{Found this draft from back in March 2012, I just hadn't posted it}
I had so many ambitions, as last week was so chock full of appointments, tests, and procedures- I was looking forward to catching up on household chores, Kissi-cat's homeschooling, mini-moose' therapy and more ambitious whole foods cooking. It really takes time to, planning, and prep to cook more traditionally and I look forward to the process of it {Just NOT the clean up}
Then it all came to a screeching halt as I heard the rumblings & rattlings & hacking & coughing, sure signs of upper respiratory inflammation starting up in Kissi-cat. Mini-moose has had congestion and sinus issues since last Wed, didn't know if they would precede with his MRI since he had to be sedated, but they were able to work out a good situation for him. But now his nose is draining like a faucet down his face and Kiss-cat is draining down her throat.
There comes a time, when you have to choose to allow somethings to go undone when you are needed by children or situations happen outside of your control. It kills me to not reach my goals for the day even if that just means washing the dishes, I LOVE my children, it might sound the opposite because I am giving myself permission to hold a sick child versus doing chores. Yet, I had to mentally give myself permission to leave somethings undone, so we had store bought egg noodles instead my homemade version. I usually keep some in the pantry just in case, now this might be a cop out, if I didn't have it I wouldn't rely on it? Perhaps, I am not that hard core though, and there are times when life happens and ambition takes the backseat, you know? I hope to make homemade pasta when I make Spaghetti Bolaganse this weekend, but we will see, I do have store bought pasta in my pantry-some shapes you just can't make or roll thin enough.
In the past we would rush to the doctor who would say the same thing, use Vick's Vapor Rub on chest, back and bottoms of feet, use humidifier, elevate her pillows, elevate her bed, restrict dairy and phlegm causing food. IF they get all croupy take outside for them to catch their breath, or turn the shower on full blast and all hot to get extreme steam to help clear the air ways...
All drainage is clear so I am not going to rush them to the doctor's and risk them getting some other bug... This time I am mustering up my courage and tapping into my mother's intuition, instead of allowing fear of ridicule from others keep me from making choices I know are right for my family. In any case the doctor would not offer much else than I have all ready heard dozens of time before.
I have been interested in alternative medicine for as long as I can remember & have made a "lung butter" or a salve like the "Vick's" only not synthetic ingredients and petroleum to get ingested into their developing systems along with the trace amounts of essential oils. So this time I utilized my years of research and applied what I have learned. Below is some remedies I have used time and time again and some new ones I have had in my files for years but only used recently:
Here is a list of Essential oils and the medicinal effects or issues they work best for:
* DIY Vick's Vapor Rub:
Adapted this recipe from An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants, by Mary Bove, N.D. page 286.
I also have been giving Kiss-cat & Mini-Moose some tea, this tea is soo good and as long Kissi-cat doesn't see the grated ginger, pulp of lemons, and it is sweet she will gladly drink it- Mini-moose is a crap-shoot. Here is the Ginger-Lemon Tea recipe:
* Ginger Lemon Tea w/Raw Honey: This is my version of a tea I enjoyed drinking when I was fighting extreme nausea during some fertility treatments. I found out later the other medicinal qualities of the ingredients and we drink this when we are starting to feel under the weather-
Add 1 heaping teaspoon of grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon powdered),
3 slices of organic lemons,
To 1 cup of boiling water.
Allow to steep COVERED for ten minutes
Strain {OR add the above to a tea ball and just remove at the end of 10 min}
Add Raw Honey to taste-then drink.
If I am fortunate enough to have Licorice Root or Wild Cherry Bark I will add to my tea ball. They work well as a medicinal tea:
Onion-Garlic-Ginger Poultice: WHY USE onion, garlic and Ginger?
* Onion is filled with phytochemical and quercetin which assist the body by moving and breaking up the mucus in the head and chest. The powerful odor causes the eyes to tear and the nose to run is the affect that stimulates the immune system to fight the virus or bacterial infection. This is helping your body shed the virus and reduce the inflammation from congestion.
*Garlic is known to have strong antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties… and there are no known side effects (other than smelling like garlic!), getting kids to eat this raw or adults for that matter is impossible, so using it as poultice works for my family.
*Ginger has antiviral and anti-inflammatory compounds as listed above
I rub a neutral oil, like sweet almond seed, jojoba on the skin prior to poultice as a protector of the natural secretions check often because garlic and ginger can be very warm to skin and will cause a "burn".
