One thing to bear in mind about gargles: They don’t come into contact with your vocal cords (unless you’re drowning).
The vocal cords are located in the larynx/trachea that goes down to the lungs, not the esophagus, which goes down to the stomach.
When you gargle or swallow, the epiglottis closes off the larynx so that fluid doesn’t go down into your lungs.
Consequently, anything you gargle or swallow does not come into contact with your vocal cords, so there is no *direct* way to soothe your vocal cords.
Anything you consume must get into the blood stream first to help the vocal cords, which among other things means around 20 minutes lead time for anything you swallow.
Thus hydrating *in advance* of wearing your voice out is one of the best preventatives for vocal fatigue.
Hope this helps!
Jimmy Akin
San Diego
Kent Gilbert, in Berea, gave me his recipe for a
disgusting-but-effective gargle that helped me hang on to my voice
during a long, intense week. It's equal parts Listerine, hydrogen
peroxide and warm salt water. Gaa-ACK! But it definitely cleared and
soothed my throat. Just warm salt water all by itself is supposed to be
great, too.
How about the rest of you? What do you do to take care of your voices,
especially during multi-day gigs, especially-especially if there's
flying involved?