Steph wrote:
> On Thursday I came down with a bad cold, by Sunday I'd totally lost my > voice. I haven't done any singing during that time. > Anyway I went to the doctor yesterday because my throat is killing me and I > have no voice at all. She said I have laryngitis. > My question is, I'd heard that coughing can irritate the vocal folds, and I > am coughing a lot. Nothing is helping much. > Is there a way to stop this so my voice can recover? and also how long is > this going to take to clear? I hate not been able to sing!
The best thing, of course, is to rest your voice as much as you can. You can't help coughing if you need to cough, but you can counteract the effects of coughing by breathing warm steam. Boil a pot of water on a front burner, then turn down the heat slightly (so you don't burn yourself), put a towel over your head, and breathe the nice healthy steam that rises off the water.
Sucking on lozenges can also help. I prefer non-mentholated lozenges, as the menthol can be drying. My favorite these days is slippery elm, which is available in nice lozenges from Thayer's brand. I get them at my local Whole Foods market.
Good luck. Patience is tough but worth the effort.
Naomi Gurt Lind
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