I apply the poultice to the foot of my young children. The foot is a great receptor of natural remedies and the healing properties enter their systems fast. I will sometimes wrap a plastic bag over the foot to aid in keeping the poultice in place, checking every 2 min for skin irritations or hot spots. I will also apply to back and chest alternating up to 20 min, some people will suggest up to 60 min, since my kids are so young we don't apply this longer than 20 min.
Additional Remedies I found online and lost the resources but this we recently tried and I am liking the way it is seems to help soothe my throat:
* Sore Throat Gargle with Hyssop or Sage:
Sage & Hyssop are traditionally calming herbs & known for their
anti-inflammatory properties
* Lemon Throat Spray: is a traditional sore throat soother, and you can put into a spray bottle of any size (look for travel-size spray bottles to take some with you when you're on the go) and stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Combine:
[Found this in my files a few months back, not sure of where I got this, but we have been using this and it is very soothing.]
I had so many ambitions, as last week was so chock full of appointments, tests, and procedures- I was looking forward to catching up on household chores, Kissi-cat's homeschooling, mini-moose' therapy and more ambitious whole foods cooking. It really takes time to, planning, and prep to cook more traditionally and I look forward to the process of it {Just NOT the clean up}
Then it all came to a screeching halt as I heard the rumblings & rattlings & hacking & coughing, sure signs of upper respiratory inflammation starting up in Kissi-cat. Mini-moose has had congestion and sinus issues since last Wed, didn't know if they would precede with his MRI since he had to be sedated, but they were able to work out a good situation for him. But now his nose is draining like a faucet down his face and Kiss-cat is draining down her throat.
There comes a time, when you have to choose to allow somethings to go undone when you are needed by children or situations happen outside of your control. It kills me to not reach my goals for the day even if that just means washing the dishes, I LOVE my children, it might sound the opposite because I am giving myself permission to hold a sick child versus doing chores. Yet, I had to mentally give myself permission to leave somethings undone, so we had store bought egg noodles instead my homemade version. I usually keep some in the pantry just in case, now this might be a cop out, if I didn't have it I wouldn't rely on it? Perhaps, I am not that hard core though, and there are times when life happens and ambition takes the backseat, you know? I hope to make homemade pasta when I make Spaghetti Bolaganse this weekend, but we will see, I do have store bought pasta in my pantry-some shapes you just can't make or roll thin enough.
In the past we would rush to the doctor who would say the same thing, use Vick's Vapor Rub on chest, back and bottoms of feet, use humidifier, elevate her pillows, elevate her bed, restrict dairy and phlegm causing food. IF they get all croupy take outside for them to catch their breath, or turn the shower on full blast and all hot to get extreme steam to help clear the air ways...
All drainage is clear so I am not going to rush them to the doctor's and risk them getting some other bug... This time I am mustering up my courage and tapping into my mother's intuition, instead of allowing fear of ridicule from others keep me from making choices I know are right for my family. In any case the doctor would not offer much else than I have all ready heard dozens of time before.
I have been interested in alternative medicine for as long as I can remember & have made a "lung butter" or a salve like the "Vick's" only not synthetic ingredients and petroleum to get ingested into their developing systems along with the trace amounts of essential oils. So this time I utilized my years of research and applied what I have learned. Below is some remedies I have used time and time again and some new ones I have had in my files for years but only used recently:
Here is a list of Essential oils and the medicinal effects or issues they work best for:
- Asthma: clary sage, cypress, eucalyptus, frankincense and marjoram.
- Chesty cough: Cedarwood, clary sage, eucalyptus, ginger, myrrh, pine and tea tree.
- Hay fever: chamomile, eucalyptus, pine and rose otto.
- Sinusitis/catarrh: cajeput, Cedarwood, eucalyptus, lemon, rosemary and tea tree.
- Headaches: chamomile, lavender and peppermint.
- Insomnia: chamomile, lavender, jasmine and ylang ylang.
* DIY Vick's Vapor Rub:
Adapted this recipe from An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants, by Mary Bove, N.D. page 286.
- Pour 1 ounces of almond or olive oil into a small bowl or cup.
- Add 1/2 Ounce Melted Coconut oil
- Add 1/2 ounce whipped unrefined shea butter-can omit and just use 1 oz melted coconut oil, I just like the softer texture of whipped unrefined shea butter
- Add 20 drops of essential oil {You want to use 10 drops TOTAL of oil per 2 ounces if you are using this on small children and infants} – choose eucalyptus, hyssop, thyme, peppermint, basil, or rosemary.
