This morning I woke with a sore throat. Am sure many of you have experienced the panic that starts to set in when you get a sore throat simply due to the knowledge of what a cold/flu can do to setting off asthma symptoms.
As I'm *still* recovering from the exacerbation in January which landed me in A&E (its better but still slow walking, croaky voice and twitchy throat, airways and lungs), my heart did sink.
However, as the morning has progressed, and one Fisherman's Friend and lots of hot drinks, the soreness has gone. Its more dry rather than cold/flu type of sore throat. I'm thinking its because of the temperatures dropping in the night because of the cold snap that is being predicted.
So, what options do I need to look at to prevent my throat getting so dry that it becomes sore at night? Would a humidifier be helpful? If so, are there any that are recommended?
Thanks
Written by
ElizabethC
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If you think you might be getting a cold there are a few things you can do. Aggressively begin nasal rinsing to reduce the viral load. Use "first defense " available from boots. Up your preventer for a few days until you see if it's a cold. Take zinc and vitamin c tablets. These are things I do. The first one is most effective if you start rinsing soon enough before the virus has really multiplied.
Ooh yes have discovered 1st defence - been using it a lot recently when my husband got a cold (he banished himself to the spare room as well, bless him). Am very surprised its not recommended more often for people to use at the first sign of the nose tingling for a possible cold.
Anyway, doing all of that. I do need to be careful with rinsing nasal cavities/using 1st defence as I have had rather unpleasant and alarming experience of my nose literally pouring with very watery mucus mixed with lots of blood. Not being prone to nose bleeds and not having used 1st defence for 12 hours, this was alarming. Has happened twice now (3 weeks and 2 weeks ago).
But still, 1st defence does seem to work!
However, if its not a cold, I still have the original issue of throat getting too dry or whatever and waking with it sore and trying to prevent that happening.
I don't have the heating on at night and have the window open a crack to keep the room less dry. I have water to sip. There is a gel for keeping your throat lubricated - typically I have forgotten the name and have run out but most pharmacies have it - it sprays in a bit like First Defence (which I refuse to use as, for me, it simply delays but doesn't stop the cold coming). Also I don't like messing around with my passages for the reasons you cite :-). If you look on singing forums you will find lots of us who have dry throat which as you can imagine is a pain for singing (as is the hoarseness I get from the inhalers even with space).
First Defence isn't supposed to stop a cold but to help limit it in length by mimicking the bodies response (to create mucus to "catch" the virus) but without the ridiculous overproduction that some people get with a cold.
Anyway, for my part, I didn't expect it to work but I was desperate for anything to limit the possible cold I was thinking I was getting. My husband had a cold, various colleagues had colds...I was expecting to get it. Took First Defence as soon as I had a tickle in the nose. Seems to have stopped it. Its now been over a week since my husband's cold disappeared and so far I've not had it.
As for singing. I love to sing. I have (had?) a high soprano voice which now seems to have gone off on holiday somewhere without me. My voice breaks and cracks if I attempt to sing. I find it very difficult to listen to all the music I used to sing to - because I can't sing any longer. And its all thanks to flu in 2015 (started Feb - mostly finished end of March) and which was followed by a bad dose pf laryingitis. My singing voice didn't return till December 2016 (yes, 2016). Then I got the next cold plus asthma exacerbation January 2017. Singing voice up and left again. Though talking voice likes to head off most days too.
What I have left is a dry throat, ticklish throat and sore throat. All pretty much every day. Throat is also super super sensitive. I can choke and cough on anything and nothing. If the choke reflex triggers, the lungs will get in on the action and will be very irritable and for no reason.
So, I am looking for anything which can reduce/remove asthma tightness symptoms.
I have seen humidifiers suggested for dry mouth problems at night (which is a problem I get - and it can cause quite a bit discomfort, certainly enough to wake me up) but ruled it out for myself because I'm all too well aware that damp conditions are not good for my asthma.
This is why I've been nervous of getting a humidifier. Its a catch 22: throat gets too dry and it triggers choking attacks. Humid atmosphere: triggers coughing attacks! Can't seem to win either way.
I don't sleep with my mouth open. I find it very difficult to breathe through my mouth only. Makes having a cold/flu with a stuffed up nose utterly miserable even without all the asthma triggering symptoms.
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