The first rule about vocal health is…

… don’t talk about vocal health.

In a way, I see that to be true. It’s the fear that as soon as you say, “I have been freakishly healthy this year!” BAM, you’re going to be hit with the Mother of All Bronchitis.

Well, I’m going to take my chances right now <peering up at the sky anxiously for the thunderclap>:

I have been freakishly healthy this year. 

As someone who has succumbed to several bouts of the Mother of All Bronchitis over the past few years, this is huge for me. I lost thousands of dollars in teaching and performing income in 2017-18 because of upper respiratory illnesses that left me voiceless for weeks on end. For me to not have had so much as a cold (for more than a day or so) – well, it’s huge.

I think there are several reasons for this.

1. I’m eating right (thank you, WW!)
2. I’m working out several times a week (thank you, Brick Bodies!)
3. I’m pretty happy right now (thank you, world!)
   and the most important reason, IMO

4. I have been rinsing out my sinuses 2x/daily ever since the school year started (thank you, Arm & Hammer Saline Rinse). More often if I feel anything coming on.

You can do this with a neti pot, or with saline squeeze bottles/irrigators – this one vibrates, which I find somewhat disconcerting – although I have used a vibrator on my sinuses to relieve pressure in the past, which I’ve also found helpful. (This is also a technique used in vocal training, although I haven’t quite had the guts to introduce it in my studio.)

I personally like the convenience of the Arm & Hammer Saline Spray, which I purchase in a three-pack from Costco (and no, I haven’t monetlzed this blog – yet – so I’m getting no kickbacks from either A&H or Costco, dammit). The spray sits on my counter, I put a cap on it after I use it, and I don’t have to heat up water, wait for the water to cool down so I don’t scald my nose, forget the water in the microwave, and have to start all over. I do it in the morning after I shower, when everything’s loosened up a bit from the steam anyway, and at night after i take off my makeup.

Here’s a video. I look like Bill the Cat when I do it, but oh well. I usually don’t put on makeup before i do this but I am a child of vanity.

[I wrote this on Sunday, and then went off to my church job, where I found out that February 3 is the feast of Saint Blaise, who is the patron saint of throat maladies (and wool combers, for what that is worth). Since I’ve scheduled this to publish on February 3, I had to come back and edit this to say that if all else fails…..]