A sore throat after crying is caused by a combination of muscle tension, vocal cord strain, and dryness in your throat. The good news is that it’s temporary and responds well to simple remedies you can do right now. Most people feel better within 30 minutes to a few hours with the right approach.
Why Crying Makes Your Throat Hurt
Several things happen at once when you cry hard. First, the muscles in your throat tighten. Your body constricts the throat muscles as part of the stress response, and if you try to hold back tears or suppress sobs, this tension gets even worse. That tight, “lump in the throat” feeling is a real physical response from the muscles around your voice box clenching up.
Second, heavy sobbing dries out your vocal cords. The surface of your vocal folds needs to stay slippery with a thin layer of moisture to vibrate comfortably. Fast, heavy breathing through your mouth during crying strips that moisture away. Thickened or dried-out secretions make it harder for your vocal folds to vibrate normally, which leaves them feeling raw and sore.
Third, your tears actually drain into your throat. Tears flow from the surface of your eye into tiny openings at the inner corners of your eyelids, travel through small canals into a sac beside your nose, and then drain down through a duct into your nasal cavity. From there, that salty fluid can trickle down the back of your throat, adding irritation on top of everything else.
Soothe the Pain With the Right Drink
Rehydrating your throat is the single most helpful thing you can do. Both warm and cold drinks work, so go with whatever feels best. Warm beverages help relax tight throat muscles and improve blood flow to the area. Cold drinks numb the soreness and reduce any mild swelling. You don’t have to pick one or the other.
For warm options, try decaffeinated tea or plain hot water with honey. Honey adds a coating effect that can provide extra relief beyond the warmth alone. Keep it at a gentle, comfortable temperature, not scalding. For cold options, ice water, ice chips, or even a popsicle can feel surprisingly good. The key is getting fluids moving through your throat to restore moisture to those dried-out vocal folds. Sip steadily rather than gulping.
Relax Your Throat Muscles
That tight, constricted feeling won’t go away on its own if your muscles are still locked up from the stress of crying. A few simple exercises can help release the tension directly.
Yawn and sigh. Yawning is one of the best ways to relax the muscles deep in your throat. Take a big yawn on the inhale, then let out a soft sigh as you exhale. If you’re around other people, you can do a smaller version with your lips closed, opening the back of your throat without a full yawn.
Swallow hard. Swallowing firmly on saliva or a sip of water stretches the muscular valve at the back of your throat. This opens up the area where that “lump” feeling tends to sit.
Shoulder shrugs. Shrug your shoulders up toward your ears, hold for a few seconds, then drop them. Repeat five times. Throat tension often extends into the neck and shoulders, and releasing those muscles can loosen everything up.
Abdominal breathing. Sit comfortably and place your hands on your stomach. Blow out sharply like you’re inflating a balloon. Your stomach and hands should move inward while your shoulders and upper chest stay relaxed. This shifts your breathing pattern away from the shallow chest breathing that tightens the throat during crying.
Chewing motion. Pretend you’re chewing a piece of toffee, moving your lips, tongue, and jaw in a smooth circular motion. This relaxes the jaw and tongue, which tend to clench up along with your throat muscles.
Gargling and Over-the-Counter Options
A warm salt water gargle can help if the back of your throat feels raw. Mix about half a teaspoon of salt into a glass of warm water and gargle for 15 to 20 seconds. The evidence for salt water gargles is modest, but many people find it brings comfort, and comfort is the point here. There’s no downside to trying it.
If your throat is genuinely painful rather than just tight, an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen addresses both pain and inflammation. Throat lozenges can also help by stimulating saliva production, which recoats your dried-out throat tissues. Lozenges with a mild numbing agent provide the most noticeable short-term relief.
What to Avoid
Resist the urge to clear your throat repeatedly. It feels instinctive when something feels stuck or scratchy, but throat clearing is harsh on vocal folds that are already irritated. A hard swallow or sip of water accomplishes the same thing without the added friction. Whispering is also harder on your voice than you’d expect. If your voice feels strained, speak softly at your normal pitch rather than dropping to a whisper.
Skip caffeine and alcohol for a bit, since both are dehydrating and will work against the moisture your throat needs to recover. If you’re still feeling emotional, letting yourself cry rather than holding it back actually helps. Suppressing tears keeps those throat muscles clenched, which prolongs the soreness.
How Long It Lasts
A sore throat from crying typically fades within a few hours. The muscle tension resolves as your body comes down from the emotional stress, and rehydrating your throat speeds the process along. If you’ve been crying for a long time or very intensely, the rawness in your vocal cords may linger into the next day, similar to how your voice might feel after yelling at a concert. Rest your voice, keep drinking fluids, and it should resolve on its own.