Laryngitis

Laryngitis

You may have lost your voice. But all is not lost. Laryngitis is nature's husky way of saying ... er, signaling that your vocal cords need a break.

Sometimes extreme hoarseness is the result of a cold or infection, and your voice will return when the cold leaves. Usually, though, laryngitis is more like an injury caused by overusing your vocal cords. Maybe you went for too many high notes in the shower or you rooted for your favorite team a little too enthusiastically. But whether the cause is an infection or a heck-raisin' holler, here's how to rein in the hoarseness and quickly get your voice back to normal.

Don't gargle. A good gargle may seem like an obvious remedy, but it will actually do more harm than good. "Gargling doesn't seem to reach down into the larynx where the irritated or inflamed tissue is," says Robert J. Feder, M.D., a Los Angeles otolaryngologist who teaches singing at the University of Southern California School of Music. "More important, if you make noise as you gargle, the vibration can actually harm inflamed vocal chords."

Stay completely quiet. And that means avoiding whispering, too. It's a given that talking should be avoided: It strains your vocal cords, prolonging or worsening laryngitis. But its a little-known fact that whispering can be just as bad, or even worse. "Whispering causes you to bang your vocal cords together as strongly as if you were shouting," explains George T. Simpson II, M.D., chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Lead your hoarse to water. Downing at least eight glasses of water a day--and preferably ten--ensures that your larynx stays moist, a key step in curing laryngitis. The water should be warm or room temperature--not overly hot or cold. And don't add salt or alcohol. (Forget about hot toddies: They're too drying.) If water isn't your favorite beverage, Dr. Feder says you can also drink juice and (warm) tea with honey. Note: Drink even more if you're flying, because the air you breathe in planes is very drying.

Avoid aspirin. If you've lost your voice because you were yelling too loudly, you've probably ruptured a capillary. So stay away from aspirin, advises Laurence Levine, D.D.S., M.D., associate clinical professor of otolaryngology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Aspirin increases clotting time, which can impede the healing process.

Choose cough drops wisely. Avoid mint and mentholated products, which are too drying, says Dr. Feder. Stick with honey--or fruit-flavored soft cough drops instead. But keep in mind that cough drops are basically just candy. They don't have any healing effect.

Get steamed. Hanging your head over a steaming bowl of water for five minutes two to four times a day can restore lost moisture in your throat and quicken healing time. If you have a cold-air humidifier, that also does the trick, adds Scott Kessler, M.D., an otolaryngologist in New York City who specializes in performing arts medicine and a physician for many of the performers at the Metropolitan Opera and the City Opera and on Broadway.