Healthy Throat

Protect Your Throat from the Cold Temperatures

1. Get in the habit of wearing a scarf around your neck to keep the throat area warm. Do you know that the neck is one of the most overlooked sources of heat loss? Anywhere from 40 to 50 percent of our body heat can be lost from the surface of the head and neck. Changes in extreme temperature such as going from a heated car into the cold outside and vice versa should be avoided when possible. .....

Avoid Sharing Eating Utensils

2. Do not drink from the same glass, cup or bottle that someone else is using, as you may be at risk of cross contamination. The same is true for sharing eating utensils and even napkins. .....

Clean Your Toothbrush

3. One source of infection that is over looked by most people is the toothbrush. Left over night, it can be a potential source of problem for the throat and mouth. Every morning, before brushing the teeth, soak your toothbrush in a glass of hot water to which a teaspoonful of common salt has been added. This helps to disinfect the toothbrush and also helps keep it clean. .....

Gargle with salt

4. Gargle every night with a mixture of warm water and salt. Just a pinch of salt will do. During cold and flu season this is a habit that will help to disinfect the mouth and throat. Your grandmother knew the benefits of making this a habit. And if you catch a sore throat early enough, salt water will give you fast relief. Salt water can also be used to clear a stuffy nose. Just snuff the above mixture into each nostril. Youll instantly begin breat .....

Use Honey and Ginger To Protect Your Throat

5. One of the very best ways to protect the throat is with ginger juice and honey. After a good brushing in the morning,squeeze a little fresh ginger juice (3-4 ml) with 5 ml of honey and see for yourself what a good insurance policy this is for protecting your throat all day.I make my own ginger juice by boiling 2 or 3 slices of real ginger ( found in the vegetable section), then cooling it a little.I have also used turmeric. Simply take 1/2 cup of .....

Vocal Warm Ups For Professionals and Teachers

6. Daily vocal warm ups are a must for singers, speakers, doctors, actors and the like. But not just any warm ups will do. In fact some warm ups can do more damage to the throat than not engaging in any warm ups. Slow, gentle humming on comfortable tones are excellent warm ups. Feel for vibrations across the mask area. To keep the lips loose and relaxed, include the buzzing sound ( the way you would buzz the lips on a babys belly to make the baby gi .....

A Description of The Throat

7. The larynx, or voice box, is located in the neck and performs several important functions. The larynx is involved in swallowing, breathing, and voice production. Sound is produced when the air which passes through the vocal cords causes them to vibrate and create sound waves in the pharynx, nose and mouth. The pitch of sound is determined by the amount of tension on the vocal folds (cords). .....

Keeping the sore throat bugs away

8. Viruses are responsible for 70-80 per cent of sore throats, so the best way to side-step a sore throat is to avoid catching a virus.One way to do this is to practice social distancing. If someone around you is coughing, simply move out of the way. If its you with the cough, then use cough etiquette and cough into your elbow, not your hand, to restrict the spread of germs.Keep your hands clean by washing them frequently, and keep them away from yo .....

Nipping sore throats in the bud

9. If youre unlucky enough to succumb to a sore throat, there are some things you can do to ensure a speedy recovery.Make sure you are using a suitable method of pain relief, as advised by your pharmacist or doctor. Often soothing remedies such as honey and lemon can provide symptomatic relief while your body fights the infection.Keep your throat well irrigated by drinking lots of fluids preferably water. Dont gargle with anything that will irritat .....

Try a lemon and water drink

10. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice, or use bottled juice, and combine with warm water. Add some honey. Heating the drink with the honey is most effective. .....

Try making hot tea

11. Add a good dash of lemon juice and honey. Inhale the vapors while drinking the tea. .....

Avoid pollution

12. Where the air is bad, try to keep away from it or go somewhere to have a break from it if you live in the midst of it. Stay indoors during smog days but remember that indoor air pollution can be even worse, so air the house when the smog has gone. .....

Throat and Voice Healthy

13. Dr. Amin and his comprehensive voice care team in New York City at the NYU Voice Center offer customized, patient-centered treatment for voice, swallowing, and airway problems. Patient education is very important to us. Please take a moment to review our tips on how to maintain healthy voices and throats. Proper care of our vocal cords and throats may prevent many conditions that affect the professional voice. How Dr. Milan Amin and his team of .....

Drink water stay well hydrated

14. Keeping your body well hydrated by drinking plenty of water each day (6-8 glasses) is essential to maintaining a healthy voice. The vocal cords vibrate extremely fast even with the most simple sound production; remaining hydrated through water consumption optimizes the throat .....

Do not smoke

15. It is well known that smoking leads to lung or throat cancer. Primary and secondhand smoke that is breathed in passes by the vocal cords causing significant irritation and swelling of the vocal cords. This will permanently change voice quality, nature, and capabilities. .....

Do not abuse or misuse your voice

16. Your voice is not indestructible. In every day communication, be sure to avoid habitual yelling, screaming, or cheering. Try not to talk loudly in locations with significant background noise or noisy environments. Be aware of your background noise when it becomes noisy, significant increases in voice volume occur naturally, causing harm to your voice. If you feel like your throat is dry, tired, or your voice is becoming hoarse, stop talking. To r .....

Minimize throat clearing

17. Clearing your throat can be compared to slapping or slamming the vocal cords together. Consequently, excessive throat clearing can cause vocal cord injury and subsequent hoarseness. An alternative to voice clearing is taking a small sip of water or simply swallowing to clear the secretions from the throat and alleviate the need for throat clearing or coughing. The most common reason for excessive throat clearing is an unrecognized medical conditi .....

Moderate voice use when sick

18. Reduce your vocal demands as much as possible when your voice is hoarse due to excessive use or an upper respiratory infection (cold). Singers should exhibit extra caution if one .....

Preventing Cold Sores

19. Preventing Cold SoresCold sores are caused by herpes simplex virus type 1, or HSV-1, and they can really affect anyone at anytime. Sharing things that come in contact with your mouth and saliva, such as eating utensils, lip balm, and drinking glasses is a common way of spreading this virus. And since there is no real cure for HSV-1, its wise to take these prevention suggestions seriously. Learn about cold sores on this page. .....

Preventing MonoTeenagers

20. specifically those aged 15 to 17 -- are most at risk to develop mononucleosis, commonly known as the kissing disease. This infection can be spread through more than just kissing, however. Even getting in the path of a sneeze can transmit mono, so arm yourself with the basics on mono, including what symptoms to look out for. Youll find all of this and more in the section. .....

Preventing Strep Throat

21. Strep throat can be diagnosed easily (with a throat culture by your doctor) and can be treated effectively (with antibiotics). If left untreated, however, you could come down with rheumatic fever, which can be very serious. Learn how to prevent strep throat from entering your home as well as what some of the most common symptoms are on this page. .....

Preventing Mono

22. Mono has many of the same symptoms of the flu, so its important to know what else to look out for in case you or someone in your family comes down with this infection. Learn the basics, as well as who is most at risk, in the helpful information that follows. Mono Basics Mononucleosis, or the kissing disease, is a common infection usually caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a member of the herpesvirus family. As its nickname implies, kissing c .....

Determining the Difference Between Strep Throat and the Cold Virus

23. Figuring out which of these two is the cause of your symptoms is not always possible. However, there are some key differences. Strep throat usually involves a severe sore throat that is usually not accompanied by a runny nose, coughing, congestion and sneezing. However, the only way to know for sure if you have strep is to visit your doctor and have a rapid strep test or throat culture performed. These kinds of strep complications often occur in .....