<p>All winter been healthy - D of course, woke up yesterday saying her throat felt funny. Today it is sore, with phlegm, and a cough. 8 auditions scheduled at LA Unifieds from this Friday through Tuesday. She doesn't have any sinus congestion - yet. She already sleeps with a humidifier, we are doing lots of liquids, lots of tea, taking Wellness Formula, and she's using the NeilMed Sinus Rinse. Can use advice on following:</p>
<ul>
<li>What else should we be doing? I read all the threads on this site regarding vocal health I read that Mucinex is good to take - should this be taken only before she sings, or should she start now?</li>
</ul>
<p>-Should I call her top schools and ask now about a plan B in case she can't sing this weekend, or deal with it then?</p>
<p>Any and all advice is appreciated. Oh - and I do already have a call into an ENT - hopefully I can get a call back. Wondering if she should go in on Thursday.</p>
<p>First, if the throat problem continues, I would try to reschedule oncampus with her top schools now. We did that years ago with our oldest, but it was earlier in the season. It paid off. We did reschedule a “top school” this year for our youngest already because of sickness, and I believe it was the right thing. Competition is too tough to take a chance. Most schools will try to accommodate you but it gets expensive.</p>
<p>We used mucinex in the day and delsum at night so not too much coughing to disrupt sleep. Also throat coat tea and thayers lozenges ( both slippery elm based), but some don’t like the taste. Finally, for what it’s worth, all four singers in our household of 5 use oil of oregano. Some believe it is a healing remedy for laryngitis. It is dropped under the tongue to go quickly to the bloodstream. We use 3 or 4 drops every few hours. It is quite a dose, but we have never seen it fail. You can research it and make your own decision. It’s available at most health food/natural remedy stores. Some ENT’s will provide a steroid if they see fit. Finally, absolute vocal rest is the safest way to go. And I mean - walking around with a pad of paper and pen in hand. Some will do it, some won’t. Wish you the best!</p>
<p>My D, her friends, and the pros that she knows all swear by Neti pots. I was skeptical, but nasal irrigation actually does work, according WebMD:</p>
<p>Here is what NIH says about Mucinex (Guaifenesin):
Guaifenesin is used to relieve chest congestion . Guaifenesin may help control symptoms but does not treat the cause of symptoms or speed recovery. Guaifenesin is in a class of medications called expectorants. It works by thinning the mucus in the air passages to make it easier to cough up the mucus and clear the airways.</p>
<p>Guaifenesin comes in Robitussin cough syrup in addition to Mucinex pills.</p>
<p>Mucinex is not, in and of itself, a cough supressant, for that, you need Dextromethorphan.</p>
<p>If you use a Neti Pot, the newest recommendation is to use boiled water, or sterile water for irrigation. Tap water may contain bacteria that can be dangerous when entering the sinus cavities.</p>
<p>Also- stay away from dairy products because they produce phlegm! I’d also stay away from acids. Good luck. If you have any Jewish restaurants around- go get some chicken matzo ball soup- it really does help!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone - already doing the Neti Pot - that’s essentially what the sinus rinse is - and I’m boiling that water and then letting it cool to warm. Also - right after I posted this I had remembered the oregano oil thing - and remembered I had some - so we’re on that. I also had made her matzo ball soup this morning and am about to make another round of matzo balls.</p>
<p>Only thing I hadn’t done is the Zicam - just ran out and bought that and some organic apples as I read that was good for the throat as well. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the advice - I think if she’s still sick tomorrow I’ll see about moving the Friday and Saturday auditions and hope she’s better by Sunday. This is so stressful! Trying to not let her see my stress - that might be the hardest thing of all - thanks for letting me vent to all of you!</p>
<p>It may be mentioned in the above threads (I skimmed), but suppressing her cough is essential. Singers (myself included) are wary of any antihistamine/drying substance, BUT avoiding coughing needs to happen, so take the cough suppressant (I like Mucinex-DM) and hydrate and steam like crazy.</p>
<p>And some thoughts on colds and cough. Parents accompanying the kids should also be careful not to have colds and cough. Since we arrived here in Chicago last week Wednesday, I caught colds and caught (mostly likely due to long plane ride and the cold weather). Have been very careful for my D not to catch the virus from me. Has been taking medication and lots of liquid. And with this weather we are not used to - bundle up!</p>
<p>Ok - I did decide to give her the Mucinex - but I didn’t make the decision until about 2:00pm - and it’s 12 hours. Will it keep her up at night? Is it safe to give before she goes to bed if it’s before the 12 hours. I want to make sure she doesn’t cough in her sleep. I’m almost thinking of giving something to help her sleep even though it’ll dry her out - but only tonight - and only because we are still over 2 full days out from an audition. Any advice?</p>
