How To Recover Your Singing Voice After A Cold, Flu, Or Sickness (Fast)

Though a nice hot mug of tea with honey and lemon or even a splash of alcohol might sound like a good idea, but it’s actually a terrible one. Tea and lemon are both acidic, causing acid reflux that can cause extra damage to the larynx and make the recovery process much longer. Similarly alcohol acts to dry out the vocal chords and makes the friction between each fold ten times worse.

Having a hot drink, however, is soothing and can help so long as you know the best things to drink. Herbal teas help to boost your immune system and there is nothing more soothing than hot honey when you’re tucked up in bed.

When you can feel a tickly throat coming on then the time to act has already started. The first step is an easy one to follow and costs absolutely nothing and that is to avoid any unnecessary singing or talking. The vibrations caused when we speak or sing cause the vocal chords to vibrate and this vibration is what causes the damage when we’ve got a sore throat.

If you absolutely have to talk then doing it in a higher pitch puts less stress on your throat. Although it might seem instinctive, the worst thing you can do for your voice to recover is to whisper! Whispering is one of the most stressful things you can do to your voice and can increase recovery times almost exponentially.

As the saying goes ‘Moist is good for the voice’. Alright, it’s not a saying I’ve heard all that often but I stand by that statement! Drink, drink and drink again. The more water you’re able to keep pumping into your body, the more hydrated you’ll be making your larynx. Just like alcohol dries out the larynx and makes it more coarse, water acts to lubricate the vocal chords and the more hydrated they are, the better they can perform.

Similarly, take hot steamy baths and showers and try to breath in as much of the steam as possible. When you’re ill and have a hot bath you can breath so much better while you’re in there, this also helps the healing process. So get the bath running, brew yourself a nice hot honey drink and settle in for the afternoon. You’ll feel the world of difference in such a short amount of time.