How Professional Singers Keep Colds At Bay
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Cold season brings trouble to everyone, but professional singers especially work hard to keep colds at bay since the "show must go on." NY1's Health reporter Kafi Drexel filed the following report. Opera singers have to weather through the cold season, just like the rest of us. For them, keeping their vocal chords in top shape is key, and the way they combat colds could strike a chord with just about everyone.
Dr. Linda Dahl, an ear, nose and throat specialist, treats Broadway singers and opera stars. When it comes to treating colds, she urges her patients to take their cues from Mother Nature.
"Well for my patients that I see, I usually recommend more natural treatments that they can do everyday. So really, basic things like washing your hands," says Dahl. "It seems really simple, but if you're performing, especially in a cast on Broadway, then you have a lot of close quarters with other people, and if other people are sick in the cast, it tends to spread like wildfire."
That advice resonates with professional singer and voice coach Deric Rosenblatt, who says the trick to beating colds is preventing them in the first place.
"It's always, always a challenge for singers, because preventative maintenance is the most important thing you can do. Lots of rest, lots of hydration," says Rosenblatt.
What about those pesky sinuses that never seem to go away? About 90 million Americans suffer from sinus infections each year, and Dahl says she has a natural solution for that too -- neti pots.
A neti pot is a plastic container filled with water and packets of saline. To help clear one's sinuses, pour the pot's innards into one nostril and let it flow out the other.
"It's kind of like brushing your teeth every morning. If you rinse out your sinuses every morning, maybe even at night, it helps prevent anything from sticking in there," says Dahl.
The doctor thinks natural remedies work best during cold season.
"Anything that's topical or just enhancing their own body's natural immunity is better. So a lot of the over-the-counter medications are helpful for spot situations, but a lot of the antihistamines and Sudafed, for example, those medications are very drying," she says.
So avoiding a dry cold can truly be something to sing about.