Cooler temperatures often mean the start of cold and flu season as well. We try very hard to keep the studio as clean and germ-free as we possibly can for the hundred + students and their families that pass-through Forte each week! As a bonus this month, we’ve asked the teachers of Forte to share some of their favourite tips & tricks for staying hydrated and healthy through these colder months.
We asked for the teachers to let us in on their best kept secrets on staying hydrated and healthy during the months that seem the hardest to do so. Here is what they had to say:
Vicky says….
…her go to when she is getting a sore throat is a fool-proof homemade tea boiled up on the stove. Vicky uses this hot drink to help cure laryngitis when it strikes and to help hydrate sore vocal cords.
Her “secret” recipe is as follows:
• Fresh ginger peeled and boiled on the stove for 10-15 minutes
• Freshly squeezed lemon
• A teaspoon of honey
Christina says…
…for hydration, she prefers to stick to good old water and drinks plenty of it daily! Some of her other favourite immune boosters include a good multivitamin, a diet including leafy greens, and an essential oil blend by doTERRA called On Guard which she rubs on her feet.
Stephanie says…
…at the first sign of a scratchy or sore throat she sucks on an antiseptic throat lozenge like Strepsils or Cepacol that kills bacteria. These lozenges can also numb your throat so it doesn’t feel as sore. For a cough tickle that doesn’t want to go away, she uses Fisherman’s Friends as a great way to keep the tickle at bay, without the sticky sugars of other cough lozenges that can sometimes aggravate it. Stephanie says they don’t taste wonderful, but they definitely help!
Jaye says…
…their magic potion is Emergen-C (which you can find at any major grocery store) and oil of oregano. Jaye also says to never underestimate the power of sleep! If you feel yourself coming down with something…sleep, sleep, sleep! 
Hopefully our list of tips & tricks for staying hydrated and healthy help get you through what feels like a never ending cold and flu season. As we are music teachers and not doctors, please be advised that these are just a few of the things we personally have found that work to help us remain healthy.
We also cannot recommend enough that if you are not feeling well, to stay home and let your body rest! This also helps prevent the spread of germs so all of us can remain healthy to make beautiful music.