~Ways to get rid of sore throat? QUICK!~?

It started out as just a cough but then one morning i woke up and felt all this phlegm in the back of my throat. I coughed it up and the main problem I'm having now is I'm unable to take any form of pills - I've tried several times and it always ends up not going down, choking me, or getting stuck in my throat. My husband has a weak immune system so I need to get rid of this b4 he gets infected too =[. Any ideas?