When you lose your voice …
Just over a week ago I lost my voice - and with a diary full of clients I was seeking a quick remedy. What I had been doing was drinking camomile tea, to gargle with soluble aspirin and try to rest, but it was hard when I was trying not to let my clients down.
I got lots of advice; all was really helpful and made a great deal of sense.
I’d been working extensively with a full diary of commitments and an over eagerness to say yes to things, so being forced to stop and slow down has helped me to reflect.
Advice I received included
- To rest the voice with absolutely NO talking for as long as you can manage it (keep completely silent for at least 1-2 days, you can feel your voice starting to get stronger), or if you do have to talk at times make it as minimal or quiet/low as is possible.
- Avoid whispering
- Drink lots of water or camomile tea or hot lemon and honey, possibly with glycerine, or fresh pineapple juice and honey or sage tea
- Breathe steam for 10 minutes (head over a bowl of hot water)
- Take ginger chews from the health food shop
- Take vegetable soup
- Suck Zinc lozenges
- Eat spoonfuls of manuka honey
- Cut a slice of onion (a thick slice right through the middle so you have a round circle), place on a saucer and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Leave to stand so all the juice runs out and then gargle with the juice. I did try this and it wasn’t as bad as it sounds!
- Stay away from dairy food, coffee and alcohol
- Relax – that’s the hard one!, hot bath and a good nights sleep
- Visualise my throat getting better and do deep breathing
- Wear blue around my throat, e.g. turquoise stone or scarf
- Focus on my breathing, to start from the diaphragm not the throat
- Think about the reasons why I don’t want to talk – what am I not saying to someone
Some good notes here: http://www.british-voice-association.com/BVA_VoiceCare_Mar06.pdf
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