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Chester Schmitz recommends chewable Vitamin C tablets. I, too, recommend them but I don't carry much clout.

When I marched corps we used lemons before each performance to keep from getting dry mouth.



They make a touthpaste specifically for your problem. It is available over the counter at most pharmacies. I think it is biotene?

have you tried adding a little sports drink to your water ?
I know gatorade doesn't really mix well with a horn, but it may help

I always take plain water with me. Here in Vietnam, I use tap water filtered with Brita. I have a history of heatstroke, dehydrated kidneys, and other lack-of-water maladies. Just remember, what ever goes down your throat when you play goes into the horn. No coffee, no coke, nothing except plain water. Sugar and the acid from coffee, as well as artificial sweeteners, are a pain to unstick out of the horn. There is nothing wrong with taking a big swig of water in a four measure rest (or longer). Just be careful that you don't spill it on the floor!

Stay hydrated. Stay healthy. Stay safe.

djwesp wrote:They make a touthpaste specifically for your problem. It is available over the counter at most pharmacies. I think it is biotene?

Yup. If you're on a diuretic for hypertension (like I am) and have a dentist who's on the ball, he or she will recommend one of several Biotene products, including toothpaste, oral gel and gum to keep your saliva levels up enough to keep your teeth from rotting.

http://www.biotene.com/

Tubist of Time wrote:I am an individual who drinks a lot of water. I always have. Despite this, however, I find it difficult to remain hydrated while playing. I drink water frequently and use the trick to moisturize the throat (where you inhale air over a small amount of water in your mouth), but I quickly dry out again. The amount of water I drink seems to have no effect on how long I stay hydrated. I've heard that vitamin E helps. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

I just think that you're trying to use water to do the job of saliva, and instead, you're washing saliva away from where it needs to be.

Keep drinking water for meals instead of other drinks, and sip it occasionally during the day. But, let your body do its job. Keeping your mouth & throat moist comes from within, not from a bottle. The water you drink needs to be absorbed & "digested", so to speak, by your stomach and whatnot before it can be part of your saliva.

Sports drinks aren't a good solution because they need to be dissolved further for your body to use them, and that won't help in proper hydration. They're also called "sports drinks" for a reason -- such carb- and salt-laden concoctions are only necessary if you're doing a LOT of physical activity, which hardly any sports drink drinkers really do. I don't even touch Gatorade anymore unless it's after a long run or bike ride and I've sweated every square inch.

If you're on medications like those mentioned above, or heavy-duty decongestants like I've had in the past, it'll be an extra challenge, but not impossible.

Anyway... my point is, water is terrible as a direct moisture source for your mouth and throat. It evaporates, and it washes away the body's natural moisture. Just make sure that you can produce enough spit, and you'll be fine.

I thought that before I had my heatstroke... If your tongue feels dry, you need to drink water NOW!

Right -- but if I'm sloshing my mouth with water all the time, I don't have nearly as much saliva as when I hydrate well in my off hours. The body needs time to distribute water, and doing it on-the-spot really can't help if your throat is parched. It's going to take a while for freshly-imbibed water to be effective.

I've said that, if your tongue feels dry, you should've drank more water a few hours ago.

In my case, certain foods caused the problems. Stay away from all dairy products, including ice cream, during extreme heat.

After my resignation as a public school educator, and before I moved to Vietnam at the end of October of last year, I took a job working with combat troops preparing to go to Iraq on a make-believe battlefield in the middle of California's Mojave Desert. I worked with approximately 400 other civilian trainers during the hottest part of the summer--during our 80 hour shifts, we had no running water, electricity, nor cell phone signals. This was many years after my heat injuries which landed me in the hospital. I learned some things about hydration which everyone should know...

-Salt isn't good, no matter what people tell you. Even when you put it on your food, to make it taste better, use it sparingly.
-Dairy products cause mucous to form in various parts of your body. Don't take in milk or other dairy products. If you use milk or cream in your coffee, use a non-dairy creamer.
-Caffeine isn't as bad as what people say, but coffee is not a substitute for water.
-Use sugar as a sweetener, as most artificial sweeteners have a sodium base. The "natural" sweetener Equal and its equivalents had the same effect as salt as well. However, if you can't use sugar, it's safer to use (we had some diabetics working with us).
-If you drink a lot of water, and you still feel parched, try to take a shower or soak yourself in a bathtub. We couldn't take a real shower--we had a ration of only five gallons of water a day! We could pour a one gallon milk jug of water over our heads which felt pretty good.

^^^^ Very good all-around advice.

Dry mouth and constant thirst may also be a sign of high blood sugar and type 2 diabetes. It couldn't hurt to have your doctor give you a blood test to be sure.

LunchboxTScontra wrote:Wes where did you march?

pr 2001-2005, DB before that.

i know what you mean about throat getting dry. i started playing concerts and rehearsing with water at my seat. i havent stopped, and when i forgot one time, it was rough. Maybe it is unproffesional to have water at your seat. i dunno.

I don't think it's unprofessional at all to have water on stage. I see it all the time now.

I always keep a small (1/2 pint) bottle of water on the floor next to my chair (rehearsal or concert). I use the same small bottle which I covered with black Gaf tape to cover up any name brand. No one has ever said anything about it.

It is on doctor's orders that I take the water with me.