PREVENTION

The best solution for a sore throat is to not get one.  There are two causes for sore throat: vocal cord abuse, and viruses.  So to avoid sore throats, you should not abuse your vocal cords, and you should keep your immune system healthy.

DON'T ABUSE YOUR VOCAL CORDS

If you have strained your voice by singing high notes, the problem is your singing technique.  Take some vocal lessons and ask your teacher to focus on how to sing without strain. If you continue to sing with strain, you can do permanent damage.

If you have strained your voice by yelling and screaming at a ball game or similar activity, never do that again!  Irv did permanent damage to his vocal cords for five years while his son was a cheerleader at USU and he got free tickets to the basketball games.  The seats were right next to the student section, and the Spectrum is one of the loudest home courts in the country.  Along with everyone else, I had a great time screaming my guts out. I would have a little hoarseness the next day but my speaking voice seemed to return fairly quickly, so I didn't think anything of it.  During those years my singing voice went downhill, but I attributed it to aging.  I didn't even make the connection until years later.  Don't be stupid like I was!  Go to the game, and lip sync.  Pretend you're yelling.  No one but you will ever know the difference.  Besides, nobody ever lost a ball game because a few singers at the game didn't yell.

KEEP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM HEALTHY

All singers need to keep their immune systems strong.  There is a lot of literature on how to do this.  I encourage you to Google "how to strengthen your immune system against viruses" and do some research.

Here are a few things that seem to be included on most web sites that discuss that topic:

• Drink plenty of fluids
• Include plenty of healthy foods in a well balanced diet, and avoid junk food and fast food
• Take a multivitamin that includes Vitamins A, C, D, E, selenium, and zinc daily (and I personally recommend an additional 1000mg of Vitamin C daily)
• Exercise regularly
• Limit and manage stress (get professional help if you need it!)
• Get plenty of sleep
  

On that last point, I have personally done some research on sleep.  Did you know that nearly all American teenagers in this generation are sleep deprived and need FAR more sleep than they are getting?  According the the National Sleep Foundation, for optimum health and performance, teenagers ages 14-17 need 8-10 hours per night.  Adults ages 18-64 need 7-9 hours.  Note that these ranges don't mean that if you are a teenager and are getting 8 hours per night, you are getting enough sleep.  The ranges mean that some teenagers need 8, some need 9, and some need 10 hours every night.  You have to experiment in order to determine what's healthiest for you.  If you are having trouble controlling your emotions, feeling angry or insecure, or you can't focus, or you are tired all the time, or you seem to get sick frequently, or you are losing your interest in practicing your music, try going to bed an hour earlier, at the same time every night, for a week straight.  And leave your cell phone in another room on the other end of the house.  You might be surprised at the improvement not only in your voice but also your physical and mental health.

RECOVERY

If you catch a cold, studies have shown that taking zinc products (such as Zicam, Cold-Eeze, or just generic zinc tablets) can shorten the length of the cold if they are taken early, when you first notice symptoms.  Also, if you are not already taking a high dose (1000mg) of Vitamin C daily, then taking one immediately when cold symptoms start may also help reduce the severity of the cold.

When you have a sore throat or laryngitis, no matter the cause, the following steps will help with a speedy recovery.  They will also help prevent damage to your vocal cords during the sickness:

• Drink lots of water.
• Rest your voice.  Your vocal cords are swollen and inflamed, and the more you use them the more inflamed they will become.  Use your voice as little as possible.  Whispering is fine if you actually whisper -- meaning you do not use your vocal cords at all.  But so-called “whispering” where you make soft sounds with your vocal cords is not okay; in fact, it is worse than normal talking.
• Excessive coughing is hard on the vocal cords.  If you have a dry cough and/or you are coughing up small amounts of thick phlegm/mucous, take a cough medicine containing dextromethotphan and guaifenesin (dextromethotphan limits coughing and guaifenesin loosens phlegm to make coughs more productive).  However, if you are coughing up lots of thin phlegm/mucous, do NOT use guaifenesin!  It will make things worse!  Instead, find a cough medicine containing dextromethotphan alone.  If dextromethotphan is not strong enough to stop unwanted coughing and you are not getting enough sleep, ask your doctor for a prescription for benzonatate.  It is absolutely amazing at eliminating the urge to cough.
  
• Post nasal drip is also hard on the vocal cords, so take an oral decongestant to dry up your sinuses.  The best decongestant (by far; nothing else even comes close!) is pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.  Unfortunately, it has been removed from all OTC cold remedies and is no longer available on the shelf in the "cough and cold" section of your drug store.  Not because it's unsafe, but rather because it is one of the ingredients used to make the illegal drug "meth".  It is important to know that you can still get it and you don't need a prescription to get it.  Just ask your pharmacist for it.  They will ask for your ID and keep track of how much you buy and how frequently you buy it, but there's no problem getting it for legitimate use when you catch a cold!  Be sure to get the white 12 hour tablets, which are far more convenient than the red 4 hour tablets.  Also use fluticasone propionate nasal spray to reduce inflammation of the sinuses.  The combination of these two things works wonders.
  
• Avoid mucous producing foods, including dairy products, chocolate, and artificial sweeteners.
• Gargle with warm salt water or Listerine.
• Before bed, bend over a pot of boiling water with a towel over your head and deeply breathe in the steam through your nose for a few minutes, or take an extra-hot extra-long shower and breathe deeply.
• Humidify your home, especially while sleeping.
• In wintertime, do not turn down the thermostat during the night.  Keep the temperature at 72 degrees or more.  This reduces stress on the sinuses.
  
