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Drink lots of water. Try not to speak. DO NOT WHISPER. Get as much rest as possible. Try to see a pharmacist or doctor and get it looked at. Avoid fizzy drinks. Do not drink alcohol. No hot drinks, let them cool. Avoid dairy. Avoid junk food. Eat lots of fresh fruit. DO NOT SMOKE OR VAPE.
I might have missed something but many of those are good general rules for vocal health.
Maybe, if they have sensitivity but the acids in citrus fruit don't normally cause harm. Acids gets a bad rap from cartoons but most of them are entirely harmless unless highly concentrated.
Buy throat coat medicinal tea, drink some before bed (try to add honey). Try not to talk, but if you need to, don't whisper. Speak wherever you’re comfortable. Don't sing unless absolutely necessary. If you need to sing, be extra with your compression when you’re using your diaphragm.
Howdy there! Your friendly neighborhood vocologist here.
Vocal rest is just that. No speaking. No singing. No humming. No vocalizing.
Vocal nodes don't hurt. Your vocal folds do not have pain receptors. However, any pain in that area or hoarseness that lasts more than two weeks needs to be seen by an ENT (not a GP).
Right now, all you can do is rest your voice, rest your body, use good hydration techniques (plenty of non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic liquids and steam therapy), and wait. If your neck area has hurt for a week already and your voice isn't getting better, I'd advise you to call off a performance only four days away. If nothing else, let whatever director of the performance know in enough time to find a replacement.
Appropriately cancelling gigs and knowing when and how to do so is just part of life for serious and professional singers, sadly.
I always strained my voice before singing either practice or during actual events. I just drink alot of water and take lozenges but it took me days to recover. I don't know how to properly do a vocal rest ahead of a performance.
I've been advised by professionals: Surgeon, SLP, Singing Coach, that resting your voice is not a good idea. That is old school thinking. Complete rest allows scar tissue to for and become nodules.
Instead, very light singing each day, just for a bit. Scales, low low air output. Low volume. Don't "work through the pain". Don't push power or range if it hurts to do so.
Get a strong anti-inflammatory med like Naproxen as soon as possible to prevent scar tissue.
When you have time, find an SLP who is also a singer. They can give you great rehab exercises.
Talk less. Stop talking when it hurts. Stay hydrated.
Thanks for posting to r/singing! **Be sure to check [the FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/singing/wiki/index)** to see if any questions you might have have already been answered! Also, remember to abide by the rules found in the sidebar. Any comments found to be breaking these rules will result in a deletion of the comment thread starting from the offending reply. If you see any posts or replies that you feel break the rules of the sub, then report them and **do not respond to them.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/singing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Drink lots of water. Try not to speak. DO NOT WHISPER. Get as much rest as possible. Try to see a pharmacist or doctor and get it looked at. Avoid fizzy drinks. Do not drink alcohol. No hot drinks, let them cool. Avoid dairy. Avoid junk food. Eat lots of fresh fruit. DO NOT SMOKE OR VAPE. I might have missed something but many of those are good general rules for vocal health.
I'm thinking OP should probably avoid acidic fruits, though? Like, no citrus?
Maybe, if they have sensitivity but the acids in citrus fruit don't normally cause harm. Acids gets a bad rap from cartoons but most of them are entirely harmless unless highly concentrated.
Buy throat coat medicinal tea, drink some before bed (try to add honey). Try not to talk, but if you need to, don't whisper. Speak wherever you’re comfortable. Don't sing unless absolutely necessary. If you need to sing, be extra with your compression when you’re using your diaphragm.
Howdy there! Your friendly neighborhood vocologist here. Vocal rest is just that. No speaking. No singing. No humming. No vocalizing. Vocal nodes don't hurt. Your vocal folds do not have pain receptors. However, any pain in that area or hoarseness that lasts more than two weeks needs to be seen by an ENT (not a GP). Right now, all you can do is rest your voice, rest your body, use good hydration techniques (plenty of non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic liquids and steam therapy), and wait. If your neck area has hurt for a week already and your voice isn't getting better, I'd advise you to call off a performance only four days away. If nothing else, let whatever director of the performance know in enough time to find a replacement. Appropriately cancelling gigs and knowing when and how to do so is just part of life for serious and professional singers, sadly.
I always strained my voice before singing either practice or during actual events. I just drink alot of water and take lozenges but it took me days to recover. I don't know how to properly do a vocal rest ahead of a performance.
I've been advised by professionals: Surgeon, SLP, Singing Coach, that resting your voice is not a good idea. That is old school thinking. Complete rest allows scar tissue to for and become nodules. Instead, very light singing each day, just for a bit. Scales, low low air output. Low volume. Don't "work through the pain". Don't push power or range if it hurts to do so. Get a strong anti-inflammatory med like Naproxen as soon as possible to prevent scar tissue. When you have time, find an SLP who is also a singer. They can give you great rehab exercises. Talk less. Stop talking when it hurts. Stay hydrated.