STAYING HEALTHY

Chelsea’s advice for taking care of yourself in the week(s) leading up to a major event like a Musical Theatre Competition

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and cannot give medical advice. This is just my own personal advice, I hope it helps!

Preventing getting sick

Whether or not you have been exposed to illness, when you know something is going around or even just that you have an important event coming up, the advice is the same

water

• THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Drink so much water! Not soda, not juice, WATER! Lots of it!

Electrolytes (and eating healthy)

• Make sure you are getting enough electrolytes and ideally not just from sugary gatorades. There are plenty of low-sugar electrolyte drink additives or even better, go for bananas, tomatoes, avocado, brown rice, and coconut water are all great choices! Throw in some leafy greens just to balance it out a bit too!

SLEEP!!

• Nothing beats what a good night of sleep can do for you!

• Start now! Sleep deficits add up.

Wash your hands!

• Seriously, act like we’re back in the early days of the pandemic when we were all washing our hands like crazy!

• Hand sanitizer is your friend

avoid exposure

• Even if you have already been exposed, immune systems are tricky things. Who knows if that particular bug is going to hit you in two seconds or if it will take multiple exposures to finally take you down. Continue to take precautions regardless of how little or much you have been exposed. Whatever you do please DO NOT take the foolish approach of “well I’ve already been exposed so I might as well (insert risky behavior here).”

• Wear a mask!

• When you know you have to get ready for something important avoid crowds

avoid over-exertion

• Physical: Exercise is important and healthy! But when you are a few days away from a major event, keep your exercise a little more on the calm and low-impact side

• Vocal: Your voice is so precious and you need to protect it! Treat it gently in the week leading up to the event and when you can, choose vocal rest! There is nothing wrong with preventative vocal rest! Do not yell, shout and even be careful about belting.

• Emotional: This one is hard to do but when you can, avoid emotionally draining experiences in the week leading up to your event. Anger and crying will not do you any good right now.

Learn to use your voice without straining it

• Practice speaking without tiring out your voice.

• Put a hand on your throat and practice speaking at different volumes and energies (almost sing-song like) and find the sweet spot where there is no tension, where you can roll your head around loosely on your neck and still continue to talk without tiring yourself out. Another great way to find this sweet spot is by lying on your back and relaxing and finding your voice without tension.

• Practice making those sounds loud without introducing tension into your neck or throat or vocal chords. You may find this gives you a bit of a Julia Child style lilt, lean into that. This will take time and practice but eventually it will develop into a voice that doesn't get tired. Slip into this for every single interaction all day every day in the weeks before comp or shows to protect yourself.

what can you take to prevent getting sick?

Sadly, there is no magical pill, powder or vitamin that I or any doctor I have spoken to can find. The human body is just more complex than that. the following is mostly about placebos. But heY! If a placebo makes you feel better I’m not here to judge or stop you, I do it too!

water

• Did I mention water? Drink it! Drink lots of it! All day! (And eat your veggies too!)

Vitamins

• Sure! Take vitamins! It doesn’t hurt (as long as you take reasonable amounts and nothing that is counter-indicated by any meds you are on) Unfortunately there’s no magic vitamin to fix an illness, read labels with skepticism and don’t trust everything you read and don’t throw your money away on what amounts to something your body will turn into very expensive pee.

Emergen-c etc

• There are plenty of Emergen-C like products out there. If they make you feel better that’s great! And bonus: they get you drinking more water. There’s no harm in taking them but don’t feel like you need to spend all that money on them either.

tamiflu, Theraflu and other preventative medicines

• Tamiflu: Prescription only, should only be taken AFTER onset of symptoms and should only be taken with caution as the side effects can be pretty awful. Please do not casually take this as a preventative unless you have a real underlying condition and a doctor tells you to!

• Theraflu: Please be careful. Theraflu and other over the counter meds like it still come with side effects and often contain things like Tylenol, making it very easy to consume more than the recommended amount of Tylenol in a day. Do your research and know what you are putting in your body. Just be careful, too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

Let’s talk about steroids

• Yes it’s true. Sometimes a doctor will prescribe steroids like Prednisone for a singer or dancer right before a performance if they are starting to get sick and just need to make it through that event. While Prednisone has definitely been known to help someone get through something like this, it also temporarily weakens your immune system. Use caution and consult a doctor.

Vaccinate

• Flu Vaccine! (but not the week of the event please!)

• Covid Vaccine! (but not the week of the event please!)

OK your voice is starting to go - now what?

I hope you don’t get sick, I hope you don’t lose your voice, but Shows/tech/competitions are stressful and things happen. Lets prepare just in case. Here are some tips to save your voice

Vocal rest

• This one sounds easy but is surprisingly hard. Just don’t talk!

steam

• Hot, steamy showers

• Stick a humidifier by your bed

• Get a portable handheld steamer for some relief. Here’s a link to one

satly broth

• Drink a hot cup of the SALTIEST broth you can handle. (I prefer this to gargling salt water and it is a magical temporary relief to swollen vocal chords).

TEA and vocal chord lubricants

• Hot tea with lemon and honey. (Clarifying: sore throat? Skip the lemon! Runny nose/mucus? Add lemon!)

• A lot of my broadway friends swear by eating greasy food like Lays potato chips. (I don't know if that one holds up but hey? An excuse to eat chips!)

nasal rinse

• Neti pots and nasal lavages are amazing.

cut back on sugar and milk before going onstage

• Sugar and milk can cause mucus which is hard to sing through. Nothing wrong with either of those things, just don’t consume those in the hours before going on stage.

Cough drops and Chloraseptics and cough syrups

• All of these can be great ways to take care of yourself. When in doubt consult a doctor!

• Ricola is the best throat lozenge and it comes in Berry, Caramel, Cherry, Sugar Free, Honey Herb, and Original

• Avoid any cough drops with Menthol!

• For pain relief go for Clyor throat 37 spray

• Please BE CAREFUL! A runner would never numb a leg muscle before a run. The tissue in your vocal chords is DELICATE. Numbing products can be great when you are NOT performing. But never ever numb your throat with something like a chloraseptic and then try to sing with it, that is dangerous. If you need to soothe your throat right before going on stage check out some of the products below.

Singers Saving Grace

• This is a vocal spray that is designed for singers that doesn’t numb anything: (The Extra Strength or the professional strength ones NOT the honey lemon one that one tastes like feet) Get some from Amazon or whole foods now and put it in your bag. (HERES A LINK) It’s a lifesaver.

Grether’s Pastilles for Throat and Voice

• You’ll have to find the flavor that works best for you here’s a link to some. Just do NOT perform with these in your mouth! I don’t want you to choke. They taste like very mild candy and the texture is like gummy meets hard candy.

what not to do

DO NOT stay up all night

• Don’t wait until the last minute to pack and prepare and panic and stay up late.

• Pack now

• Don’t wait! Get your homework done ahead of time so you aren’t stressed

DO NOT Start new medications

• Please make sure your doctor knows that you are about to go on a big stressful trip or be involved in a huge event before they make any changes to the medications you are normally on. I have seen so many kids struggle and have meltdowns after they changed anxiety meds during tech week for a show! Please make sure your doctor understands what is coming up before planning WITH your doctor any changes to behavior/mood altering medications!

DO NOT strain your voice

• Don’t go to a large event and scream and yell. No sports games, loud parties etc. Treat your voice like it is precious because it is.

DO NOT DO anything in large crowds without a mask

• Please wear a mask