Gargling with Salt Water

Gargling with warm salt water is one of the oldest home remedies for sore throat. It is used to relieve scratchiness and pain during a cold.

Origin

Gargling is a practice known in many countries. Authors of a Japanese study from 2005 state that in Japan, gargling is a daily hygiene activity, and people believe it protects against infections. Salt in warm water is the simplest version, as everyone has it in their kitchen.

Traditionally, a small amount of salt is dissolved in a glass of warm water, gargled, and the solution is spat out. The NHS explains that warm water helps dissolve the salt and clearly states that the solution should not be swallowed. Please read the Safety section before use.

What We Know

Label: Weak evidence. Public health institutions recommend this method as a symptom reliever, but we found no studies specifically examining gargling with salt water for sore throat. Existing studies concern plain water or gargling combined with nasal rinsing and are inconclusive.

What Studies Say

• NHS (website update 2024): Among the methods that help relieve sore throat and shorten its duration, it lists gargling with warm, salty water. This is a practical recommendation, not the result of a specific study.
• CDC on its sore throat page lists gargling with salt water among home remedies to relieve symptoms.
• Satomura et al., Japan, 2005: A randomized study involving 387 healthy adults aged 18–65, conducted in winter 2002/2003 over 60 days. Those gargling with plain water had fewer upper respiratory infections than the control group. The study focused on prevention, not treatment of sore throat, and did not use salt.
• Ramalingam et al., Edinburgh, 2019: A small pilot study (68 participants) during a cold, without blinding. Participants rinsed their noses and gargled with saline solution. In this group, the illness lasted 1.9 days shorter than in the control group. The authors state that a larger study is needed. The effect of gargling alone cannot be isolated from this study.
• The same approach for COVID-19, Pakistan, 2024: A study on 576 individuals found no benefits from nasal and throat gargling with saline solution. The authors concluded that it cannot be recommended in this situation.

Safety

Risks

• The NHS emphasizes that the salty water must be spat out after gargling, not swallowed.
• Gargling alleviates symptoms but does not treat the cause. Sore throat is usually caused by viruses, less often by bacteria, such as streptococci (CDC, NHS). If symptoms do not improve, a doctor's or pharmacist's assessment is needed.

Who Should Not

• Children: The NHS states explicitly that children should not try this method.
• Individuals who have difficulty swallowing or breathing. This is a warning sign, not a situation for home remedies (see below).

Drug Interactions

• The sources we consulted do not describe interactions between gargling with salt water and medications. If you are on regular medication and have concerns, ask your pharmacist.

When to See a Doctor

• Call emergency services immediately if you experience: difficulty breathing, inability to swallow, drooling (which may indicate an inability to swallow), wheezing, high-pitched sounds while breathing, or severe symptoms that rapidly worsen (NHS).
• Urgently: very high fever or feeling hot, cold and chills, signs of dehydration (e.g., less frequent urination, dark urine), weakened immunity, e.g., due to diabetes or chemotherapy (NHS).
• To a doctor or pharmacist: sore throat that does not improve after a week, frequently returns, is accompanied by a lump in the mouth or neck, or mouth sores lasting more than 3 weeks (NHS).
• The CDC adds: blood in saliva or phlegm, rash, swelling and joint pain, dehydration, symptoms that do not improve within a few days or worsen.
• A child under 3 months old with a fever of 38°C or higher requires urgent help (CDC). A child under 5 years old with a sore throat should be referred to a family doctor by the NHS.

Sources

Compiled by the editorial team of informacja.com based on sources. Status as of October 24, 2026. This is not medical advice.