Many are familiar with the warning: "Do not shout loudly, you will damage the ligaments." Overextension of the vocal folds, which are often called ligaments, can indeed cause noticeable hoarseness, up to a complete loss of sonority (aphonia). Voice is one of the most important communication tools. With its help, contact with the surrounding people is established, information is exchanged. As a rule, representatives of professions with increased speech load - teachers, lecturers, singers, actors - suffer from voice formation disorders due to damage to the vocal folds. Are there ways to repair damaged vocal cords using home methods and how safe are they?
How to help at home
The main symptom of vocal cord injury is hoarseness and coarseness of the voice. Sometimes the ability to speak disappears altogether. Of course, this is extremely undesirable for any person, especially if his professional activity is related to the speech presentation of information. Treatment for the vocal cords should be started immediately - but what can be done to restore them as soon as possible?
Home treatment methods are divided into groups:
- Use of methods of local and general exposure.
- Manipulation aimed at creating conditions for recovery.
They are all very important to the patient and should be used in combination.
Treatment consists not only in applying to the affected areas or taking orally any means. Ligaments often suffer from external factors (cold, dry air) or overexertion (screaming, singing). Therefore, it is necessary, on the one hand, to influence the pathological process, and on the other, to prevent repeated damage.
Since the patient himself controls the treatment at home, it is necessary to reasonably assess the condition and, if in doubt about the effectiveness of the methods taken or the deterioration of health, immediately consult a doctor. It is best to consult with a specialist before using any home remedies.
Local therapy
Local therapy involves the use of drugs directly in the focus of pathological changes. The impact is also made on adjacent areas. The simplest and most affordable ways are to use:
- tablets for resorption;
- sprays with anti-inflammatory components;
- throat rinses.
In chronic professional laryngitis, accompanied by hoarseness, a complex of breathing exercises is also used. They are indicated after the relief of exacerbation and should not be used during the period of vivid manifestations of the inflammatory process.
Tablets and sprays allow you to achieve an even distribution of the active substance.
However, they tend to affect mainly the mucous membranes of the mouth and pharynx. The same goes for gargling. Nevertheless, these methods remain dominant in home treatment due to their ease of use, availability of drugs and components.
The doctor may recommend: Decatilen, Strepsils, Orasept, Ingalipt. They are not intended for self-medication, since they are needed only in certain situations, and are not suitable for use in small children, pregnant and breastfeeding women.
It is advisable to describe the means by which the vocal cords are treated at home - experts in the field of traditional medicine know how to quickly restore and cure them. However, they emphasize:
- before starting treatment, you should make sure that there is no allergy;
- it is allowed to use only those ingredients that are prepared correctly.
Medicines can be alternated, be sure to observe the patient's reaction.
Black radish
It is recommended to gargle with fresh juice 3 times a day.
Coltsfoot
Crushed raw materials in the amount of 2 tablespoons pour 200 ml of boiling water, insist for half an hour, filter.
Forest mallow
Dry flowers are poured with 200 ml of boiling water, insisted for half an hour. Gargle 6 to 8 times a day.
Raspberries
To prepare the remedy, you need 20 g of raspberry leaves, which are poured with a glass of boiling water and insisted.
Homemade recipes
You can restore the vocal cords at home using folk recipes. The medicines below will require ingredients that can be found in most homes at any time of the year.
White cabbage juice
It is drunk half an hour before meals 3 times a day.
Steam garlic
It is good to eat steamed garlic without adding any other ingredients.
Carrots and honey
Fresh carrot juice is mixed with honey (several teaspoons are taken for 1 glass). Drink a tablespoon 4 times a day.
In addition to the allergic reaction, which was already mentioned earlier, individual reactions of the patient's body should be feared. Many patients, in addition to the pathology of the vocal cords, have chronic diseases - in particular, the gastrointestinal tract - that can be a contraindication to using home remedies. In this case, cabbage juice and garlic are used with great care, although it is better to refuse such treatment altogether.
Non-drug therapy
How are vocal cords treated besides medications? Ambient temperature and humidity are parameters that directly affect the rate of voice recovery. Therefore, there is a rule: the patient should breathe humidified, in no case dry or hot air. To do this, they achieve temperature indicators of about 20 ° C, humidity - at least 50%.
It is extremely important for the patient:
- observe vocal rest;
- avoid sudden changes in the temperature of the inhaled air;
- give up smoking, alcohol.
Voice rest is understood as a limitation, or better, a complete absence of voice load in the first days after ligament injury. Smoking causes irritation of the mucous membranes, which delays the recovery process.
Whispered speech strains the vocal cords even more than regular spoken speech.
This is important to understand - refusing to speak loudly and replacing it with a whisper does not improve the patient's condition. Silence is one of the best ways to speed up your recovery.
For example, in the case of acute professional laryngitis, strict vocal rest lasts at least a week.
The following methods of treatment are also used:
- Frequent warm non-alcoholic drinks consumed in small sips.
- Tying the neck with a warm scarf made from natural materials.
- Compress made of woolen cloth rubbed with gray laundry soap. It is made at night, removed in the morning and put on a warm scarf around the neck.
Warming compresses can be dangerous at high body temperature, some pathologies. The patient must be sure of the absence of a purulent process, neoplasms that accompany pathological changes in the vocal folds. Rubbing with alcoholic liquids should be avoided.
Breathing exercises
As mentioned earlier, breathing exercises are recommended for chronic conditions. They can be started only after the patient has recovered; they do not cure the main process, but prevent relapses of the disease, help restore the vocal cords.
The patient is in a chair or standing. First, he inhales and exhales through the nose, then inhales through the mouth, exhales through the nose, then changes the places of the organs of "inhalation" and "exhalation".After performing several repetitions of this complex, you need to inhale through one half of the nose, exhale through the other. After performing the exercise several times, start over, adding elements of an extended exhalation with intensification, exhaling through loosely compressed lips and exhaling through the nose in dots while inhaling air through the nose.
All exercises are repeated twice a day for a week.
A week later, they begin the next set of exercises, which is performed in combination with breathing exercises:
- Setting on the back of the head of the hands, clenched in a lock. Bending the neck backwards and simultaneously creating resistance with the hands.
- Establishing the palms of the ears. Head tilts from side to side with arm resistance.
- Movements of the lower jaw in different directions.
- Compression of the upper and lower jaws.
- Touching the tip of the tongue to the soft palate.
- Puffing up the cheeks.
The manipulations are performed very carefully in turn, repeated several times.
Ligament repair can take a long time and requires significant effort on the part of the patient. It is important to carry out treatment under the supervision of a doctor, to adhere to all the recommendations received.
