Very Long Cold!
philmaher
Pro Posts: 48
About 3 weeks ago I slept in a caravan after a show at a holiday park, (pretty much winter at the time) Woke up the Monday after with a very slight tickle on my throat, didn't think too much of it. Even recorded a couple of tracks later that week which sounded good, but i knew things weren't quite right. however I had a gig on the Saturday night and after relatively resting all week it only hit me whilst warming up that i didn't have access to any of my high range and i was very hoarse and dry. worst part was I didn't even feel like i had a cold or particularly under the weather. Not great before a 2 hour set of 80s music.
I gotta say during the first 2 songs (Power of Love, huey lewis and Easy Lover, phil collins) I didn't think i was going to make it through the show.. I had some coffee on stage and this seemed to help, (prob more just hot drink as oppose to the coffee) Fortunately the rest of the first set was a bit more manageable but I did have to modify several melody lines to sing them and was a bit more stationary on stage in order to conserve energy and not wear myself out.
Dropped a few of the higher numbers that night and got through the gig, didn't make any excuses to the crowd just mentioned i was obviously fighting a cold, but afterwards many people came and complimented me on my husky voice! Personally i thought i sang terribly but just shows the lines of what a layman audience still thinks is good so its always best to not give up and keep performing as if nothing is wrong because people might not realise.
I drank 4 coffees and a couple of pints of water that night but got through it. So then comes the recovery, I was gigging again the following weekend so 7 days to recover.
Took standard cold and flu tablets not to much effect, the gig rolled on by, i was still pretty bunged up but had no sore throat or any other symptoms so managed to get through that but still had to ditch any really high stuff. I took a couple of ibuprofen before hand, can't tell if it had any major effect but, maybe even just mentally knowing you've done that it helps.
Hooray, i had (have) 2 weeks until my next gig to fully recover. So i get plenty of rest, luckily had some days off, re watched Kens vocal wellness portion and bought myself some of the main supplements (b12, zinc, C, cod liver oil, echinaceea and acidophilus) in the hope that would aid a quicker recovery, also got some antibiotics from the docs.
That was just over a week ago and still I'm totally bunged up, I can sing, and reach my higher register but its still an issue, and after taking everything i feel i can to help and resting plenty. I can decongest with olbas oil etc but although that temporally eases the blockage the underlying cold is still there.
Any thoughts on shifting this 3 weeker?!
Thanks
Phil
Comments
Well, first of all, I hope you both get better very soon. Ray, you've been sick for way too long, now.
I recommend that you both get a couple of gallons of home-made chicken soup going, with lots of garlic, cumin, and other goodies to help with your recovery.
Coughing batters your vocal cords, so from that perspective, less coughing is good. Codeine is addictive, so be very careful with it. If you have a cough that just won't quit, sometimes that is the only way to get to sleep through the night. You need your rest, and you need to be able to stop the coughing.
It is always better to sing the gunk off your cords rather than scrape the cords together. Clearing your voice is abrasive. Coughing is even more abrasive.
Drink tons of water, and try to stay away from diuretics like coffee and soft drinks. I know, it's hard, but fruit juices are better and nothing beats water for hydration. Lots of water/fluids will help to clean your system out of bacteria and toxins. In many of these lingering colds and viruses, part of the problem is the thick consistency of the mucus. That's a clear sign that you need a lot more hydration.
I don't really like them, but the anti-mucus over-the-counter products can be helpful, if you've tried everything else. They're a bit expensive, and I don't like how they make me feel. You REALLY have to drink HUGE amounts of water when using that stuff, and it usually takes a long time to get through this kind of cold.
My doctor gave me advice on nose-blowing a few years ago. He told me to NEVER close one nostril in order to create more nose-blowing pressure in the opposite nostril. In other words, hold the tissue and blow GENTLY out of both nostrils at once, always.
The reason for this is the increased pressure on one side or the other can cause infection to be forced up into the eustachian tubes, which can cause very bad ear infections.
I don't really think it's good to keep mucus in the throat to help fight the infection. I think you want to try to get it to thin out and make it easier to expel. Lots of fluid will help to get it thinned out and keep your body expelling toxins.
Get well, you two! Sending up good prayers about you!
Bob
Taking vitamins everyday etc.
Gargling warm salt water before the gigs really helped a lot and doing my very best to keep the throat as open as i could.
Lots of diaphragm support , cutting back air and trying not to sing heavy will really help.
I was having to change my setlist continuously to work around any problems.
I would be drinking a tonne of water between each song or if there was a long instrumental.
Concentrate on that bright ping in your sound and if at any time you feel there's any roughness in your sound try open up the throat even more.
When you finish that song that you felt you were struggling a little with go for a couple of lighter ones until it eases off.
Turn your mic up a bit too...that helps.
When you are warming up the voice even just go through volume one..Its good enough to get you back on track...
You may feel its a step back if you are on level 3 but I feel the lightness of level 1 can really make a difference. You don't have to be a power house all the time.
obviously just my experience but hope some of this can help.
Let us all know how it goes
It's always a worry when you feel under the weather..
Glad you pulled through..
KTVA such a game changer eh.
I'd never get through anymore without these teachings