I've sung for pleasure all of my life, then started working with a vocal coach for the first time about 7 months ago, and with proper technique my range has opened up a fair bit. Modal register is currently F2 to D#5 (C#5 reliably), falsetto goes out to D6. While I'm fairly happy with all this growth, I have heard and read horror stories about male singers who blew out their voices with overuse of the extremities of their range.
My question is how do I manage this risk? I haven't brought it up with my vocal coach because we focus our limited time on more immediately practicable things, but I've been wondering on my own time--should I be trying to work at these extremities to get my voice used to them and incorporate them into my regular arsenal? Or are the notes at the fringes of your range something to treat gingerly, to use only as often as needed to maintain the ability to reach them when performance demands it? I suppose I would apply this question to high falsetto notes, too, although I hardly feel like my falsetto range goes far enough to warrant the concern.