BackStage Utah

Please help me!

My kids keep bringing home all sorts of ailments, and I feel it affecting my throat and vocal chords.

I have a major performance coming up and I really need to be in full voice. �PLEASE post your emergency remedies for ANY respiratory ailments...especially for coughs and throat junk!

Please rush 'em in or I'm DEAD!

-Push water.... loosens phlegm and lubes pipes.

-Warm, salt-water gargles for raw throat.

-Slippery Elm lozenges for soothing and lubrication.

-Doses of zinc, vit-C and Lysine.

-Echinacea and Golden Seal seem to work for many.

-Enough sleep.

-Vocal exercises and warm-ups (keep the instrument flexible and the blood flowing).

-Sell the kids.

Tshep wrote on Feb 6^th, 2008 at 10:51am:


What's your bid? �

All of these are good, but I cannot recommend enough the power of denial.

Okay, I'm going to break out my natural health voodoo for you. 

I had completely lost my voice after having the flu once and I had a day of multiple performances.  So from morning to night I drank warm (not too hot) herbal tea with honey and lemon.  By noon (when my first performance was) my voice was back.  The type of herbs are important:

oregano, ginger, chamomile, thyme, hyssop (just a little) and slippery elm. 

If you want the details of how to make the tea with measurements, etc. you can call or email me.  I like the idea of selling the kids too.  Ebay, baby!   

kastlyn wrote on Feb 8^th, 2008 at 10:13am:


Okay, here you go.

I like to do mine in a tea ball (which you can purchase from The Good Earth) just so there's no straining necessary. �

Uses of each:
oregano-antibiotic
thyme-antibiotic and anti-viral
chamomile and ginger-for colds in general
slippery elm-soothes the membranes in your sinuses and throat
hyssop-expectorant

You can add or take away any of these depending on what your symptoms are.

These measurements are for one to two servings. �You need a large pinch (about a tablespoon) of the following: oregano, thyme, slippery elm, and chamomile.
A small pinch (1/2 to a whole teaspoon) of powdered ginger and hyssop. �The hyssop is a powerful expectorant. �So be careful with it. �And the ginger will make the tea really spicy if you put too much. �(you can use ginger root instead of the powder-one slice-that takes away some of the spicy quality.)

Boil the water first. �Then let the tea mixture steep (covered) for 20 minutes. �Then strain the leaves, etc. out of the tea if you aren't using a tea ball. �Add lemon and honey to taste. �The honey is VERY soothing for your throat. �Enjoy!

Thanks, all!


Now the WHOLE family's down with chest congestion, coughs, you name it. �I just went and spent over $100 on ALL of your suggested remedies for the fam so....here's hoping!


I have 2 weeks to get better!

Anytime.  My pleasure.

1.  Go overboard with all your basic "immunity" vitamins (B6, B12, C, Zinc).   If I feel illness coming on, I take all of them about four times a day (I'm very careful not to reach the limit where vitamins can become dangerous - check for your body/gender/weight/age.) 

2.  Fruit juice.  I like apple juice because it's got tons of vitamin C in it and is not as acidic and therefore harsh on your instrument as orange juice is.  (Although drinking OJ all day can't hurt.)  Apple juice is a natural coat for the throat.

3.  Tea.  You pick the kind.  No caffeine.  I use Throat Coat, but I also like anything that claims to be "soothing," because they usually are.  Chamomile is another favorite.

4.  GET A HUMIDIFIER.  This is the new trick that I learned the last time I started feeling a little hoarse.  Utah's air is so dry.  Please take my advice and spend the extra $25 on a humidifier.  Lock yourself into your bedroom at night and let the dampness begin.  I can't tell you what a difference it made in my performance.  I use it now even if I'm not feeling ill, just to get that extra moisture on my chords.  It really reaches places that water can't reach on its own when you're just drinking it.

5.  Try an antacid.  Sometimes acid reflux can act up without the "normal" symptoms like heartburn and indigestion.  If your eating patterns are irregular (especially eating LATE), chances are that slight occurrences of acid reflux at night are causing acid to drip onto your chords while you are sleeping in ignorant bliss.  That can aggravate an already hoarse voice, and you won't even know it.  Just take an antacid before you go to bed and it can help prevent the problem, and nip it in the bud once it begins.

6.  DO NOT CLEAR YOUR THROAT.  When you have what feels like a frog in your throat and you try to clear it, your body automatically thinks to itself, "Gee, I must be getting sick," and in turn produces mass amounts of mucus to protect all of the vulnerable cells.  This overproduction of mucus and phlegm then gets on your chords and counteracts what the "clearing" of your throat initially intended and then you're back at square one.

7.  When you drink all of your beverages of choice (which, if you're feeling ill, should ONLY be water until all signs of distress have passed), tilt your chin down while swallowing.  This will allow the water to pass more naturally over the vocal chords and help to clear out any gunk.

8.  Last and most definitely not least, you should DOUBLE your water intake.  If you pee clear, you will sing clear.

All of this comes from YEARS of experience of being sick during shows and is advice directly from the best voice instructors and physicians. 

If worse comes to worst, go see an otolaryngologist and ask for a hard line of steroids (not the pills - ask for an IV).  That will ALWAYS do the trick when you're in an emergency situation.