<p>My D is auditioning tonight and has been fighting a cold/allergy. This morning she woke up stuffy. She took claritin and mucinex (as she has done for the past several days). Does anyone have any good advice to clear her up for tonight?</p>
<p>Poor baby! :-(
Euphorbium is a nasal spray you can find in a good health food store. It seems to work when other things don't. Other than that no dairy, hot showers, and a damp cloth (put a damp washcloth in the microwave for 30-45 ")as warm as you can stand it (no burns!) over the sinus area 3 times a day.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you! We'll try it after school today</p>
<p>For those relatively new to this forum - this seemed like a good time to bump up this wonderful thread!</p>
<p>It may be too late to find one for tonight, but I have found that a little personal steam inhaler is a great thing to have. It is much gentler than a bowl of hot water and a towel over your head, which can actually burn. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.comforthouse.com/persteamin.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.comforthouse.com/persteamin.html</a></p>
<p>Vicks makes one as well that you can get at drugstores... although I would suggest using it without the menthol pads, because menthol can end up drying you out too much.</p>
<p>I hope that she is feeling better. Good luck tonight.</p>
<p>Hi, we've been through this a time or two with my d, prior to performances.
First, you can pick up a small steam machine at any drug store or pharmacy. I believe the one we has is from Walgreens, usually used for the face but works great for breathing in the steam to relieve stuffy nasal/throat passageways.</p>
<p>My d swears by Grether's pastilles, which are tough to come by unless you live in a large city which has an old fashioned drug store/apothecary type store. </p>
<p>Call around and see, because sucking on these seem to add much moisture and lubrication over the throat. We never go anywhere without them. If not, you can use sugar free gummy bears which are on the same order.</p>
<p>Lot's of vitamin C will push out the bug and give support to her entire system. Another herb that is terrific for fall/winter colds is called Wood Betony and can be found in health food stores. Take some of this every few hours and it too supports the system to clear the stuffiness faster.</p>
<p>Drink/sip as much hot herbal tea to relieve throat swelling and to alleviate mucous.
Mucinex is great but works best if started a few days beforehand.</p>
<p>Lots of luck!</p>
<p>Another thing I've used to fight a cold is Airborne. It basically boosts up your immune system to help you get over your sickness faster or even to protect you if a bug is going around, like at school or work. Obviously this isn't a quick fix, but useful if the week of an audition you're feeling stuffed up and need to be your best in a few days.</p>
<p>Actually, while airborne is a decent product if you are on the run, there are much better sources of vitmins/minerals than this. Look at the ingredients on back. Primarily, Airborne is vitamin C 1000mg, vitamin A 5000 units and a small amount of Vitamins E,magnesium, zinc and manganese.</p>
<p>It is much more profitable to the immune system to take these vitamins daily to promote immune and vocal health a few weeks prior to auditioning or performances. </p>
<p>Often, during a long-rehearsal period with late nights and less sleep for our kids, their immune systems and vocal health become stressed. It's a great idea to include vitamin C, a green food source with B vitamins and others on a daily basis to help give them a boost, when run down.</p>
<p>Eating healthy, omitting dairy and sugar from the diet and drinking lots of spring water also help.</p>
<p>Thanks! We used the warm compresses, a long walk in the cold fresh air, steam, and a "breathe right strip". This along with the mucinex and advil did the trick. The audition went well. My D felt that she did her best and that is always a good feeling. We won't know if she gets the part or not until Wednesday.</p>