OK, Hive Mind, HELP...

[Susan Wise Bauer]

I'm in New York getting ready to speak at the LEAH convention. I caught a fresh cold yesterday. My voice is GONE. I've never had it go so quickly, so early in a cold.

 

HELP. Remedies!! Remedies, please!!!!! :eek:

 

Susan

[KerriF]

I'm sorry that your voice is gone and you aren't feeling well. Somethings that I have heard/used

 

hot tea with honey (could you have a cup with you while you speak)

lemon drops

gargle salt water

wrap your throat with a warm towel

 

I hope you find something that works.

 

Kerri:grouphug:

[sweetbaby]

hmmm. Have you tried lemon and honey? Maybe place it in a nice herbal tea. Praying you are feeling better soon!

[Michelle in MO]

from your local Wal-Mart, drug store, or health food store. Brew 4-5 bags in a teapot and let it steep for at least 10 minutes. Drink as much of the tea as you can handle tonight (i.e., 2-3 cups) and brew a fresh pot tomorrow morning, same strength, and drink the entire pot of tea.

 

I have done this more times than I can count with echinacea tea (Celestial Seasonings), and 9 times out of 10 my cold is greatly alleviated by the next day, and usually it's completely gone within just a few days.

 

I'm a big believer in echinacea, but in the tea variety. I think the combination of the echinacea (which boosts your immune system) and the hot liquids helps tremendously.

 

Go to bed early! Read a nice, comforting book, or watch your favorite episode of "The Office." Don't try to do any strenuous thinking tonight!

 

God bless---I'll say prayers for you for a quick recovery!

[Mrs Mungo]

I'm sorry that your voice is gone and you aren't feeling well. Somethings that I have heard/used

 

hot tea with honey (could you have a cup with you while you speak)

lemon drops

gargle salt water

wrap your throat with a warm towel

 

I hope you find something that works.

 

Kerri:grouphug:

 

I agree with all of this. Gargling with salt water really seems to help.

[Tammyla]

Apple Cider Vinegar... Take a teaspoon or gargle with it. Gross, but works wonders with throat issues. Hope you feel better.

[Janet in Toronto]

My parish choir director swears by a mix of licorice and ginseng herbal teas. (Make a pot of tea with one bag of each tea.)

 

Hope you're feeling better and your talk goes well.

 

Janet in Toronto

[Mama Bear]

Lemon and Honey in hot water? Gargling with warm salt water? Don't talk at all unless you're in front of the group??

 

Sending you lots of "good clear voice" wishes. :)

[klmama]

This is my #1 cure for colds. I just take tabs, but there are other products.

 

Drinking lots of water makes a huge difference, too.

 

I know my grandmothers swore by gargling salt water.

 

Praying for you now!

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I'm in New York getting ready to speak at the LEAH convention. I caught a fresh cold yesterday. My voice is GONE. I've never had it go so quickly, so early in a cold.

 

HELP. Remedies!! Remedies, please!!!!! :eek:

 

Susan

 

Tea w/lemon and honey aplenty. No dairy. Absolute voice rest until you have to speak. Don't whisper, because that makes it worse. Sign language only until time to speak, which I sincerely hope is tomorrow. Try to pitch your voice higher to rest your voice while you do speak.

 

Poor Susan. Hope you get your voice back speedily.

[sleepy]

A hot toddy? Assuming you're speaking at the convention tomorrow, that is. If you're speaking in an hour or two, definitely don't do the hot toddy :svengo:

 

Hope you're better soon :001_smile:

[battlemaiden]

The tea with honey and lemon feels good- honey is an anti-bacterial.

 

But Apple Cider vinegar works even better. Gargling every hour. It does taste nasty, but it knocks out the virus, and lets the throat heal.

 

I'll pray for quick healing.

 

Jo

[percytruffle]

What others have said, plus have some Sucrets with you when you speak. If talking makes your throat tickle or hurt, suck on a Sucrets and it will numb your throat so you can get through it.

 

Best of luck.

[beansprouts]

What everyone else said and...

 

Steam!

 

If you can boil a pot of water that is best. A long, hot, steamy shower would work also.

 

Good Luck! :grouphug:

[lollie010]

My pastor always took a lemon wedge to the podium with him if he was having problems with his throat. Right before time to speak he would suck on it for a few seconds. He had been advised to do this by a medical specialist who said everyone who speaks a lot should do this even when they are not sick.

 

Good luck! Everyone will be so excited to see you it probably will not bother them one bit if you just wave and sign autographs.

 

Laurel T.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The Overmind of the hive requires honey! Honey and lemon in tea! Echinacea works well as the kind of tea. And I like Emergen-C dissolved in hot water. Follow it all by lots of prayer from your under-bees! :grouphug:

[Doran]

Aside from all the home-remedies which are mentioned here in this thread, and here on this "natural site", I would probably resort to using Chloroseptic in the morning. It's the nastiest tasting stuff on the planet, IMHO, but it just might get you through your speech. Don't expect to have much to offer vocally afterwards, though. Been there, done that.

 

Good luck, and I'm so sorry about the rotten timing of your cold!

