What to do instead...

Zycam:

I'm so excited about this stuff. It's the same idea as the zinc lozenges you let dissolve in your mouth at the first sign of a cold, except that this doesn't make your mouth taste like rocks. Actually, rock flavoring would improve the taste of zinc lozenges. I've tried, and I know some people can tolerate them, but, honestly, I'd rather have the cold. So imagine my delight when Zycam appeared on the drug store shelves! It's available over the counter, and you'll find it where you find those miserable lozenges. It's available in several forms, but my understanding is that the nasal swabs are the best, and that's what I've used and what I'm recommending.

Now, Zycam is the name brand, and if you find the same ingredient and strength in a less costly brand, go for it. The key is that you keep it in your medicine cabinet or at your workplace during cold season so you can use it at the very first "uh-oh" moment when you realize you're having more than an allergy attack. It's also important to follow the directions and repeat the treatment every four hours. It's easy and discomfort-free; it's like running a damp Q-tip just an eighth of an inch inside each nostril. My friend Shari tried it when she was first feeling a cold coming on last season, but she felt so good that, rather than continue for another forty-eight hours as recommended, she stopped the treatment. Well, two days later, her cold was back, and worse than ever. She returned to the treatment and recovered quickly, but I took her warning to heart and followed the directions when it was my turn, even though it meant a middle-of-the-night treatment. If I prepared it ahead of time, it only took twenty-seconds. It was well worth it.

I've heard great reports on Zycam for awhile, but I've managed to avoid a cold for a long time. I only had the chance to test Zycam out for myself a few months ago. I woke up with a cold, and although it was developing quickly, it wasn't too bad yet. I wasn't able to find the Zycam and start using it until about twelve hours later. By the next morning, I hadn't gotten worse, and was actually a little better. And the next day after that, I didn't even have the runny nose anymore. It was a wonderfully anticlimactic cold.

Hot Epsom salt baths:

Consult a physician first if you have a heart condition. The bath can be beneficial even if it only last three or four minutes. Follow the directions on the package. Duane Law (see below) recommends getting into the water as hot as you can tolerate it.

Acupuncture treatment:

Always let your practitioner know if you may be contagious and let them decide if they are willing to take the chance. I see Duane Law, licensed acupuncturist and naturopath, because he works only on an outcall basis. He does his best to get to patients the same day they call, and I know it has helped me immeasurably to get a treatment as soon as I feel I'm getting sick. Massage doesn't always feel so good if you have a fever since your skin becomes very sensitive. But it can be helpful later in helping move things along, and it certainly can be good preventive medicine.

Hot liquids:

1. All Purpose "Witch's Brew"

I call it that because this is a nasty-looking pot full of ingredients that you can use to scare off unwanted company. It's actually delicious depending on how you dilute it. Assuming you have a sore throat or cold, or any inflammation of the vocal cords or surrounding tissue, use Throat Coat as the main tea. If you have another malady, just substitute the appropriate herbal tea, but keep the fresh ginger. Traditional Medicinals makes a terrific line of high-quality herbal teas that clearly name the benefits of each tea on the label, so you don't have to be an expert. Throat Coat is their brand name, but if you find another brand that has good quality ingredients, that's fine. The main ingredients you want for throat inflammation are licorice root and slippery elm bark. So here is the recipe for the brew:

You need:

a medium sized (4 quart) pot with a lid that fits snuggly
a chunk of fresh Ginger root (Whole Foods often has organic), about the size of your hand
drinking water
a box of Throat Coat tea

Boil about 2 quarts of drinking water in a 4 quart pot. Exact proportions and the size of the pot are not critical.

While the water is heating, remove 6-10 teabags from their sealed packets, and then use scissors to cut off the paper tags. The string can stay on. I usually just pull the string out with the tag

Now cut the ginger in roughly one-quarter inch thick pieces. Neatness doesn't count as you're just going to steep the heck out of it, anyway.

When the water is boiling, put the ginger and tea bags into the pot and remove from heat.

Immediately cover tightly.

Let it steep for 45 minutes to 1 hour. An hour is better. I suggest using a ladle to serve into your cup, passing the tea through a tea strainer to catch any loose ginger.

Dilute as needed with apple juice or similar juice to taste. Reheat and re-steep as desired. May be refrigerated after cooling.

Water can also be used to dilute it if you don't want the sugars from the juice. It's more challenging without the juice, but it's not so bad if you remember that it's medicine, and I've grown to prefer the taste "straight". If you can't make the big batch, or you don't have the ginger, you could heat up some water in the microwave or in a kettle, and then put two or three teabags in to steep. The thing is, it needs to be stronger than most people would normally drink it, and it needs to steep for a long time in order to be medicinal in strength. I've tried covering it with a saucer, then a kitchen towel over it to maintain enough heat to steep for 45 minutes.

The temperature at which you actually drink it doesn't matter much, although cold beverages in general aren't the best choice. But certainly, once the brew has steeped, you can drink it at room temperature and still get the benefits.

Why does it work?? The ingredients in the Throat Coat are soothing and coating to the lining of the mouth and throat. Ginger is a very powerful root with many healing qualities. Perhaps the most important of these is heat. Ginger is spicy, as you probably know, and will warm you from the inside out. This is particularly important if you're taking antibiotics, which are cooling to the system. Your body needs heat to fight off infection, and this is one reason that you are more susceptible to illness after taking antibiotics, especially the powerful medications we are now being given. Please don't take antibiotics unless you really have to. They can be life-savers, but they do come at a price, physiologically speaking.

