If you or your family members often suffer from infectious diseases or colds, then you probably know what a sore throat is. Complications in the form of tickling and constant cough are especially unpleasant. But don’t rush to buy expensive medications! It is likely that the usual calendula tincture for the throat will help you: the main thing is to know how to dilute this gargle.
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Treatment of throat with calendula has long been recommended by traditional healers. The remedy is also recognized by official medicine and is often prescribed by doctors as an auxiliary in the complex treatment of diseases of the pharynx.
Indications for use
Calendula is a plant that is grown commercially for medicinal purposes. Flowers are used as medicinal raw materials, which are collected from the beginning of flowering until the onset of autumn. The inflorescences contain:
- tannins;
- alkaloids;
- essential oils;
- organic acids;
- carotenoids;
- flavonoids.
Medicines prepared from this plant have a calming effect on the central nervous system and have a pronounced antibacterial property. The drugs showed the greatest effectiveness in the fight against staphylococcus and streptococcus. Recommended for therapy:
- tonsillitis;
- periodontal disease;
- pharyngitis;
- laryngitis;
- tonsillitis;
- toothache;
- stomatitis;
- gum damage;
- prevention of other infectious diseases.
The drugs help get rid of pathogenic microflora of the oral cavity, purulent ulcers, relieve inflammation and reduce toothache.
It is advisable to use medications to soften and reduce a sore throat, improve expectoration of mucus from the lungs during a cold, and also reduce pain, for example, after tooth extraction or treatment.
Cooking recipes
To make medicines at home, you will need dried calendula flowers. They are collected from the moment the plant begins to flower until the onset of cold weather. Collected flowers must be dried in a dark, dry and well-ventilated place. Finished raw materials are stored in cloth or paper bags for no more than 2 years.
Alcohol infusion
To prepare an alcohol-based product, you will need the following ingredients:
- 3–4 tbsp. – dried flowers;
- 0.5 liters - medical alcohol or high-quality vodka.
Place calendula flowers in a glass jar, add alcohol base and leave for 14 days. To give the product additional healing properties, you can also add 1-2 tbsp. dried chamomile flowers. After aging, the product should be filtered and stored in a dark place at a temperature not exceeding 20 degrees.
Water infusion
This recipe for preparing the drug has the fewest contraindications and is used to treat diseases in both adults and children. You will need the following ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. – dried flowers;
- 1 glass – hot water.
Place calendula in a thermos, add boiling water and leave for about 1 hour. If you don’t have a thermos, you can use a regular glass jar, which is wrapped in a towel. After the specified time, the mixture should be filtered.
The aqueous solution has a short shelf life, so it is not advisable to prepare large quantities of the drug.
The maximum shelf life at which an acceptable amount of useful substances is preserved is 1 day. In this case, it is recommended to keep the medicine in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment.
Calendula juice
This recipe can only be made while collecting the flowers of the plant. The product does not contain an alcohol base and is not subjected to heat treatment, therefore it has virtually no restrictions in use and contains the largest amount of useful substances.
For preparation, you will need freshly picked plant flowers, which should be chopped in any convenient way - you can use a meat grinder or blender. After grinding to a pulp, the mixture is spread on cheesecloth and the juice is squeezed out.
Can it be used by a child? From what age?
It is allowed to use the product for children. However, this is not recommended for children under 3 years of age. Young children do not know how to gargle. Therefore, they may swallow a lot of solution or choke.
When treating children with tincture, you should strictly follow the dosage recommended by the doctor. During the procedure you need to be near the baby. Getting a small amount of solution into the nasopharynx does not pose a threat to the body.
To treat children, you should use an aqueous solution. Alcohol tincture is very dangerous for children.
How to rinse correctly
The therapeutic effect of disease therapy is enhanced if the procedure is carried out following the following recommendations:
- Before rinsing with the drug, it is necessary to carry out pre-procedural cleansing of the oral cavity from accumulated mucus and plaque;
- The remedy should be used warm. A cold solution has the least permeability into the affected tissue, which means the therapeutic effect will be minimal. A hot solution can burn the oral mucosa;
- The product is taken into the mouth in small portions;
- During the procedure, you should tilt your head up. In this position, the medicine penetrates better into hard-to-reach areas;
- As you exhale, you should intensively make the sound “A” - this creates tissue vibration, which also improves the penetration of the medicine to the affected areas;
- One approach can last from 10 to 20 seconds. Afterwards, the drug is spat out - it is not recommended to swallow it.
After rinsing, you should refrain from eating or drinking for an hour. It is also recommended not to smoke or go outside in cold weather. The number of procedures per day can be from 3 to 5 - it all depends on the patient’s condition and the severity of the disease.
Preparing to rinse
The oral cavity is a favorable environment for the development of both beneficial bacteria and pathogenic microflora. Microorganisms, growing to large colonies, form a kind of impenetrable covering layer on the tissues of the oral cavity, which makes it difficult for drugs to reach the affected areas.
Before gargling with calendula tincture, pre-procedural hygienic measures should be taken to remove the layer consisting of living and dead microorganisms, as well as their waste products.