[Jennifer in NH]

To get rid of your cold faster try a product by Nature's way called Umcka Coldcare. If you go to the site that Doran linked, they have it...you can buy it at more natural food stores and some pharmacies. It really cuts the time and severity of a cold down to just a few days...and for the voice I guess I'll agree with the tea and honey.

[Susan Wise Bauer]

You guys are wonderful. I'm gargling with salt water (the only thing I have in this hotel room...lots of little salt packets) and making a shopping list.

 

SWB

[Pongo]

For your voice to go so quickly it sounds like your larynx irritated or has inflamed tissue (I'm the ENT nurse..lol) Don't talk, not even whisper. No salt, aspirin or caffeine. Gargles won't work because the larynx is to deep in the throat. Get a steam humidifier in your room and drink lot's and lots of water or decaf tea, no cold drinks only room temperature or warmer. Good Luck! When you shower, breathe through your mouth.

[JFSinIL]

Ask the convention folks for a microphone, also an overhead projector thing in case you have to resort to the written word! Hope all the above mentioned remedies work, too. Good luck!

 

Too bad this is one thing chocolate WON'T cure! :confused:

[Barb_]

In the morning, shut the bathroom door and take the hottest shower you can stand for at least 30 minutes. If congestion is contributing, that will thin everything out and allow you to cough it out.

 

Barb

[JESSICAinMD]

I agree with the hot tea with lemon and honey. I would also try Cold Eeze. Hope you feel better soon.

[Robin in Tx]

Do not laugh - this is for real. Whiskey and honey. Better yet, warm whiskey and honey.

 

Add humidity - steam bath/shower for as long as you can.

 

Rest more than normal. The whiskey ought to help with that. :)

 

Seriously, all those teas don't work nearly as well as whiskey.

 

Good luck! Hope you're better soon.

[Barb_]

Do not laugh - this is for real. Whiskey and honey. Better yet, warm whiskey and honey.

 

Add humidity - steam bath/shower for as long as you can.

 

Rest more than normal. The whiskey ought to help with that. :)

 

Seriously, all those teas don't work nearly as well as whiskey.

 

Good luck! Hope you're better soon.

 

Agreeing with Robin. My grandma keeps a bottle of Rock and Rye (Rye whiskey with rock candy in the bottom) around for her COPD. They live in a dry county and have to head to Asheville to get it.

 

Barb

[Diana in OR]

Do not laugh - this is for real. Whiskey and honey. Better yet, warm whiskey and honey.

 

Add humidity - steam bath/shower for as long as you can.

 

Rest more than normal. The whiskey ought to help with that. :)

 

Seriously, all those teas don't work nearly as well as whiskey.

 

Good luck! Hope you're better soon.

 

:iagree:Definitely add the whiskey to the honey/tea/lemon concoction. It really helps!

[Susan Wise Bauer]

Ooh. Wonder what will happen if I do all of these things simultaneously?

 

:ack2:

 

I'll keep you posted.

[j.griff]

Wow, what a lot of things to try, LOL. My uncle the mad scientist says that if you use water as hot as you can stand it, with the salt, and gargle as long as you can stand it- it will kill off the bad germs. The combination of the heat with the hostile salt create an environment that is not hospitable to the germs. You're supposed to do it several times a day. I don't know if that will relieve your symptoms in time for your "performance" though.

And don't take too much whiskey, LOL, you don't want a hangover. :lol:

[Robin in Tx]

Well, the little bottles of whiskey ought to be in your hotel room's cash bar. The honey ought to be obtainable from room service. If you can get the tea, fine... but it's not worth going out shopping for when you can be resting and drinking whiskey and breathing hot steam.

 

Good luck!

[I talk to the trees]

Well, bless your heart! I hope LEAH at least put you in a nice, comfy room! (Hey, my dues have to go somewhere, right?) If your room has one of those mini-bars, you could crack open a little bottle of something, and maybe room service would bring you a lemon or two.

:D I can just imagine the response of the LEAH crowd if you walked in after taking the advice of everyone on this thread!

 

I hope all goes well for you, but next year, could you come to the Upstate convention? NYC is so far away for me!;)

 

-Robin

[kate in seattle]

a variation to the salt water gargle is the one prescribed by our Health Center during my college days. Add a crushed aspirin to the 1 tsp of salt - and the water should be warm - about body temperature.

 

Kate in Seattle

where I will see you in June! at WHO

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Are you feeling better? Is your voice okay? Sorry you are ill and having to speak. But if you weren't so fabulous and funny and smart, then you wouldn't be in such demand. ;)

 

Hope you heal soon!

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I had the same thing as a teen just before I was due to perform in a musical. I was told no talking above a whisper to anyone until after the show. Gargle regularly with warm salt water and straight honey (slightly better if just a little warm or with a warmed spoon). It worked-sang my solo, mouthed most of the rest of the show and survived.

 

Hope you feel better soon!

[Call Me Cordelia]

I had horrible, couldn't talk laryngitis the am of a play. I sat with head over steaming bowl of vicks covered by a towel and drank hot water with lemon and honey. I was able to talk although was told by a critic that I had an "interesting vocal quality."

 

Yikes!

