One of our OperGermany devotees is managing a budding career in Germany, running back and forth from a Stückvertrag – a role in a production, to a jump in which ended up as a long run in the role.. This singer has an agent who is getting work and auditions as well! Great, but in the cold and damp German winter, bronchitis can be an unwelcome part of the experience. I too got it in my early days here, so here are a few tips and tricks, and how I dealt with it. I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice, so if you’re sick see a qualified physician. This post is just about how one singer dealt with the challenges.
German heating, at least back then in the mid level hotels and pensions, can be very drying, so make sure to fill any water containers which may be mounted on your radiators. If none is available try soaking a towel with warm water and hanging it on your radiator to moisten the air while you sleep. Do be sure to wring it out to avoid dripping! You can also run a hot shower to completely fog up your bath room. You don’t have to take a shower; just sit there and breathe in the humid air. Humidifiers, besides the space they occupy in your luggage, need to be cleaned regularly to avoid fungus or mold. I tried them but didn’t like them. Maybe they’re better these days.
The one homeopathic medicine I found useful was Echinacea, which you can get at any pharmacy (Apotheke) or even at places like DM or Rossman, where you get toothpaste, shampoo and the like. You have to take Echinacea at the very early stages of any infection so it can help your immune system. If you use it all the time, my experience is that it’s effect diminishes, so don’t take it until you need it.
Which brings us to the subject of antibiotics. I have all the reservations about taking too many meds, but I have to say that after a decades long career my biggest regrets are the times I DIDN’T take the proper meds. If you’re constantly taking meds, it’s not good, not just because of the effects on your body and health, but because, like Echinacea, they lose their potency with overuse and when you really need them they may not work! As you know, antibiotics won’t do anything against viruses like the common cold, so don’t just gulp down pills when you’re sick. Good old fashioned nose drops before going onstage can help, and if you sing well you can get through most anything if your vocal folds are clear.
If a cold sinks into the chest that can be a different story. Once I got an infection down there it would often get to the vocal cords and life on the stage was a misery or impossible. That’s why I did take antibiotics whenever I felt an immanent bronchial infection. Be sure to tell any doctor that you’re an opera singer so they’ll give you what you need. By the time many HNO’s (ENT-or Hals, Nasen, Ohren) doctor is ready to prescribe something it was often too late to avoid an infection which could cost several performances and thousands of Euros. I have to admit that I kept a few extra pills in case I felt a chest infection coming on the weekend or when a quick appointment wasn’t possible. In my experience taking antibiotics when you need them also helps to ‘keep you clean’, knocking out any low level infections which flared up when I was vulnerable.
Prednisone and steroids are very strong medicines, but also an important tool when necessary. First off, it has to be said that if you’re taking it all the time you probably aren’t singing properly and need to address that. Howvewer there will probably be times when you have to have your full voice at your command, and singing on infected vocal cords can be much worse. I did it once and was out for six weeks afterwards. Interestingly, other theater people could see that I was sweating more than usual but couldn’t tell from the sound. It was no fun, but luckily I had a Festvertrag in the theater and being sick was recognized as part of life, so I got paid. After that I even carried around an extra package of Prednisone for several years for emergencies, but never had to use it. It’s a tool, but a powerful one, so use it carefully.