Friday, October 16, 2009

Sore Throat


No one likes being sick. But I think I fear it and worry about it more than most people. The other day, my throat felt a little funky. The next day, it was a little better. Today however, it's burning and hurting me to swallow. I am bothered by the sore throat, but I am more bothered by the anticipation of what it's going to turn into. Usually, for me, a sore throat leads to a cold. And the longer it takes to turn into a cold, the worse the cold is.

I got to wondering, what is it that actually makes the throat feel this gross way and is there anything I can do about it?

Well, based on my very scientific web-surfing research, a sore throat is caused by the "post nasal drip" running down your throat irritating it and drying it out when you have a cold. But my nose isn't runny, and I don't have a cold- Could it instead be caused by "pre-nasal drip"? Hmmmm. In my case, that seems to make more sense.

I read that drinking fluids will help. And so will a humidifier. That explains why a sore throat seems the very worst in the morning- after you've gone 7 or 8 hours without any liquids! Gargling salt water is suppose to help too. According to one thing I read, cold germs multiply in your throat before you actually get a cold, so if you gargle you can kill off at least some of them and your cold won't be as bad. (Hold on...I'm gargling salt water now...) Apparently mouthwash has a similar effect and has a much better taste so that's what I'm doing next.

Ultimately, I dread the possibility of a cold because I tend to have a hard time getting over the coughing stuff and it usually effects my voice which then leads to cancelled gigs. :( But all this worry isn't helping me.

But maybe a little mouthwash will!

1 comment:

Valerie said...

hope you're feeling better!!