Boiling my face!

I'm starting to record voiceovers for a new youtube channel I'll be creating soon, and I've been finding my voice does not like to cooperate! A little internet research turns up that a good way to improve your voice for speaking is to practice singing. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. Talking and singing are the same thing really, just one is more rhythmic and melodic than the other. So I've been watching a lot of youtube videos about voice training - especially for singers, and I spend a good 20 minutes or so most days singing along with the radio or iTunes. I never used to think I was a person who could sing, well, since I was a kid anyway. And I'm not saying that I'm actually getting good or anything, but there is definite improvement.

I ran into what seemed to be a hard limit though - it seems like there's always some level of swelling in my nasal passages, as if I have a permanent cold or something. Not sure if it's always like that - I never really paid attention before, but since I've started doing voiceovers it's been constant.

So I've been boiling my face and throat! Haha - sorry - steaming them actually. Holding it over a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or so, then gargle some hot tea, and just yesterday I got some Chloraseptic and Halls cough drops which all seem to be helping. Oh, also some saline nose drops and Nasocort if I really need it. Today I hardly notice any swelling at all, though there's still a little, way in the back, like where the sinuses meet the throat.

I consider this an important part of my filmmaking system, so I'm including it here for future reference, and maybe other people can benefit from it as well.