Ah-CHOO...oh no! Fighting sickness during a show

Everyone in theater has had that sinking feeling upon discovering a tickle in the back of the throat right before opening night.  While it most noticeably affects actors, it's still no fun to need to blow your nose when pulling the curtain, to hold back a cough over the stage manager's headset, or to try not to sneeze while aiming the spotlight.  And since an exhausting tech always comes before a show opens, it seems almost inevitable that the cast and crew can come down with the sniffles.

Here are some tips that come mom-approved to help you stay healthy for opening night!

-The most widely known way to fend off a cold is Vitamin C.  Make sure you're getting a good amount by eating oranges, drinking orange juice, and, if you feel the cold starting, you can even take a Vitamin C supplement.  Check here (http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-vitamin-c) to see how much Vitamin C you can take in a day.

-Gargling with Listerine not only gives you good breath and a healthy mouth--it also kills cold germs!  Swishing it around your mouth is the best way to get good breath, but make sure you spend some time gargling to get those germs in the back of your throat.

-This one sounds the strangest of all, but pay attention: heat up a mug of water and pour about 1/4 teaspoon of salt into it.  Stir it up and dip a Q-tip in.  Rub the dipped Q-tip on the inside of one nostril.  Use the other end of the Q-tip for the other nostril and repeat.  (Make sure you get each nostril twice, each time with a new Q-tip end!)  Then blow your nose (for bonus points, use the Kleenex antibacterial tissues)!

-If you have a scratchy throat (especially when you wake up in the morning), one of the best ways to calm it down is to drink tea with honey mixed in.  Choose a flavor of tea that won't mix badly with honey (I recommend English Breakfast) and stir continuously while you drink.  You don't want all that delicious honey to pool at the bottom!

-The number one way to fight a cold is to get enough sleep!  I know it's useless to tell this to theater kids--sleep is hard to come by during rehearsals and tech week--but do everything you can to get at least 8 hours a night!

But do you know the absolute best way to keep yourself healthy to start with?  WASH YOUR HANDS!!!  Tempting though it may be to reach into a common bag of chips during tech, remember that's how the germs latch on! (On a similar note, if you're the one who has a cold, please be courteous and wash your hands/use hand sanitizer as often as you can, especially after you blow your nose.)

Good luck getting better.  It's awful to get a cold, but being in a show at the same time adds another level of horror that only theater kids understand!

-Allie