Singing with Allergies
-by Brett Manning

It's that time of year again! Your eyes seem to itch for no reason, you throat gets all scratchy, and your sinuses are easily infected. No one likes dealing with allergies, but for singers they are especially problematic. As human instruments, our tonal quality is dependent on the health and condition of our “instrument,” and nothing wreaks havoc on it quite like allergies.

The singer simply will not live up to his or her standard of singing if allergies set in. There are over sixty muscles that directly influence singing. If any of those muscles are affected by excess mucous production or by allergy-induced edema (muscle swelling) of the chords themselves, the singer will find that the voice is a stubborn instrument indeed. Fortunately, there is hope!

Many allergy specialists throughout the country have had success treating allergies medicinally. Unfortunately, the side effects are especially problematic for singers. Antihistamines, for example, cause such significant drying of the vocal tract that most singers find it impossible to perform with them. That, among other reasons, is why I usually recommend nutritional and herbal treatments. (more)