Singing with Acid Reflux

FenderBender

I think I have Acid Reflux. I had a few days of eating the worst stuff that I could possibly find, a lot of nutella and spicy chips (I allowed myself a few cheat meals because I exercise a lot and took a break of working out).
Now I have symptoms like a little lump in the throat, dry throat and excess of mucus. I was wondering if I should sing tonight or have a break, and how long the break should be. What do you think?

PS : Yes have watched Ken's video on AR.

Furious_Phil

Have you ever heard of Gaviscon?
Understand this is not a permanent solution by any stretch of the imagination... But a great tool to have access to if you are on the road/touring.
If you know you've eaten some of your "Trigger Foods", take Gaviscon before bed to keep you from scorching your esophagus and vocal cords as you sleep. A really good followup idea might be to use a personal humidifier the next morning to help keep the vocal folds in prime condition.

In your present condition, I'd do some steam inhalations to help hydrate your throat, and do your exercises lightly to "sing" the mucus off. Just watch the air pressure and volume. It may not sound your greatest, but it will speed up the recovery time.

FenderBender

This is some great information, thanks Phil. But wait, I thought Ken said to NOT take any medication to treat this. (Watch Ken's video on AR at 12:30 if you are wondering when he said that)
What about Gaviscon?

Furious_Phil

That Gaviscon remedy was more for a road-gigging singer's emergency toolkit when you've clearly made a dietary mistake, but the show must go on. This, like any medication has its own caveats, and as with anything you have to weigh the good with the bad.

Yours sounds more like it has already happened, but isn't climbing your esophagus now, yeah?
If this is the case, I guess is more after the fact, so that road-fix won't be much good to you even if you chose to use it. You basically just have to ride it out, and keep super hydrated.
A day off won't kill you, and may give your inflamed throat time to reset. You can also take that time to re-watch the videos for the volume you are on to try to pick up more nuances

For those of you that haven't experienced it, trying to sing on an acid-inflamed throat is a very special kind of hell... imagine trying to sing right after you've thrown up. That's pretty close to the mark.

It all comes down to what your situation is... and you have to make the best informed decisions that you can. If this is a recurring condition, do yourself a favour and go talk to your family doctor, and/or an ENT doctor and see what can be done to alleviate it, as there are significant issues that can arise from chronic GERD.

FenderBender

Well yeah I guess I m on an early stage of this. And don't it to get further lol
Will take a day off then.

Thank you so much for the help!