Top Ten Ways to Heal a Sore or Hoarse Throat
A sore or hoarse throat is very common and there are several steps that can be taken to alleviate the problem. Here are ten ways to nurse your throat back to health.
10. Quit Smoking- You can think of your vocal cords as any other part of your body. If you had an open wound on your knee you wouldn’t allow dirt and degree into your wound would you. Your vocal cords are injured and should be treated as any other part of your body. Remember that whatever you breathe moves directly through the vocal folds and affects them accordingly. Smoke of any kind is hot and toxic. It causes burning, drying and irritation which in turn causes the vocal folds to swell making a good singing tone difficult at first and over time impossible for the habitual smoker
9. Tea – Tea is a great remedy for a sore throat. If you want to add additional relief, try adding some honey into your tea. This will coat and sooth the throat.
8. Rest- In this fast paced demanding world it is often hard to rest your vocal cords. You rely on them everyday, which is exactly why you should take good care of them. Try to keep your talk to a minimum, put yourself somewhere where you know you won’t have to talk as much. I must also stress that you should absolutely not be yelling.
7. Menthol? – The first thing that a person wants to do when they have a soar throat is take a cough drop. Most cough drops today contain menthol, what menthol does is numbs the throat. This numbing sensation alleviates pain but only masks the injury. For example, a singer should not allow himself to sing after taking a cough drop. The pain may have been diminished but the throat is still damaged and needs time to heal. They must make sure their throat is healed before putting stress onto the vocal cords once again.
6. Honey and Lemon – Natural honey and lemon cough drops are a much better alternative to menthol. They will coat the throat and alleviate pain without masking the underlying problem.
5. Salt - Salt is a very old remedy that kills bacteria. In the old days they traditionally used salt to preserve meat and fish. Why? Because salt attracts water and attacks the bacteria cell walls, causing the bacteria to dehydrate and self-destruct in the process. If your sore throat is really severe you can use salt as often as every 30 minutes. Use it as soon as you feel the first symptoms of a sore throat and the earlier you use it, the faster you’ll get rid of that sore throat.
4. Throat Sprays- I must stress again, that these types of products only alleviate pain and do not actually promote a greater deal of healing. Again the throat is being masked from pain. This does not mean that it is not a great relief to the throat. It should be used to decrease pain levels, not as a reason to begin yelling again.
3. Sleep- Just as a body builder needs sleep to allow their muscles to properly heal. A singer or someone who has strained the muscles in their throat needs this time as well. The vocal cords are just that, muscles that need to heal after being injured.
2. Keep Hydrated- You should consume 7-9 glasses of water a day and avoid known dietary diuretics such as caffeine and alcohol. Moisture is a necessary lubricant of the vocal folds. When one’s body is dehydrated laryngeal lubrication diminishes and wear takes place at a much greater rate than normal.
1. Diet – At times of extended vocal use avoid large amounts of salt and refined sugar, spicy food such as Mexican, Szechuan Chinese, as well as excessive amounts of food and/or alcohol. One may note hoarseness in the larynx or dryness of the throat after drinking significant amounts of alcohol, caffeinated, as well naturally or artificially sweetened beverages. The body needs water to metabolize these foods and beverages, excessive consumption of these items will reduce the amount of water available to hydrate the voice. Note: The salt recommended up top clearly was not meant to be swallowed, only gargled and spit out.
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