Singing during heavy pollen season

[catndahats]

After your rapid weight gain post that I rather glibly answered, now seeing this one I am glad to see that you are seeing doctors for your care. Hope all is well, and improving.

Having an epi-pen handy says this is not something to mess around with...so, heed your doc's advice.

Regarding singing/playing during pollen season; my doc put suggested generic flonase to help. The other things that seem to help are splashing water on my hands/face often to get the pollen away from my nose and eyes....some us a saline spray for their nose.

An old timers tale that does give some relief is a spoonful of local honey daily, some ad a shot of whiskey to the honey. Sounds weird but it works. Out here we have cedar pollen and others make tea from the cedar and claim it helps.

Another interesting/odd whiskey related singing aid is one I saw recently at an open mic. There are a lot of talented surprise guests at these events. One night we were sitting next to a quiet, very ordinary looking lady wearing a very old wrinkled warm up suit, not your typical looking singer/player (for lack of words) awaiting her turn to play/sing. She opened her guitar case and inside was a beautiful Gibson sunburst guitar....her appearance did not match the guitar.

Right before she got up to play her 3 songs, she pulled out a cigarette, smoked half and drank a shot of whiskey. She smiled and said she's not a smoker, but it helped her voice. I was still wondering about what she was going to sing/play with that beautiful guitar. When they called her up, she could not only play the strings off the guitar, but she belted out some amazing vocals---like really amazing!

Turns out she lives locally, but tours nationally and records in Nashville with some big names...you never know who is sitting right beside you. But she swore 1/2 a cigarette and a shot of whiskey helped her sing---and proved it.

But heed your doc's advice #1.

Originally Posted by LiveMusic

Lots of great info here. The immediate problem of heavy pollen in the air and it affecting my throat, perhaps Bob's info is a fix.

Do you guys take allergy shots on a regular basis? I did them for several months and I really couldn't tell a difference. And it's a burden for me to go to the big city. I dunno if I will do it forever like recommended. Also was prescribed meds.

I had a weird thing happen. My face swole up, looked like a monster. Doctor surmised it was my getting stung by yellowjackets. But... that was a week earlier. Got sent to the allergist and his tests said I am allergic to bee stings, all of them, wasps, etc. Have taken a round of shots for that and I just don't know about this... if the therapy really works. It's a PITA to go once a month to get a bee sting shot but if I believe I gotta have it not to die, I'll do it, lol. I dunno how you would handle that while traveling. I was also prescribed an epi pen. Sure seems weird the face swelled a week later. (Got stung on neck. Also arm.) I have never had a problem with stings during my lifetime. But, apparently, it happens, that is manifests itself into adulthood.

[jseth]

To combat the effects of allergies and pollen, I employ several measures...

I use a Neill-Med sinus rinse every day... I boil water and make a mixture with cold filtered water. I've learned that the mucous membranes are VERY sensitive to heat, so I check it against my wrist like a baby's bottle! I've learned to go slowly with it, not forcing it back in my sinuses towards the ear canal. After numerous times of using it, I've got it where it only takes a few minutes - although I always realize that there will be some dripping after, and design my activities appropriately.

I do take a Claritin (actually, the Costco variant, which is SO much cheaper!) in the mornings. Where I live in Oregon, the valley is infamous for being rife with pollen of some sort, nearly year 'round.

When my throat is really gunked up with mucous, I do a vocal wash with mild salt water. I learned it from a vocal coach, decades ago, and it's quite effective. However, there is a specific method to use that would be overly wordy to write here... if you really want to know it, pm me and I'll lay it out for you!

I drink plenty of water, as well. When I'm on a gig (or just before), I don't drink anything that's got ice in it or is extremely cold... neither do I drink alcohol of any sort, not when I'm singing - alcohol dehydrates vocal cords, as does citrus/citric acid - so, no lemon.

That same vocal coach, Judy Davis, told us that honey is the closest thing to the body's natural lubricant for the throat... she also said that "good ol' Lipton tea" is very beneficial for the 'cords... something about the tannins in it. A travel mug with Lipton tea and honey is a great thing to sip on during a gig...

Hope this helps a bit, although it will apparently be too late for your show (was that last night?).

Sing well....... and play on.................>

[baw3]

Thanks everyone for all the tips on this I suffer from allergies too. I'm going to try a few of these and see if they help.