Cold - needs to go now!

[jellytot01]

I have a cold and sore throat and can hardly talk and I'm jjst generaly not well. However, throughout this week I am meant to be doing professional musicals!

Does anyone know and decent ways that can reduce sore throats etc quickly? i know there is no cure for the common cold but i just need it to kind of settle down.

thanks

[Dollie]

Hi Jellytot - I have also been a singer for over twenty years - semi-pro, and whenever my throat has let me down I have taken Sanderson's Throat Specific. Its a type of thin medicine which you sip off a teaspoon - it tastes vile but really cuts through the yak!! It has helped loads of singers of the years even though its a very old fashioned remedy. Most chemists stock (its dirt cheap) it, and you should gargle with it and then sip it from a spoon - one teaspoon about three times a day. Then take it to theatre and sip another spoonful before you go on.

Similarly I've also found port very good for the throat when performing. I've usually managed to smuggle a bottle into the dressing room and always have a small glass on the go during a performance. Good Luck and Break a Leg !

[smurfchops]

I always seem to be recommending this -- try Echinacea from Holland and Barrett. Take two the first day then one each day for a week, together with one-a-day fizzy Vitamin C tablets, you can get these cheapest in Tesco. They always seem to work for me, but you must take them as soon as you start to feel ill. You can take Vit C every day, but only take Echinacea for about a week at a time, only when you feel ill or when someone else does and you think you are going to 'get it'. Good luck !

[dancealot13]

Hi- Im also a professional performer from NYC. First don't talk at all, sing only when you have to, dont sing any of the chorus numbers, and if you have an understudy let them fill in at least for the vocals, and you can do the blocking, - if you have to use your chest voice a lot- DONT. Flip it into falsetto, trust me it will cause less strain on your vocal cords. As for the medecine side, Im sure you already know --tons of vitamin C, lots of fluid, and plenty of sleep. Take care and Break a leg!