Like many people around me right now, I’m trying to get over an upper respiratory tract infection aka a bad cold.
Any ideas on how to play whistle with one of these? Breath control seems to be a problem, obviously.
No, I’m not asking for board-banned medical advice. I’ve seen my local general practitioner and gotten some medical compounds, thank you.
It occurred to me that there must be something the pros do if they have gigs.
I like breathing steam.
Whether it’s allergies, a cough, or just a feeling of malaise, I find breathing steam helps clear my breathing.
I bought a table-top steam-maker about 10 years ago. It was money well spent. I’ve seen them for well under $50 in drugstores + large retailers.
Hope you feel better !
Homemade chicken soup, like Grandma use to make. 
Followed by hot toddy like Grandpa use to make.
This is a great reason to learn an alternative, non wind powered instrument such as the mandolin.
Something that having having a cold or other respiratory issue helps with is learning where to put breaths. Too many people (myself included) like to breath when they need to, and so try to have the longest phrase possible with a big breath at the end when they’re running out of air. Something I like to do is to figure out all the places I can breathe in a tune, whether I need to or not. Then, instead of running out of breath, you have a bunch of waypoints that you can grab some air along the way. Plus, you can then use your breath as another form of ornamentation. Play a phrase all on one breath the first time, then chop it up with the next time, then a different break the next time. This keeps it from becoming predictable, and adds a bit of intrigue to the playing.
bigsciota’s advice of alternate breathing spots is good.
If I had a cold and a gig coming up, I’d drink hot tea (probably some herbal concoction designed for cold-busting), do nasal-irrigation a few times a day, and probably take some kind of non-drowsy decongestant before the gig. Anything to reduce the amount of phlegm slopping around my air passages while I’m trying to play. I’d also be doing (or trying to do) the basic stuff like getting enough rest and drinking plenty of water. If you’ve already been to the doctor, then you probably have that pretty well under control (and your doctor’s advice, obviously, categorically trumps mine).