My father-in-law (may he rest in peace), used a very long cu-tip dipped with iodine to coat the back of my husband’s throat when he had a sore throat. Many years ago, I came down with a cold/sore throat and he did the same for me. Although I gagged, it worked!
My father (he was an MD) did the exact same thing many years ago. He saturated the cue tip. It was a pretty standard treatment then and it worked.