<p>I was diagnosed with acid reflux and allergies to grass and stuff last year, and I currently take medicine for it. But sometimes that just doesn't seem to be enough. I still have to clear my throat a lot, my throat can get sore easily after singing or even for talking too long, and I have a lot of congestion most of the time. I was just wondering if there was something more I should do?</p>
<p>Thanks CC. Looking forward to the new info. I will ditch the menthol drops, it's the voice that's needs help the most, even though she's stuffed up as well.</p>
<p>I have a question about this --it is on mind as my D has big performance this week and I ran into two people who had laryngitis last week, one of whom is in the cast :eek:.</p>
<p>Anyway, back in the dark ages, when my dad was in highschool, he got laryngitis before a big speech event, and the doctor told him to put an aspirin on the back of his tongue and let it dissolve and run down his throat. Apparently it worked enough to get him through it. Coach C--opinion?--would this be a good idea??</p>
<p>I am in the process of compiling the most helpful information from the Voice Therapy conference I just attended and will post that here soon (giving due credit to all info sources, of course) - but I wanted to respond to the aspirin question right away!!!</p>
<p>Aspirin in one of the documented risk factors in vocal fold hemorrhage. Hemorrhage is probably the worst acute vocal injury a singer can incur, because it requires immediate vocal shut-down - NO singing or talking, NONE - whereas nodules and other vocal fold lesions do not always require this. You can find out more info and see a picture of a hemorrhage here:
<a href="http://www.gbmc.org/voice/disorders.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.gbmc.org/voice/disorders.cfm</a></p>
<p>Why aspirin worked for your dad was likely because aspirin reduces swelling, so it may have reduced throat and vocal fold swelling. However, putting it on the back of the tongue to trickle down into the throat didn't really have an effect, except a psychological effect - aspirin works systemtically, meaning the body has to metabolize it before it has an effect. Even if it was more topical, directly infusing the tissues, nothing touches the vocal fold tissues from the exterior except things you inhale and things you swallow "down the wrong pipe." The vocal folds are covered by your epiglottis when you swallow to protect food and liquids from going down into the trachea and lungs. </p>
<p>Even though aspirin reduces swelling, it also acts as an anticoagulant - which is why people take it to thin blood clots and reduce the risk of stroke. But as many people know from this use of aspirin, there is a negative flip side to that effect - it also means you can be inclined to bleed "too easily." When singers or speakers have laryngitis, they often strain to produce voice, increasing the risk of a vocal fold hemorrhage because of the straining they are doing. Aspirin consumption on top of that strain increases the risk of hemorrage even further. </p>
<p>This doesn't mean that one or two aspirin will lead to a hemorrhage - but I'd avoid it if at all possible, taking other analgesics to relieve pain and NOT using aspirin as any kind of laryngitis quick fix.</p>
<p>Hope that helps, and I didn't come off as too stern. :) But vocal hemorrhage is definitely something all singers need to be aware of - and the fact that "pushing through" laryngitis is a BIG risk factor.</p>
<p>P.S. CollegeMom, would it be possible to merge all 4 vocal health threads into one? Then I could post any new info I learn in just one place here. Thanks so much! :)</p>
<p>WOW. Thanks Coach C. Glad I asked!!!!</p>
<p>Hi all, </p>
<p>I have taken Coach C's advice and have merged all four vocal health theads that we have had ongoing on the MT Forum. It is at topic that comes up time and again and so rather than repeat the same advice, it is best to have it all in one place for the next person who is looking (or is unfortunately sick). When I merge threads, however, please be aware that all the posts from all four threads then get put into chronological order. Therefore, they may seem a bit out of sequence when posts from another discussion are interspersed with ones from another thread. </p>
<p>I also want to thank Coach C for her invaluable advice and her willingness to share her expertise in terms of vocal health issues, as well as singing, auditioning, and other areas of this field. We are glad you are here! </p>
<p>CollegeMom</p>
<p>CoachC and others...my daughter had an emergency appendectomy (the day before finals!) and although it was a very short surgery, she did have a tube down her throat the whole time. She spent all of spring break on vocal rest, because her experience with surgery is that it temporarily kills her range if she's not careful. She hasn't fully tested her voice even yet but will probably try next week (she still has to make up her jury, and the standard make-up time is the third Friday of the new quarter...April 13th). Is the healing process to the throat after surgery just a matter of time? Otterbein will give her more time if she needs it, but she's also concerned because she's probably going to have surgery on her wrist this summer. Is the effect of surgery (and the darn tube down her throat) likely to be cumulative?</p>
<p>Mezzomom - So sorry to hear about your D! Intubation/extubation is a tricky, tricky thing - there is not a standard recovery time, but many people DO have problems, sometimes pretty severe ones (since the tube often touches and can damage the vocal folds). I would definitely, 100% recommend that she come to Pittsburgh and see my boss, Dr. Clark Rosen, before the 2nd surgery to talk about these concerns, esp. if she's never had her vocal folds examined. I will PM you my number (but I wanted to answer here b/c it's a great general question).</p>
