The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #121457   Message #2652922
Posted By: giles earle
10-Jun-09 - 02:57 AM
Thread Name: Throat Problems
Subject: RE: Throat Problems
Well, may not just the coming back. If you have simply been catching viral infections, four in three months is an awful lot - and a visit to the quack would be sensible, if only to check there's nothing else wrong. Are you a singer, as your alias implies? Singing whilst your throat is bad is not the best idea; it's not neurotic to try to look after your 'instrument' and have it checked over.

This is experience speaking, incidentally! I caught seven colds in the twelve months to March, because I was too run down and stressed out to have any resistance to infection (I normally have just one or two minor colds a year). And there was air con at work, so badly adjusted that the office was well into the category of 'sick building'. By the end of 2008 I was really struggling with bad throats and a persistent cough. Since leaving that job a few weeks ago, the difference is amazing: voice much clearer and the cough finally clearing up. With hindsight, however, I can see I'd have been much better off seeing the doctor when things were bad -- at the every least, he might have been able to help with the throat problems (a frogged-up throat and uncontrollable cough being so worrying to a singer that I'm sure they made the overall stress worse!) and could also have had a more objective view than my own, on how best to cope with the physical effects of the air con and/or the stresses of the job.

It's up to you, of course, but my instinct is to encourage you towards seeing the doctor for assessment. On the bright side, he may be able to tell you not to worry as there's nothing wrong! -- and that, I think, would be the best time to look for the alternative approaches.