your singing does not have to have an expiry date here is a list of a few dos and donts to protect your vocal chords have you ever wondered why on some days your singing sounds better than other days one day you experience vocal freedom but then you wake up the next day and sound hoarse there are different reasons why your voice may sound hoarse or abnormal from time to time both personal habits and outside sources affect your singing quality here are a few steps that could help you to keep your voice healthybreathing right singers need to breathe from the diaphragm in order to protect their voice if they sing from their throat without the support of a breath they end up putting strain on their voice learning how to sing is learning how to breathewater therapy drink enough water every day water hydrates the body and keeps your throat hydrated too avoid cold water as it will harm your throat also avoid alcohol or caffeine as they dry out the body a dry throat can damage your vocal chords so ensure you do what is essential to replace lost moistureeat healthy have a balanced diet at all times especially when you know that you will be using your voice a lot before a big performance avoid eating in large quantities salt sugar and even spicy food limit your consumption of alcohol and caffeine too your body needs extra amounts of water to metabolize all that you eat which could rob your vocal chords of the much needed moisture if you are not careful with your dietalert hearing senses avoid habitual yelling screaming or cheering as your voice is not indestructible be aware of your background noise when it becomes noisy there is a natural significant increase in voice volume which can harm to your voice if you feel like your throatclear your throat gently avoid mouthwash and repeated throat clearing or harsh coughing can damage the delicate vocal fold tissues when you clear your throat too often the friction between the air and the mucous membrane in the airway passages may increase and lead to swelling and inflammation the safest way to clear the throat is to sharply sniff and then swallow if you feel you must clear the throat then do so silently without any voice at all