Immense Throat Trouble

From a choir director's perspective:

Hot tea and lemon! Or a little honey.

I have also found that sage tea is very good. I use a blackberry/sage blend from Republic of Tea that is very good.

 

Our new pastor has had throat problems since moving here in Oct. I think he's having to adjust to the pine trees, etc. Water during the sermon doesn't help.

 

For two and one-half years I experienced hoarseness which got worse as time progressed. One doctor concluded that it was caused by an irritated esophagus which had been damaged by acid reflux. Put me on Nexium. That helped my mild reflux problem, but the hoarseness continued to get worse. At times my voice would be crystal-clear, but only for a day or less. Oddly, it would normally clear up once I had been preaching for about 5 minutes. I had difficulty in getting enough air to talk.

Finally, in Nov. of last year, a doctor found a growth on my vocal folds that was the culprit. He removed it. It was benign, thank God. I was out of the pulpit for about a month and did no prolonged speaking during my recovery. My voice is very clear now...at least 90% of the time. The doctor told me that I might have some small amount of hoarseness for the first 90 days following the surgery, but it should clear up.

FBCPastorsWife, maybe my story is something you will want to share with your husband. Don't let the problem escalate the way I did. In the words of one of my heroes, "Nip it in the bud!"

 

I had a terrible time with my throat a few years back. It finally took surgery to correct the problem. Does he need to see a Doctor? Is there an infection that needs to be treated?

Assuming you are seeking medical advice if required. . . Hot tea with lemon or honey felt great while I was drinking it, but once I finished the cup my throat usually felt worse. Gargling with hot salt water (very salty, but no warmer than hot tap water) on the other hand felt terrible until I was done and then once I stopped I usually felt better for at least an hour. I would mix up about 24 oz of hot salt water, gargle until I was about to gag, spit it out and then take another gulp. It would take 5 min or so to do the whole glass. O.K., that's pretty gross, but it worked for me.

 

I heard a lecture on this very subject by Dr. Stephen Olford. I will have to look in my notes for his exact advice. But I do recall 2 things he said that helped him greatly and that he recommends to all speakers/pastors/etc. 1. Learn and practice speaking from the diaphram, instead of straining the vocal chords. 2. Suck on a halls cough drop right before speaking to lubricate the vocal chords. He testifed that these 2 things helped keep his voice and preaching strong for all his years of ministry and since he was I believe 85 during the time of this lecture, I think he speaks from some authority.

 

stop screaming at the deacons??? j/k Professional singers use lemon juice, or very tart lemonade to help keep their throats loose for performances, try that.