hydrated, and consuming herbal teas, bring relief. Lifestyle or behavioural changes are better courses of action to prevent and cure it early besides home remedies. Thus treatment of dry throat incorporates easy-to-implement remedies, behavioural shifts, body hydration, exercises and addressing underlying conditions. Persistent symptoms require seeking a doctor despite self-care, for medical advice related to accurate diagnosis and care.