Sarah Talbot

This week has been a little frustrating with me coming down with a flu. It has rendered me without a voice and with a lot of discomfort. Also has resulted in missing rehearsals and canceling music lessons for the week.

Usually when I feel unwell, I can usually ‘knock it on head’, with 3 levels of care.

First level – quick fix or at home remedy: When I feel something coming on, it’s is usually a sore throat or sinus. Immediate treatment is a warm salt water gargle (not swallowing the salt water). This is usually to get me to the end of the day, when I can go home, and get to honey and lemon. I usually mix these into an Earl Grey tea, or just have it in warm water. If I have it, I also mix minced ginger in too. This mixture was given the name ‘Gollum Juice’, by actor/director Andy Serkis, when he was playing the voice of Gollum in Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and the Hobbit movies. The character used to reak havoc upon his vocal chords, this mixture was used to soothe his voice after a hard day of gruff speech. I use it sometimes after a day of talking or singing (which is quite frequent working as a school teacher, as well as performer).

If it’s the end of a busy week, the best thing to do is rest, but this is not always an option with rehearsals. During rehearsals, I would use mints to help keep my throat clear of ‘ick’ (phlegm), and lozenges (Strepsils, Betadines, etc) to soothe the throat.

Second Level – herbal remedies: at this point I’m not ill enough to be absent from work or rehearsal, but still have abit of discomfort. It’s time to break out the herbal remedies. The best ones that I use are ‘Garlic, Horseradish and vitamin C’ supplements, and echinacea root. Basically, gives the immune system a kick in the butt.

Third Level – pharmaceuticals: I tend to use these as a last result to stop me from becoming absent. I don’t usually like using them as they also affect the quality of my singing. This is usually in the ‘Cold and Flu’ varieties that you find at the pharmacy.

The most important aspect that I keep constant through out all aspects of illness is ‘water’. I always keep up with water wherever I go, whether it’s in the classroom, rehearsal room, or just driving. I always have a water bottle with me.

Obviously, this process doesn’t stop all varieties of illnesses, especially when one is tired, stressed, or the illness is quite nasty. In which case, seeking medical advice is quite important (never seek it through the internet), especially when trying to expedite the time it takes for recovery. This means being patient and actually taking the time to recover, which I find so hard do (I don’t like being idle).

With rehearsals that I miss, I try to stay in contact with people who I know can tell me what was done, and provided resources to help me catch up.  This means listening and watching to YouTube videos of pieces, looking over sheet music, or reviewing choreography at home. When I do get my voice back, I treat it gently and do vocal exercises to get it back to performing high notes again. Not always immediate, but once again it’s all about the patience. 

It’s a good thing that I’m naturally pale, I can usually hide illness well, and what I can’t hide I cover with makeup. But in doing this, I also have to know my limitations and accept them.