It is important to ensure that your throat remains as healthy as possible when managing symptoms of  Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction (ILO).     

Throat care can help to:

  1. Prevent irritation
  2. Reduce inflammation
  3. Improve vocal cord function
  4. Minimise triggers
  5. Support breathing techniques
  6. Improve recovery 

You can improve throat care by considering the following aspects. 

Hydration

Stay well hydrated to keep the tissue in your mouth and throat moist and healthy. You can do this by:

  • Ensuring that you have enough water to drink, particularly when speaking for long periods and throughout the day.Try to keep a water bottle with you at all times.
  • Aiming to drink a minimum of 3 pints /1.5 litres of fluid which does not contain caffeine or alcohol per day. 
  • Trying steam inhalation if you have a dry throat or your saliva feels thick. See our leaflet on steam inhalation on our webpage. 
  • Reducing excessive intake of coffee, tea, caffeinated fizzy drinks; replace with water (hot or cold), juice or decaffeinated versions, as caffeine and alcohol can be drying agents.

Controlling your environment

Hot, dry atmospheres and central heating are environmental conditions that tend to dry out the tissues in the throat. Consider the following suggestions:

Humidify the environment around you; place bowls of water on or near a radiator, have house plants in water, or hang a damp towel over the radiator. 

  • Ventilate rooms when possible
  • Sip water regularly
  • Consider steam inhalation

Irritants can cause the tissue of the vocal tract to become dry or inflamed. Irritants can include dust, chalk, fumes, felt-tip pen fumes, some solvent-based glues, chlorine. To reduce irritation attempt to:

  • Avoid dusty environments. If you can’t, wear a dust mask.
  • Avoid fume-filled atmospheres (e.g. spaces where a lot of aerosols are used).
  • Make sure your environment is properly cleaned and well ventilated.
  • Drink water regularly throughout the day.
  • Avoid tobacco and other drugs 

These have a profound effect on the vocal tract, drying and irritating the tissues. This may cause redness and generalised irritation to the nose and throat. Please consider:

Stopping smoking - if you have difficulty ask your GP to refer you to a smoking cessation clinic. Avoiding smoky atmospheres.

Medication 

Some drugs can dry out the lining of your throat. These tend to include anti-depressants, Hyoscine, atropine and blood pressure medication.
Check the side effects listed in your medication packet and discuss any queries with your GP.
Do not stop taking medication without medical advice. 

Asthma inhalers

Dry powder from your inhaler can irritate the lining of your mouth and throat.
Use a spacer, as appropriate.
After inhaler use, gargle or rinse your mouth with water.

Throat clearing and coughing 

Throat clearing and coughing can irritate the lining of your throat, exacerbate irritation and cause more production of thick secretions or phlegm.
If you regularly throat clear or cough without producing phlegm, this may be a habit rather than a necessity. Breaking this habit is very important to reduce irritation. 

Try to replace a throat-clear/cough with one of the following: 

  • Take a sip of water
  • Suck a sugar free sweet
  • Do an effortful swallow
  • Do a gentle throat-clear followed by an effortful swallow
  • A yawn followed by a swallow
  • Bear in mind that regular throat clearing can be a symptom of reflux – are you managing your reflux well

Acid Reflux 

When acid from your stomach travels up to the voice box it can irritate your throat. If you have been diagnosed with reflux it is essential that you take your medication exactly as prescribed without missing any days. Order a new prescription from your GP before you run out of tablets and medicine so that no days are missed. 

You should also follow (as closely as possible) the lifestyle recommendations on the reflux advice sheet which is available on our webpage. 
Further voice information and advice can be found on our webpage below. 

Vocal Care information