How to cure sore throat?

My mom cannot go to sleep because she feels her throat closed. When this happens, coughing occurs as well. She feels it closed around the trachea and every time she breathes in she feels like its being closed or has something in there preventing her from breathing properly. What can this be? This happens every now and its not an ongoing constant problem. She was cooking something after this happeed. Could the fumes be the cause?