We’ve just added two new flavors to our selection of Thayers Slippery Elm lozenges – Natural Cherry and Tangerine (this one also includes rose hips and vitamin c). These provide pleasant tasting alternatives to the Original Flavor that have sold well for years.
Thayer’s Lozenges soothe the throat and providing elasticity to the vocal chord area and protection for the throat. Recently FDA approved as an over-the-counter drug, Thayers Slippery Elm Lozenges are great for indigestion and acid reflux sufferers (a common problem among singers due to the diaphragmatic breathing and exercise) and help maintain a healthy instrument and throat.
Singing teachers prefer Slippery Elm because it treats the vocal chords’ abraded membranes without menthol. Most cough drops use menthol to dull throat pain. Singers are advised not to use menthol since it causes the temporary loss of control of their vocal chords.
The Slippery Elm tree (ulmus fulva) grows in the eastern part of the United States and Canada. The part of the tree that is used for medicinal purposes is the inner bark. This is ground into a powder and then combined with a crystalline substance to form a throat lozenge. These dependable demulcents soothe the tissues of the mouth and throat and restore the voice without the dulling effects of menthol. Slippery Elm is a herbal remedy that has been used since the 19th Century. First used by Native Americans for treating wounds as well as colds and sore throats, in the American Revolution it was invaluable to soldiers who used it as a cream to treat gunshot wounds, its antiseptic properties prevented the sores from getting infected.
To use dissolve one in your mouth before you sing, talk or use your voice; take another one afterwards to soothe the membranes and heal any oral abrasions. We find that many singers like to combine the lozenges with a lubricating throat spray such as Vocal Eze.
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