Cold Remedies

Getting sick is the worst thing that can happen for a singer. If I didn't use my voice for my "job" it would be so easy to just let a cold run its course. When I get sick, I pull every trick out of the book to get better as fast as possible. Most recently there was a dry cough going around New York City. There were no other symptoms except for a cough. Well I caught it, and coughing is very rough on the vocal cords so I quickly lost my voice. Plan of attack? Tea with honey, personal steamer, mucinex, emergen-c packets, LOTS of water, plenty of sleep, vocal rest (no talking especially on the cell phone), no whispering, zinc lozenges (no lozenges with menthol as that dries me out even more), no dairy or citrus or alcohol...I started doing easy vocal warmups and I got my voice back within a couple of days. I was singing again even though the cough was hanging around! I also placed my voice very forward so it was more nasal and took all pressure off of my throat; plus, I was very careful about singing properly from my diaphragm.

I have had to sing shows where I had no voice at all in the morning but somehow these steps and probably a lot of adrenaline has gotten me through :)

TIP OF THE DAY
Do you have any other home remedies that work for you? I'd love to hear about them!