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If you have an ache in your neck, you may wonder, “Does CBD oil help with a sore throat.” Sure, there are plenty of medications out there to help treat sore throats, but for one reason or another, they might not be right for you. Furthermore, CBD is an all-natural substance that has shown promise for a variety of ailments.
CBD is being researched more and more as the years go on, and so far, there are dozens of potential benefits it may have. One of these benefits has to do with that sore throat. Yes, CBD may indeed be able to help you with a sore throat.
Before we talk about exactly how CBD may help your sore throat, we first need to figure out what causes sore throats in the first place. We then need to figure out what properties CBD has and how these properties relate to treating your sore throat. Let’s get to it and figure out whether or not CBD is your best option for treating that painfully sore throat.
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Key Takeaways
- Sore throats are very common and may be caused by viral infections, bacterial infections, or smoke and irritants.
- CBD oil may act as a painkiller, an anti-inflammatory, an antibacterial, and more.
- Seeing as the potential benefits of CBD appear to be directly related to the main causes of sore throats, it serves to reason that CBD may very well be able to treat most of the underlying causes of sore throats—or at least to take away the pain.
Does CBD Oil Help with a Sore Throat?
Yes, this is entirely possible. CBD has shown antibacterial properties. It may reduce inflammation, pain, affect your immune system, and much more.
Depending on what exactly caused your sore throat in the first place, any one of these CBD benefits may be the solution. CBD oil has many properties that may directly combat the original cause of your sore throat.
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What Causes a Sore Throat?
Bacterial Infections
There are a variety of bacteria that can cause sore throats. The streptococcus bacteria, otherwise known as strep throat, is one of the biggest culprits here. There are also other bacterial infections, which may also result in sore throats.
Seasonal Viral Infections
Yet another one of the most common causes of sore throats is the viral infection. If you’ve ever had the flu, influenza, common cold, or even COVID-19, you’ll know what we’re talking about here. Sore throats are one of the most common symptoms of viral infections across the board.
Allergies
The next common cause of sore throats is allergies. This is generally common with seasonal allergies caused by natural irritants such as pollen, which result in throat irritation, sneezing, runny noses, sore throats, and coughing. For the most part, reactionary allergies, such as those towards various foods, usually don’t cause sore throats.
Dryness
General dryness, such as if you live in a very dry climate, may also cause sore throats. Simply put, your throat may just not have enough lubrication and is way too dried out.
Smoke And Other Irritants
There are also plenty of other irritants out there, such as pollutants, chemicals, dry air, smoke, and more, which can all cause sore throats. It’s pretty ironic to think that smoking a strain of CBD flower may benefit your sore throat despite the original reason being smoke and similar irritants.
How Does CBD Work To Help With Sore Throat?
Now that you know what causes sore throats, let’s look at how CBD may be able to help relieve your symptoms.
Antibacterial Properties
CBD may very well have antibacterial properties, which means that it might be able to kill bacteria. Lozenges and oils that are consumed orally may be especially effective at killing various bacteria that are causing your sore throat.
Reduces Inflammation
CBD is also shown to be an anti-inflammatory agent. In simplest terms, it reduces something known as proinflammatory cytokines. This has to do with your immune response.
When your body notices some kind of pathogen or invader, it often creates and releases these proinflammatory cytokines, therefore causing inflammation to occur, which is a general defense mechanism from your body.
That inflammation could be in the form of a sore throat. By reducing the number of proinflammatory cytokines, CBD may also be able to help reduce inflammation and improve your sore throat.
Relieves Pain
Even if we were to assume that CBD does not help actually relieve your sore throat, it might still be able to help relieve the symptoms, or in other words, the pain. Sore throats can be extremely painful, and they make it hard to even swallow food or breathe.
CBD may act as an analgesic agent, which means that it could be a painkiller. It blocks pain signals from getting to your brain from your nerves. So, even if you still technically have an inflamed throat, at least it won’t hurt as much.
Creates Homeostasis in Immune System
In case you didn’t know, homeostasis in the immune system refers to the finely and delicately regulated balance of immune activation and suppression in your organs and tissues. Homeostasis means that your immune system is not under-reacting or overreacting. CBD may be able to help achieve better homeostasis in your immune system.
What Are the Limitations of Treating a Sore Throat with CBD Oil?
One of the biggest limitations here is that there are potentially dozens, if not hundreds, of causes of sore throats. Seeing as there are so many possible causes of this issue, there are theoretically also just as many solutions, and CBD can’t possibly be the solution to all of them.
There is a reason why many conditions call for specific drugs and medications, and although CBD does have many potential benefits, it can’t possibly treat every cause of a sore throat. CBD products just aren’t designed to treat any one specific medical condition.
Furthermore, although CBD does show great potential on this front, and there are many indications that it actually works to treat sore throats, this has not been confirmed 100% beyond doubt.
Further research is required to see how CBD affects sore throats. It’s not actually a medication, and in spite of the medical benefits it claims to have, further studies are required to produce solid evidence.
How Much CBD Oil Should You Take for a Sore Throat?
Since there hasn’t been enough research performed on this front, there are also aren’t any official recommendations. However, if you have a very sore throat, it serves to reason that a high dose of CBD is called for.
Remember that oil usually works best as it coats your throat. While CBD capsules may have benefits, they aren’t the best for sore throats. Special CBD cough drops can work too.
What it really comes down to is what works for you. If you find that you need several 100 milligrams of CBD oil to help treat your sore throat, then that’s what you should take. If you need more info, check out this piece on how to use CBD oil.
How Do You Choose Which Oil is Right for You?
The other thing worth noting here is that there are technically three different kinds of CBD oil, and these include full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate. These are all slightly different, so let’s take a look.
Full-Spectrum
First, we have full-spectrum CBD oil. This type of CBD oil features all of the extracts contained in the cannabis plant. In other words, here you get CBD, other cannabinoids, and yes, a little bit of THC as well. The simple reality is that various cannabinoids can have various benefits for you. For instance, ones like CBG, CBN, and CBC can all have common and relaxing effects.
That said, you might not want to take full-spectrum oil specifically because of the THC. Perhaps you either don’t want to feel any psychoactive effect at all, or maybe because you have to undergo regular drug screening tests. However, this type of CBD oil likely has the biggest benefits because it contains the most types of cannabinoids.
Broad-Spectrum
We then have broad-spectrum CBD oil, which is very similar to full-spectrum CBD oil. The only real difference here is that full-spectrum CBD oil has THC, whereas broad-spectrum does not.
However, broad-spectrum CBD oil does still contain other compounds such as terpenes.
Therefore, if you want to get benefits from the entourage effect, from different cannabinoids working together with each other, but you don’t want any THC, then broad-spectrum CBD oil is right for you.
CBD Isolate
We then have CBD isolate, which is virtually 100% pure CBD. It does not contain any other cannabinoids or terpenes. Therefore, if you want just the benefits of CBD and nothing else at all, then this is the best option for you.
Does CBD Oil Help With a Sore Throat Final Takeaway
Yes, more research should be conducted on this front. However, all signs point towards the fact that CBD may very well be able to help relieve your sore throat, and that’s the case even if your sore throat is caused by many different factors.
Where to Buy CBD Oil Online
If you want to buy some CBD oil online, there are some great sources. For instance, Green Roads has a fantastic broad-spectrum CBD Oil for you to look at.
Another great brand to consider is EVN CBD, which also has a great CBD Tincture worth looking at.
Hearst Newspapers participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn a commission when you purchase products featured here. Please consult your doctor before starting any new supplement to see it is right for you.