Dumb shit

[kitewithfish]

Misguided by youtubers, I decided to try poking my tonsil with a toothbrush to see if that would make it stop being sore and annoyed at me. 
Answer: NOPE HA NOW IT HURTS MORE.
But the whole gargling with salt like I'm following the advice of a witch from Lancre, that actually has worked. 

Oh, that reminds me!

I'm reading Maskerade by Terry Pratchett and it's a freaking delight. I love the witches of Discworld books the most (Moist Von Lipwig is also pretty great, Sam Vimes is his own powerhouse, actually, wait, maybe I just love Terry Pratchett without exception...?) 

Unrelatedly, I forgot my lunch and bought mackerel on rice from the lunch specials at a Japanese place near me and it was *delicious.* Precisely the kind of blue, oily, unrepentantly fishy fish that I adore that my mom would have found utterly gross when I was growing up. 

Also, I made a tiny quiz in another post. 

Comments

[tropicsbear]

Gargling with salt is always my go-to sore throat remedy. Something about the salt drying up the bacteria?

[kitewithfish]

I do wonder if it's a Ph thing, and the salt is upsetting the bacteria the same way salt is used to manage yeast in bread and fermenting things? Maybe it's pulling moisture from the area and making the tissues less homey for the germs?

The Medical Internet TM had some ideas about how it worked, but since it confirmed that it definitely does help (and gargling with vodka does NOT, christ on a bike, folks, what are you doing to yourselves?), I'm fine with there being *some* mystery.

[tropicsbear]

Hmmm now I'm wondering if drinking salty soup or something similar would also help. I've never tried it myself or at least, never consciously drank/ate salty stuff with the explicit purpose of helping a sore throat heal.

[kitewithfish]

I mean, possibly, but I would be surprised if the therapeutically effective levels of salt would be at all palatable in food. I've been told to aim for a seawater-level of saltiness, actually - roughly a half tablespoon of salt dissolved in 8oz of warm water, and I gargle the glass full slowly over the course of several minutes. It's a bit much, and I usually end up rinsing my mouth out with tapwater after. If food were this salty, I would probably end up seeing it again shortly (ew).