Remedies for laryngitis

                  

Just so's you know, I do read all your comments, and often I respond with emails, or go straight to your journal if you leave a comment. Then I'll read your entry, or a few, and leave comments. It's how I let you know that I appreciate your visits!

Today, I'm going to post your suggestions on how to take care of myself during this bout with laryngitis right here in the journal entry itself. What I had was acute laryngitis.... caused by stress, and I didn't yell at the kids, Greg... <grin> it was the coughing that stressed me out... yes, the coughing... <ahem>.

Lisa, Shelly, and Guido pretty much agreed that I had several good remedies already offered... and wished me to get better. I have gotten better since, thank you... and following are some of those wonderful old fashioned remedies. Some worked, some I haven't tried yet.

Many of you came up with the old fashioned remedy of hot/warm tea with lemon and honey. Jackie, Sheria, Natalie, and others agreed that this was a reliable remedy they were familiar with. However, I dislike combining lemon in my tea, hot or cold, although the honey is good either way. So I did the hot tea with honey, skipped the lemon juice. That was very soothing.

Jan's idea had a little twist at the end of her comment... to add glycerin to the honey and lemon. I haven't tried this one either... I have lots of glycerin, though, because I useit to make the homemade dog shampoo, a recipe I wrote about a few days ago. I suppose the glycerin is to keep moisture in the throat?

Then, I tried Bam's variation of honey, lemon, and tea. She suggested I try a teaspoon of straight lemon juice followed by a teaspoon of honey. I found this much more palatable, believe it or not. What I did was pour into a tablespoon a dollop of honey, then squirted on some lemon juice, and as it mixed on the back of my tongue the words to an old familiar song came to mind. I changed the words to go with the treatment:  "... just a spoonful of honey helps the lemon go down, the lemon go dow-own, the lemon - go down.... in the most delightful way!"

Tammy suggested what sounded like warm lemonade, which seemed okay to me, and that her sister tried lemon juice straight up....! I haven't tried that one yet. I agree with you, Tammy. Ick.

Jackie and Sugar also suggested horehound candy...? I don't know what that is, but I'm curious now. Maybe Cracker Barrel has some in their old timey candy barrel? I'll look into it.

Patrick suggested gargling with warm water and pulverized aspirin with lemon juice... I think I will try that one tonight. I wonder if I can use Tylenol instead of aspirin?

Barry came up with a voice technique to help me acquire a voice because I needed to continue teaching... a teacher without a voice is pretty common actually. The kids are often sympathetic and try to help out. As they did for me this week. Students who don't normally like to read out loud actually volunteered to read out loud directions and passages so that I could save my voice.

Barry, I did try to the high pitch exercise with pursing lips. I didn't hear a foghorn, but I did laugh at myself...!! I noticed that if I tried to talk a lower pitch, I could etch out something audible.

Mark and Kate suggested what the good doctor herself would have told me: to rest my voice, not to speak. Sounds simple. Like Kate says, impossible for a teacher. I cannot stay home for two weeks while my throat heals either. So I rested whenever possible each evening.

Now Sugar, the thing about the dirty sock tied around my neck... I think I will bypass that one, my friend!! I laughed with you at that one... I wondered if you had really tried it? Now I remember when I was a child, my mom applying Vick's VapoRub to my chest and throat whenever I had a bad cold, and she would wrap a sock around my neck to keep the heat in. I didn't like the feel of the sock around my neck, but the rubbing of the jelly was soothing and, the attention of her hands around my neck and chest was comforting.

Greg, I did not yell at the kids! I think I've already mentioned that! ... But I could have. I coughed too much, yes, that's my story.

Finally,Martha suggested what my French Canadian grandmother, whom I called memere, would have told me if I could have communicated with her. Martha wrote if you aren't better by now, try a few shots of booze!  I haven't tried that one either. Because it is getting better!

I will have to say that time, rest, and comfortably hot teas with honey helped a great deal. The lemon and honey mixed tasted okay, and may have helped. The fact that I'm not coughing as much as I was last week has also allowed the voicebox to heal.

I had read on the internet, whilesearching remedies, that the honey acts as an antibiotic as well, so that was good to know.

It's not completely restored, but there is audible sound. I was able to teach Sunday School today.

             Thanks for all your well wishes...

                          I do feel better today.

I'm going to find out how to get the snow moving on the lovel winter graphic from Donna... THANK YOU DONNA! ... she sent it to me and it was snowing. I saved it with GIF, and it continued to snow... It will snow again as soon as I find out what to do to get the motion here. bea

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