Why does my throat hurt and develop sticky phlegm at night?

Question

I always sleep with an aircon or electric fan at night (coming from tropical country) and wake up in the middle of the night with a painful feeling at the back of my throat, there also seems to be some phlegm stuck.
How can I prevent it for a better night's sleep? Im afraid dehumidifyers are not common here.

*oh sorry, correction: humidifyer! ^^

Answer 1

Sounds like you need a vaporizer or humidifyer (not a dehumidifyer that will take any moisture out of the air.). Also try keeping a glass of water next to your bed that you can sip on when you wake up.

Answer 2

All the above are great advice, if you haven t potentially got other "medical" issues associated with it. More than likely, if you have had no symptoms in the past and been singing a while, it s not due to a change in your singing, but a change in your physical self. I think the best advice given above is to "start" with your Ear Nose & Throat doctor. Let s eliminate any physical problems first to prevent you from damaging anything in your throat. There are many long term, ongoing infections and inflammation related issues that can leave your throat in this condition. Believe it or not, your nose cavity can mature over the years and send a small drainage into the back of your throat which interacts with your vocal chords causing inflammation, etc. The first question you should ask yourself is: Do you have any noticeable mucus that accumulates there? Do you find yourself clearing your throat and or swallowing a lot? If the answer is yes, then you definitely need to visit the ENT specialist. If you get a clean bill of health from your ENT, then by all means, move into a category where you take note of "how" you sing. Sounds like you ve been singing long enough to do the proper checks to see if you are singing from your diaphragm, and if you re over-straining your voice. Also, make sure you haven t changed positions in the choir and might now be singing "outside" your comfortable range. This happens a lot with seasoned singers who want to take it to the next level, but their throat doesn t. And last, the advice about warming up and waming down is GREAT advice. People who sing all the time should consider their bodies like an athlete does. They warm up, stretch and prepare themselves BEFORE they sing. Secondly, always warm down, that s a great way to give your throat a chance to adjust. Also, remember that most professional singers refuse to eat or drink ANYTHING prior to a performance. There s a reason for that. During eating and digestion, your system is over-producing saliva to help with the early digestive process, and this can be what s obstructing your singing. The rule of thumb says 4 hours, even though some will argue 2 or 3. My advice is, find out what works best for you. Hope this helps, and from a professional KJ, keep on doing God s work... :)

Answer 3

your body is more suited to an environment with increased humidity. the fans that you use at night are more drying to you as well as the area in which you live. consider purchasing a humidifier or vaporizer. make sure it circulates warm air, not cold. you can find one in any drugstore for less than $15. a dehumidifier will remove what little moisture is in the air.
drink more water throughout the day, too.

Answer 4

Make sure the windows are locked. Obviously an incubus is sneaking in at night.