 

Prayers for you!

[Carpe Diem]

Emergen C is a product you can get at Walgreens. I take 4 or 5 a day if I am sick.

 

Also, push the water to keep your vocal folds hydrated.

 

Hope you are feeling better.

[Brindee]

I agree with the tea and honey, and I just found out about the apple cider vinegar (the really healthy kind with stuff floating in it---the other kind doesn't work as well). It's worked wonders for me!

 

Another thing is garlic! Of course you may not want to get too close to the people if you use it:tongue_smilie:, but, I crush it and add it to hot water, or put it in something I eat. It seems to help me a lot too.

 

Then you might want to take Airborne or something like it while you're still traveling. That'll help strengthen your immune system during your time there and your travels!

 

Best wishes to you, hope it goes well!

[HappyGrace]

with her throat issues/cold? I've been praying and wondered how things went!

[Doran]

with her throat issues/cold? I've been praying and wondered how things went!

 

 

With all the home remedies "we" suggested, she may have been positively drowning in teas and whiskified concoctions! :D

 

Hoping it all went well.

[HappyGrace]

if she took all that whiskey advice!:svengo:

[Susan Wise Bauer]

I turned my hotel room into a steam bath, gargled, and made it through today. My voice is really gone now, though, so I'm hoping that when I wake up it will be better--I have three workshops to do. So you can keep praying!

 

Susan

[HappyGrace]

we'll keep praying.

[Cindy in NY]

I just got home from the convention and listening to SWB. Her throat was definitely bothering her but it didn't stop her from giving, what I thought, was a very inspiring talk on self-education.

 

She spoke earlier in the day also about writing K-12...loved it!

I saw her afterward at PHP's table in the vendor hall. I was so happy she was talking to someone else so she wouldn't notice me standing there dumbstuck. I was completely star-struck! I've never felt so silly.

 

Tomorrow. I swear. I am going to march right up and ask her to sign her book that I am planning to buy. Hopefully some of your remedies will help and her voice will make it through the day.

[Brindee]

BUMP.........

 

So how are you doing now? Did you get all the stuff on our lists? :D

[Sahamamama]

1. Rest your voice. Just stop talking for as long as you can.

 

2. Go to bed after you read the rest of this post. You don't need to "get ready" to speak, your entire life has been preparation. Sleep.

 

3. Hot herbal teas with honey are very soothing. Chamomile/mint is nice on the throat, and helps to clear out mucus (I know, gross).

 

4. Lots of vitamin C -- about 1000 mg every hour or two (except when you sleep) for three days.

 

5. Vicks Cream on your chest.

 

6. Pain-reliever of your choice, if your throat is sore/body achy.

 

7. Last, but not least, you could pray and ask God to heal you.

 

Sincerely,

Beth Barsoum in New Jersey

[M&M]

I was so happy she was talking to someone else so she wouldn't notice me standing there dumbstuck. I was completely star-struck! I've never felt so silly.

 

 

A few years ago, Susan was at our convention, Janice (in NJ) told me to go talk to her. For the first few minutes, I couldn't speak. I felt ridiuculous, I was so happy to meet her that I couldn't think of what I wnated to say first. She was very gracious and we did have a nice chat.

[Cindy in NY]

Well I worked up my courage today. She signed a copy of The Well Educated Mind I bought and I managed to stammer out a reasonably coherent question while i felt the red creep up my face.

 

Honestly, I admire her so much and she has been such an ispiration to me for so long, and I just became an airhead in her presence. I felt embarassed the rest of the afternoon.

[M&M]

Well I worked up my courage today. She signed a copy of The Well Educated Mind I bought and I managed to stammer out a reasonably coherent question while i felt the red creep up my face.

 

Honestly, I admire her so much and she has been such an ispiration to me for so long, and I just became an airhead in her presence. I felt embarassed the rest of the afternoon.

 

 

((Hugs)) I felt the same way. I am sure that Susan didn't notice. ;)

[Brindee]

:lol: Well, if it help any, Cindy, you're probably not the first one! ;) I've never met her, but I can't say what I'd do if I did. I usually tend to forget how to talk at important moments like that as well! Then I walk away talking to myself, "Wow, Self, that was very impressive....NOT!" :lol:

[Cindy in NY]

Barring my personal mortification:blushing:, I so enjoyed her workshops. I never thought i would get a chance to hear her speak in person, the big conventions are so far from me, so it was a real treat.

 

She is a wonderful speaker and I was just happy to bask in her over mind greatness for a few hours:thumbup:

[Tap]

For your voice to go so quickly it sounds like your larynx irritated or has inflamed tissue (I'm the ENT nurse..lol) Don't talk, not even whisper. No salt, aspirin or caffeine. Gargles won't work because the larynx is to deep in the throat. Get a steam humidifier in your room and drink lot's and lots of water or decaf tea, no cold drinks only room temperature or warmer. Good Luck! When you shower, breathe through your mouth.

 

:iagree:

 

Yep, this is what the pharmacist recommends too! Especially the NO talking part! And whispering is much worse than talking so if you have to talk, try to talk very softly but not in a whisper.

 

Hope you heal fast!

 

Tap