The voice loves moisture! It loves humidifiers, warm steam, gargling and drinking lots of water.
Conversely, it dislikes anything that has a drying effect such as hot air in the house during winter and dry air in hotels. It dislikes dryness so much that the body creates mucus to help up the moisture factor!
What do we normally do to combat mucus? We take Mucinex ™, antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays and start using lemon cough drops, mint tea or the dreaded menthol flavored lozenges!
Guess what? Since all of these are drying agents and the body created mucus because the sinuses or throat or vocal tract was too dry to begin with, the body creates more mucus!!!! It’s a vicious cycle!
Instead of these drying agents. Try room temp water, straight, no additives. Decaffeinated tea (caffeine is a drying agent too! ) without milk, use honey to help soothe the dry tissue and propolis (a by-product of honey production) to help keep germs at bay, instead. Limit your use of alcoholic beverages because alcohol is a dying agent. Say no to the glass of wine before you get up to speak!
When preparing for a show or speech, increase your water intake 3 days before. Drinking water when you are at your event is good for dry mouth but it isn’t going to sustain any lasting effect. Remember, you are drinking it. It’s going down the other pipe! It’s not getting anywhere near your vocal cords.
Speaking or singing is like running, or training for any other high endurance sport. I use running because it’s something most of my clients can relate to. Sure, marathoners drink water along the race route to help replenish fluids they are losing but if they haven’t been hydrating all along, their reserve of water in the system will dry out causing them to crash mid-race no matter how much they drink during the route. The same is true for your all important speaking gig!
Moisture is something that is vital as we age as well. I recently spoke about voice changes during menopause with Dr. Rachel Haviland and Genevieve Kohn for the Reclaim your Health Master Class Series special presentation of Reclaim Your Hormones. Hormonal changes and general aging effect the voice. As our skin needs moisturizer and other body parts tend to need a little more lubrication as we age, so too does the voice need more moisture to remain flexible, vibrant and healthy.
To recap, your voice loves moisture. The best moisturizer for your voice is water.
3 Ways To Use Water to Keep Your Voice Healthy are:
1. Drink 8-10 glasses of pure water a day. Increase 3 days before performance or speaking gig.
2. Use a personal cool air humidifier to add moisture to the air you breath especially in the winter. I have one on my desk next to my computer and another on my nightstand.
3. Inhale warm steam. Be careful with this one. You don’t want it too hot. If the steam feels really hot on your face, it’s too hot! A good daily practice is to inhale the steam through your nose and mouth while in the shower or bath each day. This helps not only the throat but also the sinuses and bronchial tubes to stay moist. Warm steam can bring moisture to places that nasal sprays and neti-pots can’t.
A word about neti-pots. I’m not a fan. That’s a personal thing. I’ve used them on recommendation of my doctor; but I’m not a fan. They are good for keeping the nostrils moist. However, many of my clients assume that the water from the neti-pot will clean out mucus or infection from your deep sinuses is incorrect. I’ve even read this as advice for cleaning out deep sinus congestion on other voice blogs.
The truth is, your sinuses aren’t only by your nose; they are above your eyes, alongside your ears, on the top of your head and even in the back of your head by the base of your skull. The water from the neti-pot will not reach these other areas.
I invite you to join me for the Reclaim Your Health Master Class Series. Click the photo to learn more!
Tune in next week for more Keys to DIY Voice Care!
I’m not comfortable using a neti-pot Kathleen though I do drink tons of water and use steam if my nose and lungs are blocked during bronchitis bouts (luckily rare as I grow older).
Hi Vatsala! I use the steam year round and also air purifiers in my home to cut back on allergens. Nothing works as good as drinking water and the steam for me!
Really interesting. I typically don’t take over the counter medication, but it is super interesting to think about the effect of drugs like mucinex on your voice. I have traditionally heated my house with wood and have noticed that all that dry air definitely makes a difference. thanks for the article!
Thanks Ana! Yes, when I first moved into the house I have now I went from steam heat to forced hot air and it wreaked havoc with my sinuses and my voice. I have the humidifiers going all the time!
I’ve found that natural remedies always work best!
Yes! I totally agree, Barb!
Excellent information Kathleen. I can’t sing – even in the shower! Something about the neti-pot always bothered me, although I know many people who love them. As you say, the sinus sinuses aren’t only by your nose; they are above your eyes, alongside your ears, on the top of your head and even in the back of your head by the base of your skull. This makes sense and is probably why a neti-pot has not worked for me. I rarely get sick and always use natural healing methods. I build my immune system and water is key. Fortunately I went through menopause for 9 months (long ago) with only hot flashes. After talking to many women, I realize how very fortunate I am. Many women have a very challenging time with menopause.
Thank you, Debra! Yes, I was lucky too. I think because I spent so much of my youth being health challenged and learning alternative methods for myself that my awareness and lifestyle made menopause pass without much trouble, as you did. So many women have trouble and are just brushes aside and told to deal with it, that’s never the answer, there may not be ways to stop the symptoms totally but there are ways to empower women as they go through the change.
Thank you Kathleen for this informative blog! I loved your recommendation of increasing your water intake 3 days before speaking. I will keep this in mind for the future. What you said makes so much sense, about the medication and the kick back of mucus/congestion. Most medications work to wipe out a symptom, yet the body is sending us a signal to pay attention to an imbalance and will give us more of that symptom until we find balance. I love putting honey in my morning green tea yet I am a water lover all day.
You’re welcome, Lisa! The increased moisture helps so much and the honey really works for me but you are right, the first thing that needs to happen is for us to listen to what our body is trying to tell us. 🙂 <3