How Singers Could Survive A Cold Prior To A Performance
Every singer has to deal with it sooner or later; you have a performance ahead of you and you feel a cold coming up a few days before.
If you as a singer and you have a sore throat, there are still people who immediately advise you to gargle with saltwater. Don’t do that. Yes, saltwater can slightly dissolve the excess of mucus, but at the same time it irritates the mucous membranes, causing them to produce more mucus, so this medicine is usually worse than the disease.
The best advice you could get is to take keep hydrated. Take in lots of water and lots of bed rest. Clean water can be accessible through filters like the best filter (55 gallon). Or you can just purchase clean bottled water. Don’t whisper either. On the contrary, this places an extra burden on the voice. If talking/singing hurts, don’t talk/sing, or if you really have to, very softly.
Read further below for what you can and what you cannot do to save your singing voice and get well soon.
Best Advice For Singers On A Cold Prior To Coming Performance
1. Gargling with tea from fresh or dried sage (Salvia Officinalis) has a soothing effect (salvia means ointment). Make strong tea, let cool, gargle. Do not drink, because that is quite intense for the stomach. NB: None of what you drink or gurgle comes directly to the throat or voice. That would not be good either.
2. In the event of a cold, the mucous layer on the mucous membranes is disturbed, causing them to dry out, so drink a little more water and/or (herbal) tea. Water moistens the mucous membranes from the inside. Note that this takes around 5 to 6 hours, so start on time! Drinking water just before a performance only moisturizes the oral cavity.
3. Avoid coffee, regular tea, chocolate, and alcohol. This contains substances whose mucous membranes can dry out or swell. Moreover, it costs your body energy to break down those substances and you really need that energy to fight the cold. I drink herbal tea (with fresh or dried thyme, delicious!), Possibly with honey.
4. Eat easily digestible food. Eating fat takes more energy than it yields so stay away from fatty foods and go on a soft diet that’s easy to digest.
5. Thyme softens and cares for the mucous membranes in the oral cavity and, when ingested, also the other mucous membranes, from the inside. There is thyme tea, but also thyme syrup and thyme tincture.
6. Sleep a lot. Take lots of rest. Your body needs to recuperate quick and the only way to allow your immune system to get back to normal is to get lots of rest and sleep.
Resistance enhancing agents such as Echinaforce or Nisylene do not help with a cold. Like a doctor used to say to me, “That’s too late.” Moreover, these types of resources can also have an oppressive effect, so do not use them for too long. It is, of course, best to eat enough healthy food and to ensure that you are in good overall condition. Not to never get a cold, but to ensure that your body quickly gets rid of the cold.
Get well soon and sing!