<p>Audition tomoro and my D has a sore throat any advice?</p>
<p>Gargle - lightly - with warm salt water. Vocal rest until audition. Soothing tea such as Throat Coat. Steamer - do not use the Menthol that comes with it. If it really hurts to sing, she shouldn’t do it.</p>
<p>May be a tip or two here as well <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/473629-husky-voice-after-cold-how-long-recovery.html?highlight=sore+throat[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/473629-husky-voice-after-cold-how-long-recovery.html?highlight=sore+throat</a></p>
<p>thanks for the link great information.</p>
<p>I’m probably late in suggesting this – Sopranodad819 – your daughter’s audition is very soon. But I thought I’d put it out there anyway. Some of you probably won’t like this idea, but it worked last year for my daughter – it’s called a vocal rescue. My daughter came down with laryngitis last winter, right smack in the middle of her college audition series. I had laryngitis (the kind where you have no voice at all) the week before and it lasted about a week. If her case followed the same course, it would have messed up two sets of auditions. My daughter’s voice teacher advised that we see her otolaryngologist and he advised a regimen of tapered steriods over a course of five days. We took his advice. Within 24 hours my daughter’s voice was back in shape – almost normal and within 48 hours she was singing almost as she would otherwise. I have to tell you – I’m a little scared of steroids so I don’t know if I would advise this course of treatment under other less pressing circumstances. I know that some people are adamently against it under any circumstances. And I don’t know if it works for sore throats. So it will be interesting to hear what other posters have to say. I guess the best advice is to talk to your doctor or a doctor known for his or her ability to safely and effectively treat vocalists.</p>
<p>Try Singers Saving Grace - an herbal spray - available in health food stores. Might be hard to find really fast, but all singers need this in their first aid kits.</p>
<p>Throat Coat tea- doesn’t taste too wonderful, but it does work
Steaming over a pot of boiling water- remove from the stove and drape a towel over her head
NO TALKING- use a dry-erase board or little magnetic writer (my D carries her Dora the Explorer and writes note rather than chattering
Be cautious about spraying anything on vocal cords without her voice teacher’s approval- some people have bad reactions and the throat loses feeling!
Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Something else - - slippery elm lozenges work good. Throat coat has slippery elm in it, but some people, including me, are sensitive to the licorice root. I have traded pharyngitis for diarrhea with Throat Coat tea at full strength. I can handle Throat Coat only when weakly steeped but then the slippery elm is too weak. Ergo, the lozenges. They aren’t sweet lozenges and are not a menthol type thing either. They coat the throat.</p>
<p>Try irrigating the nasal passages. It will clear out the mucous, which might be dripping and causing a sore throat.</p>
<p>[NeilMed</a> Pharmaceuticals, Makers of Sinus Rinse, NasaFlo Netipot, Nasal Irrigation](<a href=“http://www.neilmed.com/]NeilMed”>http://www.neilmed.com/)
You can pick it up at Walgreens, CVS, etc.</p>
<p>Once you start the sinus rinse, you won’t believe how clear your sinuses and nasal passages feel - at least that is the way my daughter and I felt. I prefer the Neti pot and she prefers the squeeze bottle.</p>
<p>Re Netti Pot: Up visiting daughter for senior recital which is later today…She was
terribly stuffed up with hoarse throat…Bought her a netti pot 2 nights ago and she reported yesterday when I saw her that it had done a fabulous job…Have had several friends with allergy problems swear by them…I’m convinced.</p>
<p>My kids are musicians and I have followed CC for 5 years. I also am a community singer with a music degree in my past. Up until 2 years ago, I always was concerned that I could get a bad throat or have sinus issues at any time. For many musical events I had to cancel or did not do my best due to these problems.</p>
<p>Two years ago my allergist strongly recommended the NeilMed nasal rinse. I have been using it religiously twice a day since. I have not had a hint of any sinus or throat issues since I began using it. It is amazing that after 35 years of performing I suddenly have stopped worrying about get sick before a performance. The allergist told me I could reduce to using the product once a day, but it has worked so well I don’t want to change anything. </p>
<p>This appears to be a commercial, but it is not. I tried allergy shots, mega vitamin C, allergy medications. Nothing has come close to being as effective as the sinus rinse. I use the squeeze bottle rather than the Neti Pot.</p>
<p>Another endorsement here:</p>