Throat
For full contact of the drug with the mucous membrane of the throat, it is necessary to get rid of accumulated mucus. The easiest way to do this is to pre-rinse with cooled boiled water.
In the absence of severe tissue inflammation, to enhance the cleansing effect, it is recommended to add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water.
Mouth
Before rinsing your mouth with calendula tincture, you should clean your teeth and tongue from accumulated plaque. To do this, you should carry out standard cleaning of the crop with toothpaste.
Attention! While brushing your teeth, many people forget to clean their tongue. However, according to dentists, up to 70% of all dental plaque in the oral cavity accumulates on the tongue.
Pharmacy equivalent
Modern pharmacology offers a wide range of products with calendula extract. The most common drug is alcohol tincture. The medicine is sold in dark glass bottles of different sizes: 25, 40, 50 and 100 ml.
How to breed correctly
Whether it's a pharmaceutical drug or a medicine made at home, the same question often appears online - how to dilute calendula tincture for gargling. Juice, decoction or alcohol-free infusion does not need to be diluted with water - they are used in finished form.
Alcohol tincture must be diluted in cooled boiled water. Otherwise, you can burn the mucous membrane and thereby worsen the patient’s condition. An infusion with an alcohol content of 70% is diluted in the following proportions: 1 tsp. products for 200 ml of water. When diluting a tincture prepared with vodka, take 2 teaspoons per glass.
For each specific disease, the patient’s age, concomitant chronic diseases and other factors, the dose of drugs and the frequency of procedures may vary. Only the attending physician can give precise instructions for use.
Who is the procedure contraindicated for?
Before diluting the drug, you need to familiarize yourself with the main contraindications to its use. The main restrictions include the following:
- intolerance to components;
- age less than 12 years – this applies to alcohol solutions;
- allergy;
- kidney and liver pathologies;
- use of sedatives.
Alcohol tincture is prohibited for use in case of alcoholism, pregnancy and lactation. If negative reactions to the product appear in the form of nausea, rashes, heartburn, you should immediately stop using it.
Contraindications
Restrictions under which it is not recommended to use calendula tinctures include:
- individual intolerance to the ingredients of the product;
- allergic reactions;
- age up to 12 years (restriction applies to solutions containing alcohol);
- liver and kidney diseases;
- It is not recommended to use the drugs in conjunction with the use of sedatives.
Alcohol infusions are contraindicated for alcoholism, pregnant women and women during breastfeeding. If any negative reaction to the drug occurs - nausea, rash, heartburn, etc. – You should stop using it immediately.
Use during pregnancy
Pregnancy is an extremely delicate time. Therefore, the use of medications should be treated with extreme caution. There are also restrictions on the use of tinctures. Pregnant women are prohibited from using products made with the addition of alcohol. When using juices and decoctions, it is important not to swallow the drugs.
Can it be used by nursing mothers?
The same rules apply to the lactation period as to bearing a child. Do not use alcohol products or ingest aqueous solutions - the components can harm the baby if they enter the digestive tract along with breast milk.
Can it be used by children?
There are also two restrictions regarding the use of medications by children:
- Alcohol tinctures are contraindicated before the age of 12;
- Decoctions are not recommended for children under 6 years of age. It is believed that before this age, children cannot rinse their mouth normally. This can have negative consequences.
The use of tinctures and decoctions for purulent formations and other acute infectious pathologies should be agreed with the attending physician. In severe cases, antibiotics may be necessary. In this situation, tinctures can only act as an auxiliary therapy.
How to dilute calendula tincture for the throat
It is strictly forbidden to use alcohol tincture in its pure form! There is a risk of getting a burn to the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and pharynx, which will ultimately lead to increased pain and the spread of the inflammatory process.
Prepare a solution for gargling based on the following calculation: 1 tsp. (5 ml) tincture per glass of water (200 ml). In children under 12 years of age, the mucous membrane of the pharynx is not yet sufficiently developed, so it is necessary to prepare a less strong solution: add only 1/2 tsp to a standard glass of water. alcohol tincture.
For purulent formations in the oropharynx, as well as if the calendula was infused with vodka, you can make a more concentrated solution: 1 dessert spoon (10 ml) per glass of water.
We list the important nuances of how to dilute calendula tincture for the throat:
- use only clean, slightly heated water;
- after mixing, stir the solution thoroughly and very intensively (due to the fact that liquids have different densities, there is a risk of getting burned);
- prepare the solution right before the procedure;
- when treating various diseases, always dilute the tincture in one concentration;
- Before rinsing, drink warm water: this will facilitate deeper penetration of healing substances into the mucous membrane of the throat.
The rinsing procedure itself is recommended for 10 minutes 5-6 times a day. Use only one glass of diluted tincture at a time. After completing treatment, do not eat or drink for 15–20 minutes (this will interfere with the action of the active substances deposited on the mucous membrane of the throat).
Important information!
Rinsing with calendula tincture must be carried out for at least 7 days. This is due to the fact that even after all symptoms disappear, pathogenic organisms may remain in the throat.
