Good advice. Remind her that no talking also means no whispering. Whispering, strangely enough, can actually continue to irritate the vocal folds.

Her day went well. She saw her favorites this afternoon and is hoping from callbacks from them, of course......but realizes the chances of that to be pretty slim. The skits were great and a much needed relief, I think. She can really see herself in 3 or 4 of her remaining seven. Parties don't start until later tomorrow morning (around 11:30), so hopefully she...and her voice.....will get some good rest tonight! I'm not sure what time they will get their list in the morning. I hope it's a little later so maybe she can sleep in.

Help with laryngitis: (from a lifelong friend who is a professional, as in Broadway singer)

ASSUMING that there is no fever or excreted fluids of solids:

Do NOT talk or whisper. Whispering is worse of the vocal cords than talking. total silence.

Do NOT drink acids (juice) or milk or eat milk products.

Drinks cannot be too cold or too hot.

Drink tea with honey.

Take a baby aspiring as directed to reduce the swelling of the vocal chords.

That is all.

I'm afraid to ask what excreted fluids of solids are.

Carnation: We are ladies. We do not speak of such things in their base and common terms. :)

Surely! But I'm trying to picture how a solid can excrete a fluid. PM me!

Pretty sure it should have read fluids or solids.

And baby aspirin.

If not, then I'm just as lost as you.

Hot shower with a lot of steam in the AM never hurts.

No, she is saying this correctly, and yes, very delicately.

In other words, what should be solid is now liquid.

[emily litella] Oh. Well. Nevermind. [/emily litella]

My sister (biological, different sorority :)) is a pediatrician and she suggested honey, and Motrin instead of aspirin. And absolutely no talking.

This is her only really extreme "cure" idea, but she said an ENT would know more. A doctor might consider giving her a does of Decadron (dexamethazone), which is a steroid that would reduce swollen vocal chords/larynx. But it doesn't kick in right away...it might be 24 hours or 48 until it works. She said it might be worth it to go to an urgent care facility...because now it's the weekend. But, she said an urgent care doctor might not be willing to do this.

The best thing for A is total voice rest. This means no talking or whispering. I'm the daughter of two doctors, and I can't begin to tell you the number of times my parents told me "VOICE REST!" when I had laryngitis.

Given that she's in mid-recruitment, total voice rest is probably impossible. I'm going to suggest a wacky idea. She should go out and get a dry-erase board, dry-erase marker, and eraser, and carry them with her to parties. She can also write out a card that says something like, "I have laryngitis and cannot speak. I don't have a cold or anything, I just cannot speak." She can then use her dry-erase board, along with nods/shakes of the head and facial expressions, to carry on conversations. If nothing else, it will make her memorable, and maybe on bid day she'll be writing "Woot, I'm a new member of ABC!!!" on her whiteboard :)

Ok, typing sans reading glasses means aspiring...sorry.

I was also going to suggest a ENT. Here we have ENTs who specialize in performers. The have all sorts of tricks to get a performer on stage. And yes, an emergency visit might be necessary. But (we don't have Urgent Care here..it's the doctors or Cedars...or UCLA hospitals) in an emergency room you're behind heart attacks and bullet wounds, so the pmn could be waiting all night. And think of the extra germs!!!!!..and the exhaustion.

Also to avoid:
coffee
caffeine
soda
chocolate & all dairy products
very salty foods, like chips & nuts
very spicy foods

This is what we avoided when I performed, but these foods also can make one produce more phlegm, so good to avoid when sick with allergies, sinusitis, or any kind of congestion.

Y'all are cracking me up.....lol...thanks for the advice AND much needed laughter! I need to get my mind off this.. I'm too old for all of this stress. :). (and my husband would chime in at this point...it's not YOUR stress!).

He just doesn't get what a big, fat, hairy deal this is!

Voice: I'm hoping extra sleep tonight and extra fluids will get her thru tomorrow. I love the white board idea, aephi, but I'm afraid A would not go for that. It certainly would be memorable!!

Also, definitely remind her not to do any excessive talking! The less talking she does, the better-she should save her voice for the actual parties and meetings, not for conversations in line or in the bathroom between houses.

If she has any way to do this, I'd recommend making a small drink I've used a few times: it's a cup of boiled water, two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, half a lemon's worth of lemon juice, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and as much honey as is necessary to drown out the other ingredients. I have NO clue how a PNM could make this in a dorm, but if she can, this drink is magic.

Best wishes to her! :)