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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffTo prevent dryness or irritation to your vocal cords:
- Don't smoke, and avoid secondhand smoke. Smoke dries your throat and irritates your vocal cords.
- Drink plenty of water. Fluids help keep the mucus in your throat thin and easy to clear.
- Avoid clearing your throat. This does more harm than good, because it causes an abnormal vibration of your vocal cords and can increase swelling. Clearing your throat also causes your throat to secrete more mucus and feel more irritated, making you want to clear your throat again.
- Avoid upper respiratory infections. Make sure to get your annual flu shot if your doctor recommends it. Wash your hands often and avoid contact with people who have upper respiratory infections such as colds.
