5 Natural Remedies and Methods for Singers to Reduce Congestion and Phlegm
This post helps you get started, but that’s only the beginning. What would it feel like to sing your heart out with a transformed voice performing to thousands of people by the end of the year? Come join the tens of thousands of singers who have already transformed their voices with my?Singers Gift Warmups . Set your voice free in just 20 minutes a day with these revolutionary techniques found only here!?Click here to find out how .
Occasionally singers struggle with additional congestion or phlegm. This gets in the way of singing. If you find yourself constantly clearing your throat or sniffling, read on below for what could be causing these issues and natural solutions for them.
“Mucus and phlegm get sort of a bad reputation,” says Dr. Richard Boucher, a lung expert at the University of North Carolina. “People think about it as something you’re supposed to cough up and get out. That it’s a bad thing. But in truth, mucus really is the interface between you and the outside world.”
1Mucus lines the moist surfaces of your body like the lungs, sinuses, mouth, stomach, and intestines. Even your eyes are coated with a thin layer of mucus. It serves as a lubricant to keep tissues from drying out. It’s also a line of defense. Your body makes a lot of mucus, although no one’s quite sure how much. Mucus is mostly water. But it also contains special proteins, sugars, and molecules that help the body control harmful germs.
“Mucus is very important for filtering out materials that you breathe in through your nose, such as dust and allergens and microorganisms,” says Dr. Andrew Lane, an ear, nose, and throat expert at Johns Hopkins University. “Anything that you breathe in gets stuck in the mucus, like flypaper.”
The first thing to know is that nasal or head congestion or phlegm is often is a sign of the body fighting or trying to heal something. However, it can be a complex puzzle to solve depending on the person, their constitution and environment. I have found over 38 years of applying natural remedies and looking for solutions for singers that it is usually a combination of several things.
Persistent nasal or head congestion is a sign of one or a combination of two or three of the following:
1. Allergy 2. Infection 3. Laryngeal reflux
1. Allergy
You can have an allergy to something you are eating or something in your environment that causes congestion. It’s the body’s way of protecting itself against the allergen or irritant. The mucous forms as a protective barrier from the foreign substance or irritation.
The symptoms of allergies can also come from foods or beverages you are eating that you are allergic to. Sometimes we get an intolerance when we eat too much of one food. There are tests you can take with a nutritionist to find out what you are allergic to. The usual protocol is to eliminate that food for a few weeks and see if the allergic reaction goes away. You can go through foods one by one that way on your own to do some testing.
Remedies to try for allergic symptoms:
Also eliminating allergens in the environment really help. We can’t control outdoor pollutants but we can work on eliminating indoor irritants. Keeping your home clean is extremely effective at reducing or eliminating symptoms.
A few ways to do that:
If you want to get set on a PLAN to reduce or eliminate your allergies, I wrote out a complete plan in my Vocal Resource Library. This plan has helped eliminate allergies for many of my students. You can find it inside my?Vocal Resource Library here. * Use the coupon code VRL10off to save $10.00.
2. Infection: Respiratory or Sinus infections
Respiratory infections are the a result of a weakened immune system, so the first thing is to strengthen your immune system and the overall health of your body.?
Sinus infections can linger for months or even years!
Remedies to try for sinus infections:?
领英推荐
Remedies to try for clogged sinuses or colds:?
3. Laryngeal reflux
There is another thing that causes phlegm that many people are not aware of. And it’s something that singers in particular struggle with. It’s called laryngeal reflux. Laryngeal reflux is imilar to GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) but often without burping up stomach acid and can remain completely silent.
Some of the telltale signs of laryngeal reflux are: phlegm – particularly in the morning, constant thirst and clearing the throat all the time. Reflux causes a dry throat and vocal cords that are chafed and irritated. This results in cracks and breaks in your voice, trouble hitting high notes and inconsistent vocal production.
I discuss all of the details about laryngeal reflux, and how to reduce symptoms and eliminate it altogether in the Vocal Resource Library. This has helped many singers recover their voices. You can find it inside my?Vocal Resource Library ?here. * Use the coupon code VRL10off to save $10.00.
The body forms mucous to heal and protect the vocal cords from laryngeal reflux which burns and irritates the vocal cors. The acid goes all the way up into the nasal cavity and can causes nasal and head congestion as well.
Remedies to try if you think you have laryngeal reflux:
The Three Day Rule: Performance Prep for Singers by Cari Cole ?– Foods to stay away from three days before an important performance or recording! The Do’s and Don’ts of Singing Through a Cold by Cari Cole 10 Steps to Vocal Health + Wellness
4. Reducing Phelgm in General and Before a Show or Recording
Phelgm can be quite an issue when it comes to singing and recording. For recording sessions I highly recommend rescheduling. There is really no way to hide the sound of a stuffed nose on record. For performances, you can sing with a cold as long as it’s only up in your head not in your throat. The rule of thumb for vocal health is to not sing if you have pain in your throat as this is a sign of inflammation of the vocal cords and you can cause a vocal problem or injury. .
Try this:
** Note: Stay away from pharmaceuticals which come with side effects. Some singers reach for Nasonex or Mucinex, but these medications solve phelgm by drying it out which causes terrible problems for singers (basically dehydrating you!). The last thing a singer wants is dry vocal cords which cause problems with range, tone and vocal production. It’s much harder to sing when you are dry and dehydrated.
5. Deviated septum
A deviated septum is when the nasal septum is displaced to one side, making one nasal passage smaller than the other. It can cause obstruction, nosebleeds, facial pain and other symptoms. It can be caused by injury, infection or aging. Treatment may include surgery or a doctor may prescribe medications, but I prefer natural treatments that don’t come with side effects. **See #4 above.
Try this:
Very good exhaustive study on this subject.