if you lose your voice experience hoarseness or any changes to your voice it can be challenging
to continue working especially if you rely on your voice for work or even doing simple
daily tasks such as talking to your family and friends many people reach for home remedies to
get their boys back as soon as possible but do these home remedies really work let's find out
hi i'm katarina speech language pathologist and here on this channel i share practical
tips about using your voice in a healthy way so if this is a topic that interests
you consider subscribing to this channel and hitting that bell notification icon so that
you don't miss any of my future videos many people believe that home remedies can be a
quick and effective solution to getting your voice back for example tea with ginger or lemon
salt water gargles or honey are often mentioned as the cure for your voice but is this really
true there are many different causes of hoarseness voice loss and other voice changes
these include viral or bacterial infections overuse or unsustainable use of the voice
swelling of the vocal folds or more permanent changes to the structure of the vocal fold tissue
such as vocal nodules and polyps different causes will require different solutions
and treatment options however there is no evidence that home remedies like salt water gargles or
tea with honey will fix any voice issues if you have a sore throat or a hoarse voice as a result
of an acute infection such as common cold or flu they may temporarily alleviate some discomfort
but they definitely won't reduce the roughness hoarseness or breathiness in your voice in fact
nothing that you eat or drink directly touches your vocal folds if any food or drink touches the
vocal fold it means that they entered your airway and your body will protect you by coughing them
out to prevent choking beverages medicines and home remedies taken by mouth may contain helpful
ingredients but none of them wets or lubricates your vocal folds or improves their function their
benefits are indirect drinking tea with or without honey is a good way to hydrate your body and
voice but it takes time to feel the benefits and hydration is important whether you are sick or not
your voice likes moisture so keep drinking plenty of fluids throughout the day so that the level of
the systemic hydration in your body is good enough to support good vocal health if your voice gets
hoarse or you lose your voice as a result of an acute meaning new condition there are three
basic things you can do to help your voice heal rehydrate your voice either drink plenty of fluids
or steam your voice rest it use it only for the most important vocal task during your illness and
rehabilitated when you feel better with the gentle vocal exercises like humming or straw exercises if
your voice gets hoarse or if you lose your voice on a regular basis then no home remedies will help
you fix your voice issue recurrent voice problems are usually a result of the way you use your voice
maybe you use your voice too much for what it can endure right now for example many people stopped
using their voice in their full range and power during the pandemic for two years they didn't
need to speak loud because they were talking to people in close proximity or through online
platforms most people stopped performing or even training their voice because there was no reason
some people use their voice less in terms of the amount of voice used so instead of speaking all
day long they only used it for a few hours a day and now after the pandemic when we are trying to
go back to using our voices in the full range we may feel more tired or experience hoarseness
that's because our voices lost endurance and our bodies lost their stamina to support the boys as
you can see no home remedies would ever help this type of situation or maybe you use your voice with
too much force or muscle effort you may not even know about it because this change usually happens
very gradually for example you may have been sick with a cold or flu but you needed to talk during
this period of time and you forced your voice this type of sound production then became habitual
even after the initial sickness went away and here is another example from the pandemic period
one of the most common symptoms of covet is cough many people spend days and hours
coughing which affected the health of the vocal folds some people ended up with a horse voice or
even a loss of voice like me if they didn't give their voice enough time to heal and the healing
times for covet-related voice issues are sometimes really long they may have developed motor problems
that use more vocal effort and force and these motor patterns could become habitual without you
even knowing you only notice when your voice becomes hoarse or gets [ __ ] on a regular basis
and again this example only shows that no home remedies would ever help this vocal issue
if you are experiencing vocal strain tension or even pain when speaking and you are ready to
work with me towards a free strong and confident voice you can apply to our vocal freedom system
coaching program check out this link or the links in the description below this video to learn
more okay so we are clear that home remedies do not improve vocal function but are there any foods
or drinks that are really great for your voice one of the most basic things you can do to maintain
your voice healthy is drinking plenty of fluids good hydration helps your body produce thin
watery mucus which lubricates the vocal folds which makes them work with less effort
hydrated vocal folds are also less prone to vocal injuries and last longer on the other hand there
are some foods and drinks that can work against your voice these are very individual and will
depend on your body's reaction to them i cannot tell you don't eat this or don't drink that
because we are all different but my advice in general is avoid foods that you are allergic
or sensitive to as they may increase overall inflammation in your body including the tissues
in your voice box also avoid foods and drinks that trigger acid reflux for example spicy foods for
some people also avoid foods or drinks that make you stay up all night and prevent you from getting
a good night's sleep and a rest for your voice for example coffee has this effect on many people
or avoid ingredients that dehydrate your voice like menthol laws than jess or make you overuse
your voice such as alcohol but don't exclude broad food or drink categories from your diet
just because you read it on the internet test it on your body and your voice we are all different
and your body may react differently than mine okay that's all for today but before you go
check out the link in the description below for a walk through video with seven steps that leads
to a strong voice without tension if you want to know what body voice and mind factors you need to
consider to finally free your voice click the link in the description below this video and if you
found this video helpful click the like button and share it with your friends who may benefit
from this information and check out my other videos right here below i'll see you there bye
you