Keeping Your Throat Healthy

Your throat is a finely tuned structure of tissues, nerves, glands and blood vessels and needs looking after. If you overuse some of the delicate organs and tissues of the throat the effects can be damaging. Taking care of your throat can be quite easy and usually some simple common sense is enough to protect it from long term damage.

Basic Care For Everyone

Although it may not be possible to protect your self entirely and prevent all forms of bacteria from affecting your throat, it may be possible to minimise the damage.

In the cold winter months, make sure you keep your throat protected by wearing appropriate clothing such as a scarf when you go outside, this keeps the tissues warm and well perfused with blood and oxygenated.If you know someone has a sore throat, do not share drinking vessels or cutlery with them as you will be at risk of cross infection.

When you have a niggle in your throat, drink plenty and resort to old-fashioned remedies such as honey and lemon and throat gargles as these should work very well.Prevent coughing from damaging your throat by taking medicines for coughs and colds and by making sure you are free from allergens such as pollen cat hairs or other irritants that you might be sensitive to.

Care For Professional Singers Or Public Speakers

Those people who rely on their voice for their career can take an extra few precautions to maintain the quality of their voice and throat functions.

Avoiding smoky environments is essential as not only is cigarette smoke very drying on the vocal chords and tissues, but the chemicals it contains can be hazardous to health.

If you feel at any time your voice is not performing to its normal standard this may be a sign that it is being overused and needs a rest. Try not to speak or sing for a few days allowing the tissues to rest. Keep them well hydrated by drinking plenty of fresh clear fluids often and wear a scarf outside if the weather is cold.

If you are aware of any friends and relatives having a throat infection, try and protect yourself as necessary if possible.Remember to warm-up your voice before speaking or performing, much like an athlete warm-ups before an event.

Listen To Your Body

It is important to listen to your body and respond in an appropriate way. If you feel as though your throat is tingling, beginning to get sore or you are straining more than normal when you speak, you may have the first signs of an infection.

Most sore throats will heal in their own time, usually over a few days, but if your symptoms persist and the pain is preventing you from being able to eat and drink sufficiently to stay healthy, please see your doctor who may want to swab the throat to determine the type of infection, and/or prescribe an appropriate and effective medication.

Keeping your throat healthy is not a complicated issue and some basic measures should be enough to make sure you keep your throat free from long term damage.