By Catherine FranzCoaches rely heavily on their voice to service clients. If you also give teleclasses or workshops, voice maintenance needs to be one of their top self-care priorities. This information also applies to singers, speakers, or sales professionals.
During flu and cold season, vocal cords become highly sensitized and need as much care as a valuable instrument. Think of your voice, and we should, as an expensive, rare violin. If you were going to play
violin next day -- same relation as having a speaking engagement or a full day of coaching -- you wouldn't expose that violin to a night in a smoke filled room, lay cigars or pour alcohol all over it and expect it not to suffer from abuse next day.
Antibiotics don't help viral infections or laryngitis -- a common result from a viral infection caused from a cold or flu. Recently, I suffered got flu and suffered from a severe case of laryngitis. I had to cancel a teleclass, lose a week of work, and almost a paid speaking engagement. The more I self-treated through media knowledge or recommendations, worse laryngitis got.
It took over 20 days before I improved and then two weeks later, it returned. After great frustration, I finally visited my ear, nose, and throat specialist, only to learn that everything I was trying was actually contributing extended suffering. Let me pass along some of my learning so you don't need to go through this. Like me, some of it will surprise you.
Food and Beverages
Warm or hot beverages work best. Cold beverages with ice produces voice center to spasm generating coughing that results in laryngitis. Stick to drinking room temperature water.
Black Currant Pastilles, which are glycerin-containing lozenges for adults, keeps throat moist. Pastilles are perfect to take before, during, and after flying or traveling from one temperature extreme to another, say New York to Florida in winter. It is good to have these on hand since they are difficult to find. Many professional singers use Black Currant Pastilles 24 hours before their performance.
Avoid anything with mint or menthol.
Throat Coat® Tea, designed specifically for voice professionals, is rated higher than Pastilles. The tea contains licorice root, which is widely used to enhance throat and upper respiratory tract health. Any beverage that affects your stomachs acid level, like caffeine, will also affect your vocal cords. Caffeine is a mild diuretic and dries throat and vocal cords. Coffee, including decaf, due to its natural oils causes acidic results that cause vocal damage. This includes chocolate. If you suffer from acid reflux disease, you need to take extra care of your voice since it cause permanent damage. Sodas also cause acid reflux and damages vocal cords.
With a cold or flu, we usually drink orange juice. This acidic beverage actually lengthens laryngitis. So does amount of lemon you use in water. A tiny bit of lemon in warm water with a small amount of honey is a great elixir that actually smoothes vocal cords.
Dairy increases throat mucus for some people. If after you drink milk, you feel even a little mucus in your throat, you probably have a very mild milk allergy. This will affect your vocal health and can length laryngitis. Nuts have same allergy affect.
Common Causes of Voice Strain
It’s common knowledge that shouting, screaming, and excessive talking strains voice cords. But, did you know that whispering, coughing, loud sneezing, crying, laughing, and throat clearing could do same damage?
