if you lose your voice experience hoarseness or
any changes to your voice it can be challenging to continue working especially if you rely
on your voice for work or even doing simple daily tasks such as talking to your family and
friends many people reach for home remedies to get their boys back as soon as possible but do
these home remedies really work let's find out hi i'm katarina speech language pathologist
and here on this channel i share practical tips about using your voice in a healthy
way so if this is a topic that interests you consider subscribing to this channel and
hitting that bell notification icon so that you don't miss any of my future videos many
people believe that home remedies can be a quick and effective solution to getting your
voice back for example tea with ginger or lemon salt water gargles or honey are often mentioned
as the cure for your voice but is this really true there are many different causes of
hoarseness voice loss and other voice changes these include viral or bacterial infections
overuse or unsustainable use of the voice swelling of the vocal folds or more permanent
changes to the structure of the vocal fold tissue such as vocal nodules and polyps different
causes will require different solutions and treatment options however there is no evidence
that home remedies like salt water gargles or tea with honey will fix any voice issues if you
have a sore throat or a hoarse voice as a result of an acute infection such as common cold or flu
they may temporarily alleviate some discomfort but they definitely won't reduce the roughness
hoarseness or breathiness in your voice in fact nothing that you eat or drink directly touches
your vocal folds if any food or drink touches the vocal fold it means that they entered your airway
and your body will protect you by coughing them out to prevent choking beverages medicines and
home remedies taken by mouth may contain helpful ingredients but none of them wets or lubricates
your vocal folds or improves their function their benefits are indirect drinking tea with or without
honey is a good way to hydrate your body and voice but it takes time to feel the benefits and
hydration is important whether you are sick or not your voice likes moisture so keep drinking plenty
of fluids throughout the day so that the level of the systemic hydration in your body is good enough
to support good vocal health if your voice gets hoarse or you lose your voice as a result of
an acute meaning new condition there are three basic things you can do to help your voice heal
rehydrate your voice either drink plenty of fluids or steam your voice rest it use it only for the
most important vocal task during your illness and rehabilitated when you feel better with the gentle
vocal exercises like humming or straw exercises if your voice gets hoarse or if you lose your voice
on a regular basis then no home remedies will help you fix your voice issue recurrent voice problems
are usually a result of the way you use your voice maybe you use your voice too much for what it can
endure right now for example many people stopped using their voice in their full range and power
during the pandemic for two years they didn't need to speak loud because they were talking
to people in close proximity or through online platforms most people stopped performing or even
training their voice because there was no reason some people use their voice less in terms of the
amount of voice used so instead of speaking all day long they only used it for a few hours a day
and now after the pandemic when we are trying to go back to using our voices in the full range
we may feel more tired or experience hoarseness that's because our voices lost endurance and our
bodies lost their stamina to support the boys as you can see no home remedies would ever help this
type of situation or maybe you use your voice with too much force or muscle effort you may not even
know about it because this change usually happens very gradually for example you may have been sick
with a cold or flu but you needed to talk during this period of time and you forced your voice
this type of sound production then became habitual even after the initial sickness went away and
here is another example from the pandemic period one of the most common symptoms of covet
is cough many people spend days and hours coughing which affected the health of the vocal
folds some people ended up with a horse voice or even a loss of voice like me if they didn't give
their voice enough time to heal and the healing times for covet-related voice issues are sometimes
really long they may have developed motor problems that use more vocal effort and force and these
motor patterns could become habitual without you even knowing you only notice when your voice
becomes hoarse or gets [ __ ] on a regular basis and again this example only shows that no
home remedies would ever help this vocal issue if you are experiencing vocal strain tension
or even pain when speaking and you are ready to work with me towards a free strong and confident
voice you can apply to our vocal freedom system coaching program check out this link or the links
in the description below this video to learn more okay so we are clear that home remedies do
not improve vocal function but are there any foods or drinks that are really great for your voice one
of the most basic things you can do to maintain your voice healthy is drinking plenty of fluids
good hydration helps your body produce thin watery mucus which lubricates the vocal
folds which makes them work with less effort hydrated vocal folds are also less prone to vocal
injuries and last longer on the other hand there are some foods and drinks that can work against
your voice these are very individual and will depend on your body's reaction to them i cannot
tell you don't eat this or don't drink that because we are all different but my advice in
general is avoid foods that you are allergic or sensitive to as they may increase overall
inflammation in your body including the tissues in your voice box also avoid foods and drinks that
trigger acid reflux for example spicy foods for some people also avoid foods or drinks that make
you stay up all night and prevent you from getting a good night's sleep and a rest for your voice
for example coffee has this effect on many people or avoid ingredients that dehydrate your voice
like menthol laws than jess or make you overuse your voice such as alcohol but don't exclude
broad food or drink categories from your diet just because you read it on the internet test it
on your body and your voice we are all different and your body may react differently than mine
okay that's all for today but before you go check out the link in the description below for
a walk through video with seven steps that leads to a strong voice without tension if you want to
know what body voice and mind factors you need to consider to finally free your voice click the link
in the description below this video and if you found this video helpful click the like button
and share it with your friends who may benefit from this information and check out my other
videos right here below i'll see you there bye you
