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Post by AMonk on Sept 1, 2006 22:30:55 GMT 7
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Post by Lotus Eater on Sept 2, 2006 1:09:36 GMT 7
China is cool for drinking tea all day - almost every teacher and student you see totes a glass jar (mine is a mini-thermos) around all day. The classrooms either have large thermoses of hot water or if the students want to pay for it, a water dispenser. Refills are easy.
But - after a long holiday, teaching for 6 hours does get a bit wearing on the throat. In a week or two I will have become used to voice projection again, and will have no trouble.
Why do I teach 6 hours in one day - it gives me 3 days with NO classes!
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Post by Raoul Duke on Sept 2, 2006 2:55:11 GMT 7
And if it does get out of hand, both the "Golden Throat" and "Guilin Watermelon Frost" brands of throat lozenges sold in most pharmacies are great for mild cases of "teacher throat".
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Post by Dr. Gonzo on Sept 2, 2006 8:10:32 GMT 7
The two recommended candies above do provide temporary relief. I believe they have a low dose of local anasthetic. My supplies that we brought back from China 2 years ago have just run out, so I got a Western, more expensive, but still effective brand [Strepsils].
My problem over the last 4 weeks now has been a chronic inflammation of the vocal muscles. Drinking tea, sucking Golden Throat, makes things feel a little better, but doesn't do any healing.
Total voice rest is needed. This will come as a shock to a Chinese school boss; luckily here, with 250 accumulated sick leave days, I have no such problems.
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Post by Raoul Duke on Sept 2, 2006 16:07:58 GMT 7
Yes, both brands contain a small amount of morphine. I eat them by the boxful!  Joking, of course... Gone, I sympathise. I've had bouts like this too, especially when I had a really heavy teaching load. There's no substitute for voice rest. It's the best course of action. But if you don't have this option I did find some stronger Chinese medicines that seemed to work fairly well for more persistent throat irritations. One comes from Guilin Watermelon Frost. It's a fine, deep-black powder in a plastic bottle...it looks like a bottle of nasal spray. However, you put the nozzle in your mouth. tilt your head back, and squeeze the bottle to spray a little of the powder on the back of your throat. It also has a local-anesthetic effect, but it often seems to have a longer-term healing effect as well. The other one is another lozenge. It's packaged more like medicine and doesn't have any useful English, but it's apparently based on honeysuckle extract. It has an odd but not unpleasant, rather flowery taste. Immediate effect seems more soothing than anesthetic. Given 2-3 days it does a pretty good job of clearing up throat inflammation... |
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Post by Dragonsaver on Sept 2, 2006 16:52:48 GMT 7
Home-made remedy. Recipe from India. It works and is also recommended for laryngitis.
Turmeric
Honey
Mix into a paste. Roll into small balls and suck on as required.
Cheaper than store bought but it does help. Turmeric is considered a medicine and is quite healing.
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Post by Missi on Sept 2, 2006 18:02:20 GMT 7
If your throat has lots of phlegm, try this out, hot milk, 1 tbsp honey and a tiny bit of butter. Drink as quickly as you can then stand outside and take a few really deep breaths and then go to bed. Can also add a shot of spiced rum into the mix. Might have to add more honey or butter depeneding on your tastes.
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Post by Lotus Eater on Sept 2, 2006 20:50:40 GMT 7
Chinese friend gave me some stuff that she says the Chinese teachers use. It looks like a sheep dropping (complete with grass) but when dropped in hot water and made into tea it turns into something similar to black wood ear (mu'er). Seems to work - at least drinking the tea on and off during class keeps your throat lubricated.
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Post by Dr. Gonzo on Sept 3, 2006 7:46:41 GMT 7
Can also add a shot of spiced rum into the mix. Now you're talking! As a youngster, rum and cloves worked for me, until the hangover kicked in. |
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Post by Mr Nobody on Sept 6, 2006 6:39:20 GMT 7
Don't smoke.
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Decurso
Barfly
Things you own end up owning you
Posts: 581
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Post by Decurso on Sept 6, 2006 21:36:02 GMT 7
 Indeed..as a smoker I can say that this is the worst thing for your teaching voice. Barring that...don't talk so much!Make them talk.The most successful classes are the ones were you barely open your mouth.
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Post by Raoul Duke on Sept 7, 2006 14:45:47 GMT 7
PLEASE, Mr. N., let's confine ourselves to reasonable and realistic solutions here...such as sheep-dropping tea. I like Decurso's treatment a lot better. Make THEM do all the talking.  |
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Post by Mr Nobody on Sept 7, 2006 19:37:37 GMT 7
Sorry, I was sober. Won't do it again.
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Post by Lotus Eater on Sept 7, 2006 21:41:53 GMT 7
Be sober?? Sounds like a good idea - broached my bundy rum mango liquer today. Ummmm.................
Had a 'not student' here - a young fella who comes every week for "English' practice but actually life advice. He hadn't done as well as he wanted in an exam and wanted to chat. So he wanted to have a drink. Gave him some of my very precious Bundy rum liquuer. He liked it - but not as much as I want to keep it for ME!!
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Post by cheekygal on Sept 11, 2006 11:50:03 GMT 7
The only choice I have is warm water. Allergic to honey, especially combined with menthol. Flower teas give me allergies as well and green tea irritates my stomach. So, can't really do candies and stuff.  Chewing gum helps a bit though - I chew it in between classes. Sometimes I forget to get rid of it then realise in class I still have it and get rid of it quietly  |
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Chewing gum helps a bit though - I chew it in between classes. Sometimes I forget to get rid of it then realise in class I still have it and get rid of it quietly