I woke up with a sore throat…then I kicked it’s arse…well, almost.

Phew, there’s nothing worse for a singer than waking up with a sore throat. I’m not talking about one of those hoarse voices from shouting or singing incorrectly. I’m talking about that turn of the season cold, with a  raw throat and stuffy sinuses kind of sore throat. But, when I woke up in the middle of the night and realized the temperature was a wee bit cooler than usual, then I felt that tickling in my throat, I thought, “great, I don’t have time for this.”

Usually, I’d deal with it right then and there, but I decided to sleep on it. When I woke up (and I slept in late) it felt a little better, so I let it go. BIG MISTAKE! You MUST attack a sore throat head on, the minute it happens…I know better. Anyways, I went throughout the day, ignoring the tickle, slept with it again, woke up the next morning and felt terrible, wishing I would’ve gotten my butt out of bed at 4.00 a.m. a few night’s before and dealt with it immediately, but, too late, the damage was done. Still, being a vocal coach and a vocal health nut, I knew what I could do. So here’s a breakdown in order of what I did, the second morning after, in an attempt to knock that sore throat right out and prepare me for the day:

1. Emergen-C- I grabbed a bottle of water, dumped in two packets of Emergen-C mix and downed it. That vitamin C sure does kick some major arse when it comes to making a singer feel better..


2. Sinus Flush- I grabbed my trusty ole’ Neilmed Neti Pot, from neilmed.com. which looks like a blue genie’s lamp, and pumped the saltwater mix through my nostrils. Worked like a charm. By the time I finished, my sinuses were finally opening and I could breathe again.

3. X20- I took a sachet of X20 from singerswater.com, added to a bottle of water, shook it up and drank up. Lots of good things in X20 to give your immune system a boost. Best of all, it does not flavor your water.

This was all to help begin cleaning out the garbage in my body that was affecting my throat, but like I said, you MUST hit it head on the minute you feel a cold or sore throat coming on. Even if I did do these three things the moment I noticed the tickle, it isn’t a magic formula to knock out a sore throat instantly, though I have had great success with it in the past. However, my throat did feel a bit better, but I knew the cold was stuck to me like glue and I’d have to see it out till the end.

Since I was in for the long haul, I kept drinking Emergen-C throughout the day, did another sinus flush, took some Zinc (the singer’s mineral) and made a cup of Throat Coat from Traditional Medicinals. And then my UPS guy showed up….I had ordered a four-pack of products from a company called Superior Vocal Health which is a new health product line for singers. I tried their Sinus Clear, Vocal Rescue, and Throat Saver all in one shot, and let me tell you, phewww that stuff has some bite! I’ve NEVER tried a vocal health product that smacked my voice around like Mike Tyson. But it worked! The Sinus Clear opened me up even more, the Throat Saver gave me back some sense of non-dryness, and the Vocal Rescue gargle, instantly, and I mean INSTANTLY got rid of my sore throat. It was amazing!

So now I can say I am a fan of these new vocal products. Being me, I called the company to learn more about their products. They discussed the herbs with me and I realized why they were working so fast. I became such a fan that I offered to endorse them. In fact, if you want to try out their products and you order their 3-Pack or their 4-Pack, I am offering $80.00 off of my Ultimate Vocal Workout for the 3-Pack, as well as doing a monthly drawing for 4-Pack purchaser for one person to win a free Ultimate Vocal Workout and another to win a free Skype lesson. So check out the site today!

NOTE: You MUST enter the code VENDERA upon checkout to receive these discounts/bonuses.

In closing, I’m not saying this is THE formula to knock out a sore throat. We are all different and there are many combinations that can help, but this one worked like a charm for me.  So if you ever wake up with a sore throat, try some of my ideas, it might just work. If you need more and I mean LOTS more vocal health info, check out my book Raise Your Voice Second Edition  from the Ultimate Vocal Workout page. To learn more about the Superior Vocal Health line, read an interview with SVH creator David Katz.