<p>My daughter (also a singer, but younger, which is why I haven’t discussed her much here!) has had increasingly more debilitating allergies, sinusitis, rhinitis, drippy nose, deep allergic eye circles and sore throat, over the past year to two. She has had a preliminary round of allergy testing, has been on several rounds of antibiotics, a long run on Nasonex, but has also developed immunity to both Claritin and Zyrtec. She sleeps with a humidifier going all winter, gets plenty of sleep, exercise and vitamins, but has still suffered terribly.</p>
<p>Based on the advice here, I bought the Nasal Rinse yesterday morning, and after only a single day of use (two times), she said that she was the least clogged up she had been in a year. I am amazingly hopeful that this natural remedy will do the trick for her, and that I can cancel the upcoming appointment I made three+ months ago (yes, that’s how long we have had to wait for a specialist) for the ENT. I thought we were headed for sinus surgery, or something invasive, which I hear is only successful 50% of the time anyway. </p>
<p>Reading testimonials for nasal rinses on the internet yesterday made me feel like it was nearly a miracle for sufferers. I am so hopeful, and thanks to everyone here for the great advice!</p>
<p>Before going as radical as sinus surgery, also have singers checked for silent reflux disease. It is really common with singers and presents as many of the same symptoms as allergies, especially if you are not getting red and itchy eyes with the allergies. When DD went to an ENT that specialized in singers and others who use their voice professionally, she was diagnosed and it made a big difference. It has to do with the muscles they use for singing and the acid coming up and damaging the vocal cords. some of the symptoms are nasal issues, along with loosing voice. She watches her diet and uses Nexium now.</p>
<p>The Neilmed salt packets are convenient when traveling, but can get expensive for every day use. From my doctors, I’ve used the following:</p>
<p>1 cup of pickling/canning salt
1 table spoon of baking soda</p>
<p>From my various Doctor’s, I’ve seen the amount of baking soda vary from 1 pinch for each rinse to almost a 50/50 mixture (I wonder if that was a typo on his sheet). Some have even suggested mixing up a batch of solution, and using that through out the week. I find that I prefer to keep a batch of the salt mixure, and mix a spoonful with warm water for each rinse.</p>
<p>Pickling/canning salt is preferred because it is free of additives. I also tend to prefer more salt in the solution that the Neilmed packs (about twice their dose). Use whatever is most comfortable to you. Not enough salt, and the water is almost gaging. Too much salt, and it is quite irritating.</p>
<p>There are a few precautions with the sinus rinsing. Do not do it right before you go to bed - there needs to be sufficient time for everything to drain out. Also, do not do it once you are so stuffy that there is pressure - especially in the ears. I have read that some people have developed ear infections when rinsing while the nasal passages are blocked. </p>
<p>A question - do other users here use tap water? Distilled water? Do you boil it? There are so many different opinions on this.</p>
<p>Re: acid reflux and singers…DD says that singers do especially have trouble with the acid…She is taking Protonix…Says you develop some acid pouch in the throat??? Now I’ve never heard of that but she’s at a school that would know…Just wondering if she has misunderstood though? I need to do a little research…anyone else heard of that?</p>
<p>opera-mom: [Vocal</a> Health: Patient Information](<a href=“Page Moved”>Page Moved)</p>
<p>Sensible habits will help this issue, not eating for 3-4 hours before going to bed, sleeping on a slant, avoiding foods which cause discomfort, etc.</p>
<p>I have read that it may be a myth that singing makes one more prone to acid reflux but that the lifestyle of singers may do so. The stereotypical body type for opera singers for many years was overweight. This is one of the main risk factors for acid reflux and losing weight may be the fastest cure. Eating late - as performers do - is also a risk. Now that not being fit is a detriment to the career as an opera singer, we may see less acid reflux. The other factor is that singers notice it more than people who don’t sing. Of course there are other reasons so I’m not suggesting that everyone who has acid reflux is overweight or has poor eating habits.</p>
<p>For the nasal rinse, I use tap water. I drink and do everything else with tap water, and I don’t think I would be as regular with the rinse if I had to process the water. </p>
<p>I rinse the bottle and straw-top very well after each use, and set it out to dry. I change the bottle about every other month. After two years no problem so far with this practice.</p>