• Some people say to sip warm water with lemon and honey in it, and that’s fine, but here’s the real deal: sip on herbal teas that include licorice root and slippery elm bark.  The best are Throat Coat by Traditional Medicinals, and Throat Comfort by Yogi.  Every singer should have one or both of these two herbal teas on hand (see below for details).  They are amazing.
  

PERFORMING

If you have a performance and still aren't 100% recovered from a sore throat, on the day of the performance you should do everything in the "recovery" list above except you should avoid oral decongestants because they dry up the vocal cords.  Instead, use a decongestant nose spray, and try not to suck it up past your nasal cavity into your larynx. 

Use the herbal tea several times throughout the day including on the way to the performance or while setting up.

Before the performance, do a short warm up using a straw (see vocal warmup page).  And just before you perform, take two squirts of Vocal Eze spray see below for details).  Open your mouth, and slowly inhale while spraying to get the spray onto the vocal cords.

During the performance I do not sip on the tea.  It seems to do more harm than good after the performance starts.  But I have found that a Throat Coat or Wederspoon or Vocal Eze lozenge/drop in my cheek helps if the performance is more than a few songs long.

PRODUCTS

Here are some products that can do wonders for your voice, not only when you are sick but also for every performance.  These products have long been used by professional vocalists, but are mostly unknown to others.

HERBAL TEAS

Every singer should have one or both of these two herbal teas on hand.  These products are amazing.  Since I discovered them, I have sung at a number of gigs when I had laryngitis and could hardly speak.  In the past I would not have been able to sing at all, but with these products I have been able to sing at about 70-80% of normal.  Even when I don't have a sore throat I usually sip on one or the other of these teas before every gig.  They especially help if you your voice is tired.  Both of them have licorice root, slippery elm bark, wild cherry bark, cinnamon bark, and orange peel, which are the most important herbs for the throat.  Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat (below left) also has marshmallow root and bitter fennel fruit.  Yogi Throat Comfort (below right) also has fennel seed, cardamom pod, ginger root, mullein leaf, clove bud, and black pepper.  They don't necessarily taste great, but they taste better than most herbal teas.  If you don't like the taste, use them anyway.  Add some honey if that helps.

       

LOZENGES/DROPS

There are several lozenge drops that I have personally found to be excellent. 

Throat Coat Lemon Ginger Echniacia Pectin Throat Drops (below) are reasonably priced and work well at relieving inflammation of the mucous membranes in the throat by forming a protective film.  Made in Switzerland.

Wedderspoon's Manuka Honey Ginger Drops (below) are more expensive.  They have manuka honey which is an antibacterial and helps with healing wounds; ginger which helps with inflammation; and echinacea which helps your immune system.  Some professional singers swear by them.  Made in New Zealand. 

• Strawberry with Menthol (below);
• Lemon with Menthol;
• Black Licorice with Aniseed
  

The highest rated seem to be the Black Licorice with Aniseed and the Strawberry with Menthol.  Made in the USA.

Grether’s Pastilles for Throat and Voice (below) is a hard-gummy type drop specially formulated for when you have a tired or hoarse voice.  It has glycerin which calms and soothes strained vocal cords.  It is moisture retaining and creates a film to protect strained vocal cords and mucous membranes.  The blackcurrent soothes irritated throats and is high in vitamin C and carotene.  I haven't personally found this product to be as effective as the others, but some professional singers swear by them.  Made in Switzerland. 

If you have a really sore throat, one final product that I recommend and that receives positive reviews is Gelo Revoice (below).  For a long time it was not available in the USA, but it is finally available on Amazon, and I recently bought some.  It is super expensive, so I only use it when I have a sore throat I'm trying to get over but I still have to use my voice.  It dissolves into foam that coats and comforts the throat better than any other product, and it seems to last a long time.  Made in Germany.

SUPPLEMENTS

Bromelain is an enzyme from pineapple that is great for reducing inflammation and swelling.  It is offered by various health supplement manufacturers.  Some have an enteric coating, which means slow release.  That's great for normal use, but if you're headed to a gig you may want one without the coating to give you quicker results.  Search "Bromelain" on Chrome and click on the "shopping" tab at the top of the page and you'll find several brands that offer 120 capsules with 850-1500mg each for around $15.


SPRAYS
I have tried all of the vocal sprays on the market.  Some tasted good, some bad.  Some helped my voice, some didn't help at all, and one almost choked me and made it so I couldn't sing at all.  There is one clear winner: VOCAL EZE Natural Throat Spray (below).  Don't hesitate on this one, just buy it.  It is 100% natural, with no chemicals or artificial anything.  It has echinacea root, marshmallow root, aloe vera, honey, osha root, propolis, ginger root, and of course licorice root.  Unlike some throat sprays, this one is okay to slowly inhale while spraying it into your throat, so it actually goes onto the vocal cords and folds.  It really works!  It may seem expensive for such a small bottle, but if you only use it at gigs, one bottle will last a long time.  I use this as my "secret weapon" even when I don't have a sore throat.  Made in the USA.


CANDY

Pure licorice is a secret of Broadway singers.  When they need some blood sugar in a hurry, or when their voices are tired between acts, rather than drinking pop or eating candy, they suck on pure real licorice candy.  Not Red Vines or Twizzlers!  REAL licorice, made with the root of the licorice plant.  I recommend Panda All Natural Soft Licorice (below).  The only ingredients are molasses, wheat flour, licorice extract, and aniseed oil.  Even if you don't like "black licorice", try sucking on one of these.  It is a very different flavor from common artificial black licorice candy!  I think they taste great!  I take these to every gig that is an hour long or more.  I bought four bags on Ebay years ago, and I still have two bags left, because I ONLY use them for gigs.  Made in Finland.