Well, it’s that time of year again. Illnesses of all shapes and sizes are going round. I’m on my second consecutive weekend by being wiped out by something or other.
I only recently sent out this regular article on how to bounce back after illness. I don’t like re-sending articles so I thought we’d go over the different illnesses that you can catch that affect your voice, how to distinguish them, and some suggestions for attending to them.
CAVEAT/NOTE: I am not a medical doctor, and I’m also trying to cover a lot in a very short space. As such, I’m going to talk in broad generalities to get the message across. We’ll group more similar things together, and discuss the range of symptoms you’ll generally get. Almost all of these will benefit from paracetamol to take down infection/inflammation.
1. Colds / Sinusitis
We’ve all had colds, so I don’t need to linger on this. Runny nose, snot/mucus either out the nostrils, or down the back of your throat (post-nasal drip). Some facial pain, swollen eyes, etc. If it lasts a while or gets bad, it can become sinusitis, i.e. an infection of the sinuses. This can sometimes requires antibiotics to aid recovery.
Suggestions: rest, lots of water, saline solution (e.g. Sterimar nasal spray) to help cleanse out the nose. Note that you won’t be able to access the sinus cavities directly with nasal spray, but it can help them to drain.
You CAN sing while suffering from a mild cold, but it may not be so enjoyable. The post-nasal drip can cause secondary inflammation in the throat or vocal folds, hence why the nasal spray is so helpful to reduce these symptoms.
2. Sore throat / Pharyngitis
Your pharynx is one of the chambers of the throat, hence why this is a sore throat. Like cold vs sinusitis, sore throat is mild infection, pharyngitis is when it becomes a seated infection. Antibiotics may be required to shift the latter. You’ll generally get coloured mucus if it’s an infection.
Suggestions: rest, lots of water. Gargling with a salt-water rinse can be helpful (boil some water, put a table spoon of salt in it, take a sip when it’s drinkable, gargle repeatedly and spit). Depending on how sore the throat is, I find cool/lightly iced water to be incredibly helpful to take down the inflammation. Hot drinks can FEEL good in the moment, but it’s like applying heat to inflamed skin, and tends to prolong the issue.
Singing on a sore throat can be done, but as the pharynx is responsible for shaping vowels, it can often be a wonky experience, and really quite sore when you wouldn’t expect it to be.
3. Vocal fold inflammation / Laryngitis
This is by far the worst. This is when your larynx and vocal folds get an infection. This is a BRUTAL illness and you should absolutely not try to sing until you’re well out of the other side. Your voice will be exceptionally low, everything will feel swollen and sore when you speak. Sometimes there’s a mild fever or fatigue, but it’s often just a brutally swollen voice. The mucus from this can be relatively little, and usually dry in the morning (my own experience).
Suggestions: rest, lots of vocal rest. Gargling with salt-water rinse CAN help, but liquids can’t touch your vocal folds directly (just the top of your larynx when swallowing), so it’s of limited use.
I’d suggest cool/iced water per point 2. Again, don’t try to sing on this. You just need to rest.
4. Chest/Respiratory infection / Bronchitis / Pneumonia
These can be upper and/or lower respiratory infection. Generally you’ll feel a tight chest, some crackling or wheezing when breathing, and eventually you’ll be coughing up mucus. Upper or lower refers more to where the infection is seated. Often you’ll feel fatigued and a fever, more tired than usual, though sometimes it can just be like a low-seated cough/cold.
Suggestions: rest, lots of vocal rest, lots of water. You need to cough up the mucus to prevent a more deep-seated infection (e.g. pneumonia/pleurisy), but the act of excessive or aggressive coughing can cause more damage than the infection itself. Hence, try to hydrate the mucus with lots of water, and shift in controlled moments, rather than heavily throughout the day. This is easier said than done and depends entirely on how bad the infection is.
Can you sing on a chest infection? If it’s a light one, minimal mucus, minimal inflammation affecting the rest of your voice, then possibly… but the instrument may behave a bit weirdly, feel a bit unpredictable, and the damage you can inflict from bludgeoning your way through a song can make things far worse.
Conclusion
Generally, colds are about the only illness I regularly do some singing on. Sore throats I can get away with, only when they are on the milder end. Laryngitis is a total game-over situation. Chest infections can vary, but generally I just leave well alone.
Running theme is lots of rest, lots of water, vocal rest, etc. Paracetamol is a good option for taking down inflammation, fever, etc. Cooler drinks are good for taking down inflammation locally as well, though extremely cold/iced water can often trigger coughing fits or make the mucus harder to shift.
Warm/hot drinks generate nice vapours that are good for shifting stubborn mucus, though be careful not to drink them SO hot they irritate the already angry tissue.
I sincerely hope you all stay well and don’t need any of the advice I’ve listed here this winter. But if you do, I also hope you get better and back to singing soon!