<p>So I had been sick for a really long time, completely lost my voice at one point, had a sore throat, a wicked cough, which turned into a sinus infection etc. I actually missed my audition at Carnegie Mellon because I couldn't even really produce sound. But after about 4 weeks of being on all different medicines (various antibiotics, steroid inhaler for asthma, allergy medicine etc) I still wasn't getting better. It was about a week before opening night of Beauty and the Beast at my school, and I still didn't have my full vocal range back, so my parents managed to get me a last minute appointment at a local ENT (Ear nose and throat doctor). They discovered I had developed a nodule on my vocal chord and put me on a course of steroid pills and totaly vocal rest for 5 days.</p>
<p>The ENT told me some very interesting things about all my various medications that I thought might be useful to share with everyone. I was taking Advair to help with clearing up my respiratory stuff, but the doctor said that the powder that you inhale can settle out on to your vocal folds and end up making things worse in that area. There is another kind (with something called a spacer) that is supposedly better for the vocal chords.</p>
<p>He also told me not to take my Allegra-D, or anything with a decongestant in it, as this also dries out the vocal chords and can mess things up. I have been taking this allergy medicine for years, and I was really surprised to find out that it could actually be a negative factor!</p>
<p>I just wanted to throw those out there as a potential hazard to us singers that we may never even think about. Also I learned not to ignore something like decreased range after being sick - if the nodules hadn't been discovered and healed, I could have done permanent damage. So listen to your body and your doctor!</p>
<p>Kasl124,
Thank you for the info on the medicines. You may want to explore futher to determine what created the vocal node. The medicine was obviously a contributing factor as was the coughing from the respiratory infection. However, you may want to consult a speech-language pathologist to make sure that you are not over using your voice, and to make sure that you are speaking and singing correctly.</p>
<p>Yes I will definitely do that! I just finished the show I have been working on, so now I can truly focus on getting to the root of the problem/sickness and everything, rather than just getting well enough to get through what I needed to do!</p>
<p>Here's a link to a list of medications that can adversely affect the vocal folds:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncvs.org/ncvs/info/vocol/rx.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.ncvs.org/ncvs/info/vocol/rx.html</a></p>
<p>One that may be on there but which I didn't see right away is Accutane - VERY drying.</p>
<p>And kasl, good luck, and PM me if you need anything! :)</p>
<p>Sometimes, of course, with severe allergies/asthma it is not possible (or wise) to avoid taking prescribed medications (ie: flonase, flovent, advair, decongestants, antihistimines) for maintenance of the condition. What is a singer to do?? Yes; personal steamers, hot drinks, sucking on glycerin lozenges and many other natural and home remedies do serve to make a person more comfortable, but don't do much to control the underlying chronic condition.</p>
<p>Just curious, in your opinion, would using an o/c med such as mucinex help to mitigate the drying effects of such medications? Thanks!</p>
<p>Coach C,</p>
<pre><code> I was always told that post nasal drip causes sore throat and horseness. If this is the case, wouldn't it be wise to try to take a decongestant like sudafed? My D has a cold and is rehearsing every night for Miss Saigon. She canceled her voice lesson on Sunday due to "a tired and horse voice", and has been using the personal steamer, taking lots of vitamin C and zinc. I'll tell her not to take any antihistamin, but what do you think about the Sudafed?? I can't find those fruit breezer things you recommend. Where can I get them?
</code></pre>
<p>You can usually find the fruit breezers by the cough drops, they come in a bag type package, I usually find them in a pharmacy, although I have also found them in the grocery store. The main thing is not to use anything with methol in it. There are some types of drops with just honey and lemon in them. Or you can just suck on gummie(sp?) candies, they are made with glycerine, the same ingredient in the fruit breezers.</p>
<p>Thanks! I'll look today. She was so horse when she left this morning that I told her not to talk. This is like telling her not to breath or sing! She does it in her sleep!</p>
<p>LOL! thats funny! (my S practially sings in his sleep too) :D</p>
<p>That list is great, thank you CoachC! It was right on.. a couple of the medicines I was on said they increased the risk of nodule development, which is exactly what happened! So that is a great resource for singers with allergies and asthma (such as myself)!</p>
<p>How can you tell the difference between a vocal problem such as nodes and vocal problems caused by something like allergies?
LAtely my voice has been somewhat raspy and my voice teacher commetned on it today. He told me I should go to an ENT just to be sure. My mom talked to my cousin who is a doctor and works closely with a speech pathologist and he said to go on vocal rest for a week or so and go and see my regular doctor to rule out allergies or cold-related issues.
Should I go see the speech pathologist and get checked out just to be on the safe side(I know the speech pathologist can't do the procedures but he is associated with a hospital/ENT that can)?</p>
<p>Typecastme22,
I am a speech pathologist (although voice is not my specialty) and I recommend that you see an ENT. I also recommend that whenever your voice is hoarse or raspy that you rest it as much as possible. A speech pathologist will need a doctor to diagnose a vocal problem (nodes, etc) before treatment can begin. The doctor will also guide you on treatment of allergies,etc. CoachC may have more up-to-date advice as I believe that she is also a vocal coach and is probably more current with the latest voice information than I am (I learn a lot from her posts).</p>