G’day friends ,
It’s been many a year since I’ve been here ,but the other day , I picked up the Flute ,played a few tunes and enjoyed it… until the back of my throat ‘dried out’ and really affected the sound, and made things quite difficult ..
Anyone else suffer from this dryness ? .. any ideas to combat it .
Cheers from OZ … olderweedie 
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Couple of thoughts, for what they’re worth, which may not be much.
The first would be to make haste slowly as you pick this back up. Intersperse playing with some listening, some reading, posting on here. Frustrating when you want to jump in with both feet, but that’s the best way to avoid the nerdy little musician injuries to which we are all prone.
The next thing I would say is so obvious that it may go without saying, but just to tick the box, remember to hydrate. Not just while you’re playing, but all day long. Make yourself juicy.
There’s some herbal lozenges that I have found helpful called Thayer Slippery Elm Lozenges, made just for that.
Make sure that you’re not sleeping with your mouth open at night. That will really dry your throat out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFxEZYiFlXM
Not a bad idea to run that past your doctor and/or Dentist, just to make sure there’s nothing medically going on for you.
Have fun, welcome home. We’ll all slide down the bench and throw another potato in the pot for you.
Isn’t Guinness or Smithwicks made for this situation? 
Really nice words Snowleopard ,thanks .. I have found a similar lozenge here in OZ ,I’ll give them a try .. loved that last sentence mate 
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During the day !! 
.. hope you’re enjoying the Water Weasels Jayhawk ,I’d say they’ve gone to a good home 
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Love them! Just great whistles and the last WW made story is priceless!
I’ll be looking forward to seeing other people’s recommendations in this thread. I think you will find this to be not to be so much of an issue as your body remembers how to use air more efficiently when playing, and as you discover what adaptations you need to make because of changes in your body.
Some years ago I had a wake up call, where I spent a day stacking firewood. That is a seasonal task, and I had developed the mindset of, you just push yourself until it’s done. And then I had to go for a week without playing the flute because I had pushed myself so hard. I realized I was at a crossroads: I could either make music and art, or I could push myself physically to the point where I couldn’t do those things. I chose fine motor, and it’s a lesson apparently I have to relearn periodically (see: Snow, Shoveling).
Our bodies change, and we adapt, we figure out workarounds, we are tenacious. And sometimes for some reasons, we set aside the things that give us the most joy. And then later we have to blow the dust off the case and start from what seems like square one. It isn’t square one. I think you’ll be surprised at how quickly you get back to where you were, and then surpass it.
Again, just speaking from my experience, so take it with a grain of salt.
I wonder if it might be because you haven’t been playing very often? I had the same problem when I came back to whistle. The back of my throat would suddenly go incredibly dry and make me cough.
With apologies for the revolting detail, I worked out it was caused by tiny amounts of mucus in my throat. My lungs were getting a different type of workout to usual, which seemed to loosen it.
It stopped once I’d got back into regular playing and I’ve had no trouble since.
“Our bodies change, and we adapt…”
Indeed.
As we age, our sense of thirst gets weaker. After age 50, if you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Best metric is urine color. Pale yellow is the target.
I took care of my mom until she passed. The SINGLE MOST USEFUL intervention was “scheduled hydration”: 3 oz of water every half hour until 3pm. Fixed: BP control, daytime drowsiness, constipation, and balance. I used a daily/hourly check sheet.
Loved the “Make yourself juicy” !
Welcome back.
Words of wisdom friends .. all of these suggestions have been taken on board .Thanks to you all 
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Good advice. I am currently on some pretty good doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen for oral surgery. I was just advised that hydration is really important, and I’ve been trying to keep all these doses straight in my mind, and it’s not working. I’m going to try a written schedule, and I will make hydration part of that.