Water. Drink lots and lots of water. Not just right before you sing, but in general. The recommended eight eight-ounce glasses a day (two quarts) at least, and perhaps a bit more.

I've been having a similar problem lately:   get a couple of verses into a song and my throat starts to tickle and I begin coughing. I went to my otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat) a few weeks ago for an ear infection, and while I was there I asked him to take a look at my vocal folds. He told me that everything was ship-shape--no nodes or anything, but that things looked a bit dehydrated down there. Drink more water, he tells me.

It doesn't do that much good to drink a glass or two before you sing. What you have to do is hydrate your whole body. 8 eight-ounce glasses a day at least. It's not just good for your voice, it's good for your general health.

Been doing that for a couple of weeks and the tickle and cough seems to have pretty well cleared up.

You wind up having to pee more often, though.

Don Firth