Morning Show Host Reveals Health Scare That Sparked Change to Her Morning Routine
She was forced to step away from TV after losing her voice.
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid has announced that she recently had a health scare that led her to reduce how much coffee she drinks each morning as a result. During a recent conversation with Woman&Home, the morning show host discussed her visit to the hospital earlier this year after losing her voice.
"Losing my voice earlier this year was a bit of a scare," shared the 53-year-old. "Everyone gets a bit croaky from time to time, but I could not get any noise out of my vocal cords, and that's never happened before.
"I went very quickly to see a specialist, who stuck a camera down my throat, for which I needed a nurse to hold my hand because I found it quite intrusive. The specialist said maybe I had a virus that I didn't realise I had. Unless we're properly ill, we all carry on working, don't we? I'm not doing anything to boost my immunity, and I should be."
As she went on to elaborate on changes she has made to her morning routine, the journalist explained, "The doctor was quite surprised that I don't drink more water and that I drink quite a lot of coffee, so I have tried to cut down a bit.
"One morning we worked out that I had eight coffees. But I don't drink the whole cup – I have a few sips. But I now try to intersperse it with ginger tea."
Having lost her voice after attending the National Television Awards back in September, Reid was forced to withdraw from her duties as a presenter on Good Morning Britain.
Reid wrote to her followers in an Instagram post at the time: "Sorry not to see you tomorrow. Back in full voice v soon I hope, thanks to specialist treatment and your brilliant tips." Later, the broadcaster explained that her loss of voice occurred as a result of a "mild infection" in the vocal cords.
The ITV news anchor has spoken out about her health in the past, and in June, she admitted that she had been invited to go for a routine mammogram screening but was hesitant to do so. She made the admission while talking about Sarah Ferguson's breast cancer diagnosis, which she described as a "wake-up call."
In September, Reid confirmed that she had attended the appointment. "I was really resistant to it, and then there was a big a row wasn't there that some health authorities weren't sending regular reminders," she said. "I remembered that there had been a letter somewhere and so I did it."
She continued, "It wasn't the least bit painful or uncomfortable, I was expecting it to be far, far worse. The results came within a few weeks, and it came back all clear."