<p>I have my audition for UCLA on Sunday and I am incredibly sick. I am only applying to three reach schools and UCLA is my first choice (mainly because i can afford it). I woke up two days ago with a severe cold, i am congested to the point that i cant breath through my nose and my voice pitch has completely changed. I have a really painful sore throat. I cancelled all of my voice lessons for this week, i stopped dancing to save energy, and i tried every cold cure i could find on the internet. The problem is that i am in rehersals for two shoes right now. One of them is going into tech next week and it is in a huge theater. So projecting all night this week has just made my voice worse, it hurts to talk and...tear...i cant sing. I tried going to dance class today and everything burned (maybe this isnt a cold? im not sure). I know there are a billion threads on here that are for remedies for colds and i already read all of them. So my question is-does anyone know anything i can say to or ask of the admissions department? This is the last weekend of ucla's auditions so i cant reschedule. I emailed/called them asking if i could come down and audition (to let them get an idea of how i would act in my songs) and then send a tape or cd in within the next week (assuming that i get better) but they havent responded. HELP!</p>
<p>I am sorry, I don't have a bit of advice for you except to say how sorry I am for your situtation and to wish you the best of luck trying to work something out and to get better! My heart really goes out to you, hopefully someone else on this site will have some good advice. Sounds like the same cold my older S had earlier this year, a real nasty one.</p>
<p>Try Zicam! Samia recommended it on another thread and swears by it!</p>
<p>I'm so sorry, opranoodlemantra! But NEVER dance when you're sick. You get sicker if you dance. Try what Samia recommended: sleeping!!</p>
<p>Opranoodle, it sounds like you've already done what you can as far as requesting alternatives from admissions, and I hope they are willing to be flexible. Complete bed rest (even if you're not sleeping, but the more sleep the better). You'd be surprised how much your body heals just by being still. Some things we do in our house for very bad colds is stay in bed with door closed, and warm mist vaporizer going all day (it does get warm & steamy) and several times a day use a personal steamer (for a direct blast). Lots of hot tea, hot lemonade and my personal favorite (although I'm not sure anyone else likes it): hot orange juice. Hope you're feeling better soon.</p>
<p>Despite what people say, anythhing with citric acid like lemonade or orange juice is TERRIBLE for your voice. Your vocal chords produce a natural mucus which help to lubricate your vocal chords. Citric acid strips your voice of that natural mucus. So, if anything, drink lots and lots of water. As for having a cold, try these losenges called "FISHERMANS FRIENDS" or something like that. They completely clear the nasal passages because of their strong ingrediants. I hope this helps</p>
<p>oopra - </p>
<p>I have only a few minutes to post but, as you may know, I am a grad student in Voice Therapy (Speech-Language Pathology with a voice focus), and I wanted to let you know 2 things you can do tonight:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Get a personal steamer! There is a long discussion of this (posted by me and others) on the 2 medical voice threads I'll bump for you.</p></li>
<li><p>Any lozenges like Fisherman's Friend that aid in clearing your nasal passages ALSO dry your vocal folds - most contain menthol and that is DEADLY to vocal fold lubrication. So decide which is more prominent based on how you are feeling - congestion problems or swollen vocal folds (trouble making your "normal" sounds indicate this), and choose your treatment accordingly. The steamer should help with BOTH problems. The best lozenges for your THROAT are Halls Fruit Breezers, which have pectin but no menthol.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I will post more extensively later tonight to explain, but it is not true that orange juice strips your vocal folds of natural mucus. The citric acid CAN affect your vocal fold lubrication intracellularly, but that is a metabolic process that takes a bit of time to work, and it can be countered by other factors - so orange juice is not "always" bad! (Again, I'll explain in detail later.) NOTHING actually touches your vocal folds except what you BREATHE in - they are protected from any liquids touching them by your epiglottis. So steam is good - menthol vapors are BAD (for vocal folds, but good for congestion) - DON'T put a menthol pad in your steamer if you get one!!!</p>
<p>Hope this helps somewhat - my fingers are crossed for you!!! I'm bumping the other threads now. :)</p>
<p>Sorry, oopra, I didn't read carefully enough to realize you had already looked at the medical voice threads.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>