Centre of Excellence in Severe AsthmaCentre of Excellence in Severe Asthma
severeasthma@newcastle.edu.au
Twitter
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our People
  • Research
    • Overview
    • Expanded Research Themes
    • List of Funded Projects
    • Publication List
    • Consumer Reference Group
    • The MASTER Study
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Funding Opportunities
  • Tools & Resources
    • Overview
    • Clinical Resources
    • Past Webinars
    • Highlighted Publications
    • Newsletters & Annual Reports
    • Journal Club
    • Useful Links
    • For People with Severe Asthma & Their Families
    • For Healthcare Professionals
  • Contact Us
  • Severe Asthma Toolkit

Vocal Hygiene Information Sheet

Home Vocal Hygiene Information Sheet
Click here to download a printable version of the infographic below.

Access the full suite of infographics here.

Vocal Hygiene

How to Reduce Irritation That Triggers Coughing

Download a pdf version of this document here: Vocal Hygiene Information 091017

A cough is triggered once irritation builds up to a certain level. Reducing irritation in your throat and airway will reduce coughing.

Hydrate

The most important thing you can do is to drink plenty of water to reduce dryness of your throat. Drink at least 1 and a half litres of water each day, that is about 6-8 glasses of water. Not including tea, coffee or soft drinks as they usually contain caffeine.

Breathing

  1. Sit and stand with good posture. Sit and stand with your neck and back straight and your chin gently tucked in. This opens your airway, makes breathing easier and allows you to relax the throat.
  2. Avoid bad posture. When you slouch standing or sitting, your shoulders tilt forward and your head tilts back and your chin lifts slightly. This puts pressure on your throat and vocal cords and your neck. It can increase irritation and put strain on your voice.
  3. Breathe through your nose. Mouth breathing dries your throat. Breathing through your nose cleans, warms and moistens the air before it reaches your throat and vocal cords.

Talking

  1. Limit harmful voice use, such as shouting, grunting, or screaming. Talking, laughing or singing too loudly can also damage your vocal cords.
  2. Try not to speak over other noise such as television or music or around machinery such as a lawnmower.
  3. Do not whisper, as whispering increases air pressure in your vocal cords and may irritate your throat.
  4. Use your natural voice, not too high, not too low or not too loud.
  5. Limit coughing and clearing your throat. Sometimes coughing can be excessive and clearing the throat can become a habit. When you cough and clear your throat it puts too much force on your throat and vocal cords.

Everyday

  • Get plenty of sleep. Have a short rest during the day to stop and relax.
  • Exercise regularly. Exercise gives you energy and strength.
  • Limit caffeine drinks to 2 cups each day. Caffeine can increase dryness and irritation in the throat.
  • Do not smoke anything and avoid smoky environments.
  • Limit alcohol. Alcohol can dry the throat and vocal cords. It also increases the likelihood of heartburn, which can also damage the throat and vocal cords.
  • Do not use mouthwash that contains alcohol as this will dry your throat.
  • Remember to drink plenty of water every day! Take a water bottle with you everywhere you go.

Good vocal hygiene is looking after your throat, voice, and airways.

This information sheet has been developed within the National Health and Medical Research Council
(NHMRC) Centre of Excellence in Severe Asthma.

News

Clinical Recommendations for COVID-19 in Severe Asthma
Clinical Recommendations for COVID-19 in Severe Asthma

May 15th, 2020

Read More
CANCELLED: CRE Severe Asthma Webinar: "Exercise-induced Laryngeal Obstruction (EILO). What is it, who gets it, how you assess it, what you do about it?"
CANCELLED: CRE Severe Asthma Webinar: "Exercise-induced Laryngeal Obstruction (EILO). What is it, who gets it, how you assess it, what you do about it?"

March 13th, 2020

Read More
POSTPONED: Laryngeal Dysfunction Workshop
POSTPONED: Laryngeal Dysfunction Workshop

March 13th, 2020

Read More

Join Our Mailing List

Funded By

Twitter Feed

Tweets by SevereAsthmaCRE

Contact us

Postal Address
NHMRC Centre of Excellence in Severe Asthma
c/o Hunter Medical Research Institute
Locked Bag 1000
New Lambton, NSW 2305
AUSTRALIA
Email
Twitter
  • Website Terms of Use
Copyright 2016    CRICOS Provider Number 00109J    The University of Newcastle, Australia