How can you keep your voice healthy and avoid infections?

2 Warm up and cool down

Before you start singing or speaking, you should always warm up your voice with some gentle exercises that stretch and relax your vocal muscles. This helps prevent vocal strain and injury, and improves your tone and range. Similarly, after you finish your vocal session, you should cool down your voice with some soft and low-pitched sounds that calm and restore your vocal cords.

3 Rest and recover

Your voice is like any other muscle in your body: it needs rest and recovery to stay healthy and strong. If you overuse or abuse your voice, you risk developing vocal fatigue, hoarseness, or even nodules and polyps. That's why you should avoid shouting, whispering, clearing your throat, or talking for long periods of time, especially in noisy environments. You should also give your voice a break when you feel sick, have a sore throat, or have signs of an infection.

4 Eat and drink well

Your diet and nutrition can also affect your voice health and immunity. You should avoid foods and drinks that can irritate your throat, such as spicy, acidic, or dairy products, or that can cause reflux, such as fatty, fried, or chocolate foods. You should also eat foods that can boost your immune system, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and probiotics. And don't forget to wash your hands and utensils regularly to avoid germs and bacteria.

5 Seek and treat

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you may still get an infection that affects your voice. In that case, you should seek professional help and treat the infection as soon as possible. Depending on the cause and severity of the infection, you may need antibiotics, antihistamines, steroids, or other medications to reduce the inflammation and pain. You should also follow your doctor's advice and avoid singing or speaking until your voice heals.

By following these tips, you can keep your voice healthy and avoid infections that can compromise your vocal coaching career. Remember, your voice is your instrument, and you need to take care of it with respect and care.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?