bigbillm75

I'm assuming you want 'home cures' and not which bottle of snake-oil to buy from the pharmaceutical companies. Since I'm allergic to a lot of ingredients in OTC meds, I've got a whole mess of homeopathic ideas for ya:

Salt water gargle- it helps kill the germs (and stings less than antibacterial mouthwash.)

Drink warm (not too hot!) chamomile "tea" (not really tea, it's herbal) with some lemon juice and honey in it (soothes with warmth, heals with lemon and honey) or just take a spoonful of honey every few hours mixed with a few drops of real lemon juice. You can mix up a baby food jar of the honey lemon mixture to keep handy for a day and there's no limit on how much you can take because it's just normal food - unless you're diabetic or something. (Before you wonder where to get a baby food jar, just go buy a jar of baby applesauce, lol, it's just finely pureed and has fewer additives- if you eat it the vitamin c in it won't hurt the throat.)

As for the congestion, just drink plenty of water and non-cafeinated/non-alcoholic beverages, it'll help thin out the secretions so they don't pack up in your sinuses. Steamy hot shower can aid with clearing them, as can some really good hot salsa/sauce. What you really want is the capsaicin in the peppers (chili, cayenne, jalapeno, etc), because it is a strong irritant to the mucous membranes, and will stimulate them to produce more quickly flushing out whatever allergen or virus has been blocking you up.

Orange juice has way too much acidity to really benefit a sore throat, best to drink it regularly before you get the sore throat. Try apple juice instead for the C if you feel the need for juice, and keep a few vitamin C and Zinc throat drops on hand in your coat pockets for when you start to get that tickle in your throat that tells you you're in for another round of it.
Get better soon you!