Sore Throat Help

[1015elvis]

So I'm having issues singing and my strong suspicion is that I have a vocal nodule in my throat. Does anyone have any tips to combat it?

[Jaime1234]

Honey and two eggs do it. In late 1967, at age 17, I was faced with exactly what you are feeling and the maid of a member of a band I then fronted told me to gobble enough honey and two eggs, all AT ONCE. An hour and a half later, we entered the theater, then were told to hit the stage at a time we were not expecting it. , In other words, they scheduled us to go on first, (we were the least known), so I was really unsure it would work that fast. Instead of "She's about a mover" with which we alweays opened, i asked the band to play "Where have all the good times gone", a ballad So, as I started singing, i knew the maid's recipe was a winner. I sang that one, then "She's about a mover" and closed with "Good Lovin". Again, honey and two eggs, all at ONCE. .

[pmp]

So I'm having issues singing and my strong suspicion is that I have a vocal nodule in my throat. Does anyone have any tips to combat it?

If they really are nodules, then rest is the answer - which is the last thing a singer wants to hear, because (if you're like me) when your voice is playing up, you're constantly trying it out to see if it's getting better. Every half an hour!

I've had similar issues in the past (and this last fortnight, as it happens, although I think that's mostly stress as Mum has been ill), and never actually found out whether what I get are nodules. My suspicion is they are not, although there's damage of some kind, despite the fact I don't generally sing for long at a time or in a forced manner.

But I have found two things that help. One is getting a "cool mist" humidifier and putting it on in your bedroom while you sleep. Eight hours a day of getting moisture down your airways without even trying does help. They're about £20-40, but it's something you've always got ready for when it happens again.

The other thing I have is a pocketvox - which is, in essence, a bloody expensive drinking straw! But I also find it helps, and it was recommended to me by a professional singing teacher (useful friend to have!). You basically put it in a bottle of water and blow gently while producing a comfortable note, creating bubbles in the water, and thus massaging your vocal cords. I thought it was a load of baloney, but bought one anyway about two years ago as I had been having problems for a couple of months and was getting desperate.

Again, it's not cheap, and the NHS have a video with the very same exercises using what is basically a plastic tube. You feel an idiot doing it, but I find it helps when these things happen. Hope that's of some use.




And the expensive version!