<p>Before an audition, my D swears by regular tea with honey, her portable steamer or a long steamy shower (or just sitting there in the steam) and Grether's Pastilles -- which are a gummy drop that are great for your throat.</p>
<p>Where would she get this Breathe Easy tea and the Entertainers Secret???? She also has reflux and is being treated with Nexium (what a difference!)</p>
<p>I have not seen Entertainers Secret in stores but here is the website. </p>
<p>Entertainer's</a> Secret</p>
<p>Several of our local stores carry Breathe Easy tea. I have bought it at Safeway, Wegmans and at least one local drugstore. I would think Whole Foods carries it.</p>
<p>Coach C, here are the ingredients in Entertainer's Secret. What do you think? </p>
<p>Sodium carboxymethylcellulose, aloe vera gel and glycerin - each a proxy for a naturally secreted type of mucus (globular, strand and sheet) - are blended into a buffered, aqueous hypertonic solution. Unlike some other sore throat remedies, it does NOT contain numbing anesthetics, alcohol, antiseptics, analgesics, antihistamines, decongestants, anti-inflammatory agents or any other "medicinal" ingredient that can produce unwanted side effects. The improved honey-apple flavor imparts a pleasant mellow taste.</p>
<p>My other S likes Entertainer's Secret and he gets it a Whole Foods, I am sure other health stores carry it and you can probably order it off the internet. I don't think my VP/MT S has ever used it, it might make a good stocking stuffer.</p>
<p>Maybe I should change my screen name to Scotch (joke)- seriously, when I picked my screen name, it was at a point in the application/audition process where this parent found it difficult to"breathe easy"!</p>
<p>Oh, well in that case, mine should be "Mom!Relax!"</p>
<p>At the Voice Center where I work, one of my colleagues is actually preparing a paper on the science behind Throat Coat, Entertainer's Secret, and other such "remedies" - so I'll let you know the scoop when it's done! :) Basically, though, remember that ES, TC, honey, etc. soothe your THROAT, not your vocal folds - but many people still love them and swear by them!</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any remedies or over-the-counter medicines that help with de-mucusing the back of your throat? The best I've been able to do is to hack it up, but it's really gross and doesn't work for a long time.</p>
<p>I swear by Organic Throat Coat Lemon Echinacea. It helps build up your immune system and prevents colds...and it has all the same benefits as regular throat coat! Also Ricola Lemon Echinacea drops come in handy!</p>
<p>You should get plain Mucinex (not DM or D) and take as directed and make sure you drink a LOT of water!!! (helps it work best) You need a dumulcent (de-mucus-er :) ) preferably without antihistamine, and guaifenisen is the one - which is what Mucinex is.</p>
<p>So is it possible to get Mucinex without Antihistamine? Doesn't antihistamine dry out the throat or something of the sort?</p>
<p>Yep - plain Mucinex (without the letters) is the non-antihistamine version, and you're right that antihistamine dries everything out. Sorry for being unclear! :)</p>
<p>Methinks we are not alone. I just received an email that this was the MOST emailed NPR story from 2007:</p>
<p>NPR</a> : Got a Runny Nose? Flush It Out!</p>
<p>(apologies if someone sent this earlier in the thread)</p>
<p>Question for Coach C: I recently read an article that said that using a neti pot (for nasal irrigation) is a very good way to treat upper respiratory allergies, with results as good as the use of Zyrtec. Apparently, washing the nasal passages with warm saline is as effective in controlling allergies and sinus yuck as are some antihistamines and decongestants. Is this true, Coach??</p>
<p>My D wants to try the neti pot because she has some residual gunk from her last cold. Any tips from users here on using it. Forcing water up your nose sounds a little like drowning to me. We may also see if all the zinc and Airborne can help keep a cold away. We just returned from spending Christmas with my elderly parents - both of whom had terrible colds and one had laryngitis. If my D doesn't have a cold in a few days, it will truly be a miracle. She has an audition on the 12th and 26th and just got over a mild cold that we thought she had timed perfectly between auditions.</p>
<p>I cannot stress enough how helpful Airborn and Zicam swabs have helped my S and the rest of my family fight off or reduce the severity and length of colds. My S just got over a bad cold, lasted 4 days, he continued to take the Airborn and use the swabs. He has used Neilmed or neti pot for about a year now, makes a huge difference. Some might find the Neilmed system easier to use than the neti pot. Singers/actors have to treat their bodies like an athelete, if you don't feel well you can't perform well. The Neilmed comes with clear instructions, you can see a video for how to use the netipot online at their website.</p>
<p>Thanks - we're hitting the drugstore tomorrow. She doesn't go anywhere without her Zicam swabs, Airborne, Breathe Easy tea and steamer. I guess that's why singers have personal assistants when moms aren't available.</p>
<p>personal assistant! LOL! I always tell my S that he better get rich and famous fast so he can get one, because I want to "retire" now!</p>
<p>D made it through her fall auditions (Oct. through Dec.) on Emergen-C (the berry variety) without a single cold. Her wardrobe involbed quite a few scarves (we live in CA :)) and she carried some Ricola in her bag. She firmly believes in the power of not even "thinking about getting a cold" ... (and so I put Zicam swabs & Echinacea in my bag just in case :)).</p>
<p>Just got home with the NeilMed sinus rinse kit. The drugstore was completely out of all forms of Zicam, very low on Airborne and only had the generic Mucinex, which we get anyway. Word is spreading so maybe I should have put Matrixx stock shares in D's Christmas stocking. I also read that there were lawsuits settled that involved loss of sense of smell after using Zicam - that's scary.</p>