<p>And, yes, trying to not get sick my self. The irony of it all - my husband came home from a 3 week overseas business trip with a bad head cold - and I wouldn’t even let him come in the house - he’s been banished to his brothers until we leave on Thursday!</p>
<p>My D has allergies and asthma, gets cough and throat issues mainly in fall and spring. This past fall we used throat coat tea with honey to help soothe throat before audition for annual school musical.</p>
<p>Gargling with warm salty water is also good…and while gargling use a “quick and dirty” alternative to a neti pot: Pour a little of the warm salty water in the palm of your hand and snort it through your nose. Of course, hands should be washed… but another way of clearing sinuses quickly, so have kleenex handy.</p>
<p>Finally, I make a “garlic hot stuff” that my D loves to clear sinuses and soothe throat: in teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil add 2-3 cloves of chopped raw garlic, ~tsp oregano, ~tsp cayenne pepper and salt. Can’t tell you exact quantities…so just start with small amounts and suit to your taste. Heat for a minute in microwave. Serve as dipping sauce for French bread (we’re in New Orleans) or spoon onto crackers. The spices clear the sinuses and the oil soothes the throat…and I must say is quite delicious.</p>
<p>I made batches of coat throat tea for whole cast nightly before D’s school musical and made the hot garlic stuff before opening night. Whole cast now loves me!!!</p>
<p>Thank you mom2them! My heart goes out to singers with allergies and asthma who routinely have this problem - my question is - do remedies for allergies have the same effect for viruses? I know the over-the-counter remedies are different, so I’m curious if any one knows if the home remedies work for both? </p>
<p>That said, I know none of your ideas will hurt - and will give me something else to do - and the illusion of control! We’ve been alternating between coat throat tea with honey and warm water with honey loquat all day. Your “garlic hot stuff” sounds quite delicious and I know won’t hurt either. I wonder how many more things I can offer her before she moves from “you’re the best mom in the world” to “you’re crazy and driving me nuts!”</p>
<p>HA HA… I know the colds and allergies come from different sources, but i thought these home remedies might alleviate some of her symptoms.</p>
<p>I do know that garlic and oregano have antibiotic properties and were used in “old days” before the proliferation of antiobiotics. </p>
<p>When I’m in my kitchen pulling things out of my cabinet, my D says, “oh no mom what now?”</p>
<p>Over the years, we inevitably have a few sleepless nights of hacking coughs and I try every known remedy to man… </p>
<p>I believe in conventional medicine as well as alternative medicine…I believe you throw “everything” you can at whatever is causing the problem to bring relief ASAP. I use a site called earthclinic that has lots of home and alternative remedies. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, auditions for my D’s school musical were after school in mid-October. Weekend before she was in emergency room for coughing and asthma attack. We put her on usual asthma meds, but I brought her hot throat coat tea right at dismissal, which soothed her throat long enough for her to sing her song and hit high notes without coughing. Teachers said they didn’t know she was still sick. She got role of Audrey in Little Shop, which just finished last weekend! </p>
<p>Best wishes to your D… hope she recuperates quickly and knocks them dead</p>
<p>We followed CoachC’s advice at unifieds two years ago and my daughter was successful in spite of her terrible cold. She had a personal steamer and was using it up until she would enter the auditions.</p>
<p>CoachC - my daughter is doing her best not to cough at all - but she’s asking a good question - how to get the phlegm out of the throat without coughing?</p>
<p>Here’s what we tell people post-vocal fold surgery, where you absolutely SHOULD NOT cough but you have a lot of mucus build up. (This was written by the people at the amazing University of Pittburgh Voice Center, where I used to see patients before I moved to NYC.)</p>
<p>“Absolutely no throat clearing or coughing, except for the silent cough technique: breathe in air and blow it out quickly through your throat without making any sound at all. Immediately following rapid exhalation, tuck your chin down toward your chest and make a strong swallow. This will clear anything in your throat that makes you feel the need to cough or clear your throat. If you find that you are unable to stop coughing, we would strongly encourage you to use over the counter cough suppressants such as Robitussin DM, Robitussin Cough or Delsym, for example. If these medications are still not effective in lessening or getting rid of your cough, call your surgeon as soon as possible. You may need a prescription anti-cough medicine.”</p>
<p>p.s. I’ll be at LA Unifieds and would love to say hi and see how your D is feeling - PM me!</p>