I drink this ginger concoction every day to maintain good vocal and general health. You can find out more about the benefits of ginger through a naturopath.

2. Chicken Soup

Yes, I know you've heard it before, but it's just about the best thing ever. The salt is a natural antibiotic. The warmth is beneficial for your throat, and the steamy element of any hot liquid helps clear mucus from your sinuses. I remember reading somewhere that chicken soup has "mucolitic" properties, which is a fancy way of saying that chicken soup helps clear mucus. The oil is lubricating to your throat. And plain old canned chicken broth is my favorite thing to bring into the dry climate of recording studios. Chicken broth is also great before auditions to counter any nervous dryness. The sodium-free tastes pretty bad to most people, so I suggest the regular kind. Most of them are fat-free or 99% fat free, which is not as beneficial as the fatful since we want the oiliness of the fat. It's really not much fat anyway. Every student I've told about chicken broth has been delighted with the results, and I hope you like it. If you're a vegetarian, vegetable soups that contain oils are pretty helpful too, and a swig of flax seed oil is soothing and lubricating to the throat. Some people find it challenging to get down, so proceed with caution! Make sure it's very fresh and stay properly refrigerated. Flax seed oil is a wonderful nutrient, but it should really be used within a week of opening it. So that fifty- gallon drum from Costco may not be the best choice.

When you're sick, you're best off with homemade chicken soup made with all the parts you wouldn't want on a sandwich. I either pick up some soup hot from a good deli, or if I'm really stuck at home, I order "hot & sour" soup from a good Chinese restaurant; I like California Wok for this. Hot & sour soup is basically spicy Chinese chicken soup. And the spiciness if great for elevating your temperature! (Remember, that's generally a good thing.)

The Honey Controversy:

For years I heard singers talk about hot tea with lemon and honey. While I never found this helpful for my voice, I couldn't have told you why I didn't find it helpful. I finally learned from my eastern medicine sources what the scoop is on this popular treatment.

If honey in your tea tastes wonderful to you, then enjoy it. But the beneficial enzymes in honey are destroyed at high temperatures. That means any hot beverage is too hot for honey, and pasteurization also renders honey medically worthless.

A spoonful of raw honey dissolved under the tongue is beneficial. But the key is RAW, not pasteurized. That means it must be refrigerated after opening. It will say "raw" right on the label, and will probably be organic, which I think is better anyway. You can usually buy raw honey at your local farmers' market. That's the freshest way unless you have your own hive. You can also find raw honey at Whole Foods Market, although it may be more expensive there. YUMMM!

I invite you to keep in mind the negative effects of sugars, including honey, on your organs and adrenal system. So I wouldn't eat the whole jar at one sitting. But if your throat is feeling irritated, a small spoonful raw honey, particularly before you sing, is a soothing, lubricating anti-inflammatory.

Clear some time:

I know it's not easy, but if you can book out two full days, you'll be much more likely to get over your illness quickly. Having been self-employed for twenty years, I have never had the privilege of a paid sick day in my life. But I think it's actually been easier for me in some ways than someone who would rather save paid sick days for healthy vacation days.

Why waste a paid day at home feeling lousy? Because it's a drag to have a simple head cold hanging on for weeks or months in the form of a nagging cough or lethargy. I've learned to bite the bullet and cancel everything I can possibly cancel until I know I'm on the mend.

Also, I would never dream of teaching singing if I thought I might be contagious, and I encourage my students to cancel their lessons with me if they are sick. But the point is, since I started treating my occasional cold homeopathically, I've yet to have one that wasn't gone in three days. And I mean GONE!

Buckley's:

I have a wonderful, health-conscious student who seems to constantly be touring the country. With airplanes and climate changes, she's had to become creative about staying healthy. She's given me the thumbs up on the remedies described above, and she's also passed along to me many tips about her favorite alternative products. Here's what she said to me in an e-mail after successful treatment of a major cold virus:

"For those singers with a bad cough who DON"T want to take alcohol based, drying cough syrups, they should go get Buckley's. It tastes like s--t on fire (looks like sewage), but it will expel any bronchial ailment outta ya. It's got pine tar in it. An old apothecary type formulation. But it's not recommended for asthmatics. Thought I'd pass that diddy on to ya."

It's a Canadian product, but it's available here at Rite-aid and other pharmacies. I've checked out their website, www.buckleys.com, and they say right at the top,

"When it comes to being sick, there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who want comfort, and those who want to get better. We make medicine for the second kind."

Buckley's, I like the way you think!

Rest your voice as well as your body:

Your voice will be temporarily affected by the inflammation, mucus, and any coughing. So do what you can to avoid unnecessary strain. Don't try to sing, and do your best to minimize talking. Whispering is more tiring to your voice than speaking normally. And even though the husky sound of an inflamed set of vocal chords may be the only fun thing about the illness, resist the temptation to use this "sexy" voice. Just let it rest. The voice is amazingly resilient. If you give it time, it will usually recover quickly and completely.

What NOT to take when you are sick...