Will practising my flute with a painful throat store up my germs in my flute or something? And give me it back when its healed the first time?

P.S. Have an AS level practical assessment soon....

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Feb 1 2005, 11:12 AM)

Will practising my flute with a painful throat store up my germs in my flute or something? And give me it back when its healed the first time?

Usually if you have a virus you won't generally catch it again: your body produces antibodies and has memory cells that remember how to fight the infection (this is how many vaccines work by giving you a dead version of the same virus so that you fight it). If you come across the virus again your body already has the antibodies which kill it off before you get ill. If it's a bacterial infection (i.e. something being treated by antibiotics) these don't work in the same way.

I'm not a doctor so don't take my health advice as a reliable source, but I would say that you should be okay; many viruses can't survive outside the body for long anyway so even if it was on your flute it will probably die off before you're cured. Whether playing your flute will hurt your throat though is a different matter!

Awww, hope you feel better soon *hug*

I wouldn't practice my flute as much if I was ill, as sometimes I find it irratates your throat more.

There was another thread about this, I will try and find it.

Yes, apparently, you never catch the same cold twice

Try:
* here

Also try: here

I doubt you'd store the virus in your flute, as AnotherPianist said, viruses can't survive long outside your body, they'd be dead within hours I think, I'll have to check that with my parents, both of them have got science degrees, and ones got a medical degree! So I expect they'll know. But I would try to cut down on the practice seeing as you have a sore throat, as I find when I play my clarinet while I have a sore throat as soon as I stop I always a big coughing fit.

Hope you feel better soon!
I am currently ill aswell, tickly throat, cold, cough etc and seeing as I play the violin it doesn't help having something jammed into your neck. I suffered a lot in orchestra yesterday, a coughing attack with a bright red face, just lovely. It all added to the wonderful noise I was making with a cut in my first finger.

QUOTE (Keys @ Feb 1 2005, 07:04 PM)

It all added to the wonderful noise I was making with a cut in my first finger.

*wince* ouch, sympathy!

Ok thanks guys, I haven't done any flute practice today anyway... *ahem, and not because I have left writing my french oral presentation to the last minute either, although in my defence, I didn't realise half term was so soon...* although I am thinking maybe if I still have no voice tomorrow, I will have a valid reason for not going to choir practice...

Although, it was interesting at brownies not being able to yell "brownies!" when I needed the whole packs attention... I was standing there with my arm up (the guiding symbol for 'shut it') for about 5 minutes before one realised....

Helen, hope you feel better soon! Sore throat + impending AS recital sounds like an extremely good reason to miss choir! If I were you, I'd try not to miss too many days practising, but just take it easy and practice a little each day rather than lots one day and not the next... that way you're being consistent and keeping everything ticking over without (I hope!) wearing yourself out.