Drinking lots of water is essential, not smoking is imperative and clearing your throat something to avoid. Anyone who wants to have a healthy voice should follow this advice (and many more). The National Voice Tracking, running until 18pm this Wednesday, August 00th, at the Family Health Unit (USF) Farothere, in Faro, is diagnosing possible diseases, teaching how to take care of vocal health.
The idea is simple: deal with the voice of all interested people. Also because this is an instrument used by everyone, whether singers and actors or not.
"Many people need the voice to work, but we all need it to communicate," explained Luís Sampaio, vice president of Artists' Rights Management (GDA), promoter of the initiative, to the Sul Informação. Faro it is the sixth city to receive the screening, which will, until May 2018, go to all district capitals.
The truth is that those who use their voice as a work tool need to take care of it in a special way. Also for this reason, the fact that this is the first time that there is a nationwide screening is seen as an asset.
«The main artists are, in principle, in Lisbon, as that is where the televisions and the studios are. Still, there are many musicians across the country, who play in bars, for example. This year it was possible to leave the capital, with the help of the Ministry of Health, which gave us access to the network of health centers in the country», said Luís Sampaio.
Clara Capucho is the face – and the soul – of the initiative, which is taking place at the USF of the Health Center of Faro. Otolaryngologist surgeon, she is responsible for the screening. During the morning of Tuesday, August 8, in which our newspaper followed this initiative, the doctor tracked 18 people, many from outside the artistic field.
"What we want is to catch the pathologies and resolve them quickly to avoid very serious things, such as cancers that end up with serious sequelae", he explained. And how is all this done? Using a laryngoscopy, in which the doctor sees the vocal cords and their movement, on video, and, for example, nodules or polyps can be detected.
More serious cases also appear. The sooner they are diagnosed, the better. “This morning I detected two cancer suspects. I'll see if I have to operate or not. It's lucky to get hold of them now», explained Clara Capucho.
All singers have to take care of their voice particularly well. Therefore, it was not by chance that Nuno Guerreiro and Viviane, two artists from the Algarve, attended this screening. Actor Pedro Lima also did not miss the call.
For Viviane, this initiative is “very important”. "Sometimes, we feel discomfort in the voice, which we don't care about, but the truth is that the vocal cords are a muscle that has to be watched and taken care of," the singer told Sul Informação.
The fact that the initiative takes place in Faro surprised the former vocalist of “Entre Aspas”. "It's great to happen here!" he exclaimed.
To take good care of one's voice, the following aspects to take into account are: not eating before going to bed, sleeping with the highest pillow, not shouting often (or speaking quickly) and adopting correct postures are useful advices.
Until the end of today, the expectation of the responsible doctor is to make 180 to 200 screenings. Detected cases will always be forwarded, either to doctors in the Algarve, or to the Voice Unit of the Egas Moniz Hospital, in Lisbon, whose coordinator is Clara Capucho. “I can take some more specific cases there, as I have all the conditions to treat people,” he said.
For six years, Nuno Guerreiro has been accompanied by Dr. Clara. Over time, "it has taught me many things," he confessed. According to the singer of Ala dos Namorados, "people are still, in general, little informed about the problems that can exist in a voice". Hence the "great importance" of screening.
Recognized for having a great voice, something that users of the Health Center were able to prove in a mini-concert in the waiting room, Nuno Guerreiro strictly follows a series of precepts so that nothing fails. "I drink two, three glasses of warm water when I wake up, I don't eat some citrus fruits, as they can cause reflux problems (heartburn), and I don't drink cold things," he explained.
"There were times, when I was younger, when I was more unconscious, but I've been respecting the voice for a long time," he added, smiling.
In this screening, the team from the Health Center of Faro it is being “fantastic”, according to Luís Sampaio. “I highlight it because we have already done other similar initiatives, but this team is special”, he guaranteed.
Paulo Morgado, president of the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve, could not be more pleased with these compliments. "We think it is an innovative screening, which responds to a set of problems that are felt by family doctors," he considered.
It is “difficult to find an answer as specialized as the one that Dr. Clara gives and that allows an accurate diagnosis”, he explained.
Nuno Guerreiro, on the other hand, has no doubts: «all these initiatives should have even greater dissemination. The subject is little talked about».
So, you already know: if you want to do a voice screening, hurry up and go today to the USF of the Health Center of Faro because, despite not always being noticed, "a problematic voice" can bring real troubles.
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação
Comments