What To Do When You Lose Your Voice

Next time you go to the big game to cheer on your team, you will know what to do when you lose your voice.  You can lose your voice due to overuse, lesions on the vocal cords or from being ill. Irritation and inflammation both keep the vocal cords from working well and cause you to have a raspy voice or to lose your voice completely.

If you want to heal your voice, you will need:

• Water
• Herbal tea
• Humidifier

1. Give your voice a rest. The best way to heal your vocal cords is to keep from using them as much as possible.  Even whispering when you lose your voice keeps it from healing. Try not to speak at all. 
2. Avoid acidic foods. Food with acid such as lemon or tomatoes should be avoided to keep from getting acid reflux. Acid coming up from the stomach can further irritate your voice.
3. Sip a warm drink. Tea may have too much caffeine to be soothing so opt for an herbal tea instead. if lemon is added to the tea it can irritate the throat as well. A warm drink can help to soothe irritation and improve your voice.
4. Add moisture. Drink water to rehydrate the vocal folds in your throat. You can also use a humidifier to moisturize your throat. Water can help to cut down on friction when the vocal folds vibrate. If the folds are moist and full then your voice won’t sound so raspy.
5. Skip the hot toddy. Your grandmother may have told you to have a hot toddy when you lose your voice. A warm drink that could sterilize those germs sounds like a good idea but it doesn’t really reach the area where they hide, the alcohol is dehydrating and the citrus in toddy could cause acid reflux.