<p>Any suggestion on how to handle seasonal allergies and singing? I recall from earlier threads that antihistimes are not suggested.</p>
<p>Although alot of people say antihistimes arent good for your voice, its not worth trying to sing if your allergies are really bad. I have to take them every day and I still havent killed my voice as some would suggest. </p>
<p>Although you could go to an allergiest and get allergy shots, which go once a week for a couple months. That helps immensely and usually your allergy free by the end of the run. It's time consuming but if your really serious about performing and your allergies are that bad then its definatly worth it in my opinion. In fact I even noticed my singing was improved once I had gotten them for awhile.</p>
<p>Chelle, there is some very detailed information regarding this on here, you might try to do a search. I think one of the best things you can do is nasal washing, you can get a Neti-pot at the health food store and some grocery stores, you can see a video of how to use on their website. My son has one and he also has the Neilmed system which we got at the drug store. He learned about all of this from his ENT. Apparently when you use these washes you wash out the allergins and other irritants. By removing the source of the problem you can reduce or eleminate the symptoms. It has worked really well for my son. Sometimes if things are really kicking he will take a Clairiton. For those with extreme allergies a trip to the doctor is in order, of course. Make sure you find a doctor that understands about singing and the drying of the vocal cords caused by anithistimes. Good Luck</p>
<p>Just sos ya know,.. so many of my high schoolers are coming in with wide ranging symptoms, hopefully this is just a phase that will pass!</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. I can feel my own allergies starting up. I have a neti-pot. D tried it once without success. Maybe she will try it again. I don't think her allergies are serious enough for allergy shots. What is the Neilmed system?</p>
<p>My D uses the NeilMed wash and I use the neti pot. They pretty much do the same thing but you can get more force with the NeilMed type. It is a squeeze bottle so you can use more force. The neti pot uses gravity. I thought sinus rinsing sounded like water boarding, but it is really not bad. You don't choke. Your sinuses and nasal passages open like you never knew they could.</p>
<p>An article ran in our city's newspaper yesterday saying this is probably the worst spring for allergies on record, ever. Apparently, at least in our region (Mid Atlantic) something about the weather patterns has caused the trees and grass to release/produce pollen at the same time. People are miserable!! A neti pot is a good idea.</p>
<p>There's no real way to cure allergies, all you can do is treat the symptoms. For the last couple weeks my throat has been not sore, but literally hurting. It feels like I have a cut or a sore in the back of my throat. It doesn't affect my talking nor singing, it just hurts to swallow sometimes. I notice it a lot more on days after I work (I'm a Ghost tourguide so I spend a lot of time outside when I work) so I know it's just allergies. But the best thing you can do for that is cough drops and I have a spray called "Entertainers' Secret" which lubricates your throat. Don't take it unless you don't plan on singing for about 15 minutes or so because before that it makes it sound like you have a bunch of phlegm stuck in your throat and it also feels funny for a while.</p>
<p>Allergy shots are the way to go, but you really should stay on them at a maintenance level year-round. You need to go once or twice a week to build up to maintenance, but then you spread them out. I've been getting an allergy shot once every 5 or 6 weeks for many years and can't do without them.</p>
<p>My MT son was on allergy shots when younger. After a year of college, he decided to be re-tested and to get back on shots. He's very glad he got back on them because he no longer has to take other medicine (like antihistimines) all the time. You do have to work out where to get shots, as these are no longer allowed to be given at home. The school health center gives shots, and we've been able to find a clinic to give the shots during summerstock work.</p>
<p>Still, I highly recommend that you go for allergy testing!</p>