How to soothe a sore throat?

I'm catching my mother's cold and my throat is so sore. It will be a painful one, I can tell. What's the best thing for a sore throat? All I have is cold medicine.

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Answer:
cold medicine often has codeine or ibuprofen which works as a pain reliever, but sore throats are in essence superficial so the best cold tablet will do is take the edge off and repress your cough reflex so no more damage is done. what works for me is a tsp of lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp honey in a mug of boiling water. Its like a herbal tea but the lemon is an antibacterial and the honey coats your throat. it works really well for me!