- {I use 5 drops of tea tree, 4 drops hyssop, 4 drops peppermint, 3 drops lavender, & 3 Drops rosemary plus 1/8t of myrrh powder. This formula works well on my children, 10 drops didn't seem to do enough and 20 was too strong for Kissi-cat's sensitive skin}
I also have been giving Kiss-cat & Mini-Moose some tea, this tea is soo good and as long Kissi-cat doesn't see the grated ginger, pulp of lemons, and it is sweet she will gladly drink it- Mini-moose is a crap-shoot. Here is the Ginger-Lemon Tea recipe:
* Ginger Lemon Tea w/Raw Honey: This is my version of a tea I enjoyed drinking when I was fighting extreme nausea during some fertility treatments. I found out later the other medicinal qualities of the ingredients and we drink this when we are starting to feel under the weather-
- Ginger is another traditional cold and flu remedy, & works well for that rattly cough that lingers because it contains at least a dozen antiviral compounds. You can use fresh or powdered ginger for this recipe- I really don't think the compounds are as vital when they u purchase the dried, unless u have a reliable source, PLEASE NOTE: Fresh ginger has higher levels of gingerol {If you want to know what gingerol is: chemically, gingerol is a relative of capsaicin and piperine, the compounds which give chilli peppers and black pepper their respective spiciness, this is LOST when using dried version!} as well as FRESH ginger’s active protease (it's anti-inflammatory compound) than using dried verions-FRESH IS ALWAYS BEST!!
- Lemon is a traditional sore throat soother, essential from all that hacking and coughing- so I steep the lemon slices, or if I have rinds in freezer I add them
Add 1 heaping teaspoon of grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon powdered),
3 slices of organic lemons,
To 1 cup of boiling water.
Allow to steep COVERED for ten minutes
Strain {OR add the above to a tea ball and just remove at the end of 10 min}
Add Raw Honey to taste-then drink.
If I am fortunate enough to have Licorice Root or Wild Cherry Bark I will add to my tea ball. They work well as a medicinal tea:
- 1t of dried licorice root- a natural throat coat, an expectorant to help keep your lungs clear and a booster to your energy when you are tired from coughing.
- 1t wild cherry bark- for irritating cough from bronchitis, croup, asthma and whooping cough b/c of it's Anti-spasmodic; Sedative; Anti-tussive; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( COPD ), Expectorant, Supports lung and respiratory function, Antispasmodic, Expectorant, Sedative, & Stomach Tonic.
Onion-Garlic-Ginger Poultice: WHY USE onion, garlic and Ginger?
* Onion is filled with phytochemical and quercetin which assist the body by moving and breaking up the mucus in the head and chest. The powerful odor causes the eyes to tear and the nose to run is the affect that stimulates the immune system to fight the virus or bacterial infection. This is helping your body shed the virus and reduce the inflammation from congestion.
*Garlic is known to have strong antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties… and there are no known side effects (other than smelling like garlic!), getting kids to eat this raw or adults for that matter is impossible, so using it as poultice works for my family.
*Ginger has antiviral and anti-inflammatory compounds as listed above
- Crush 1/2 of a small onion, 3-6 cloves of garlic in a mortar and pestle or with knife to get all juicy
- Grate or slice thinly 2 T FRESH ginger.
- Place in a thin material, cheese cloth, old t-shirt, I use the thin cloth diapers I used as burb clothes on kids when they were babies (these are the perfect thinness) and fold like a burrito
- lay in a deep medium bowl
- And pour Very Warm-Hot'ish water, NOT BOILING
- Allow to Steep until comfortably warm.
I rub a neutral oil, like sweet almond seed, jojoba on the skin prior to poultice as a protector of the natural secretions check often because garlic and ginger can be very warm to skin and will cause a "burn".
I apply the poultice to the foot of my young children. The foot is a great receptor of natural remedies and the healing properties enter their systems fast. I will sometimes wrap a plastic bag over the foot to aid in keeping the poultice in place, checking every 2 min for skin irritations or hot spots. I will also apply to back and chest alternating up to 20 min, some people will suggest up to 60 min, since my kids are so young we don't apply this longer than 20 min.
Additional Remedies I found online and lost the resources but this we recently tried and I am liking the way it is seems to help soothe my throat:
* Sore Throat Gargle with Hyssop or Sage:
Sage & Hyssop are traditionally calming herbs & known for their
anti-inflammatory properties
- One cup of distilled water
- 20 Drops sage or hyssop essential oil
- Add 1/8 teaspoon of salt
- 2 t Food Grade Vegetable glycerin {My family won't use this without the sweetened taste glycerin gives the gargle solution, plus it helps preserve it longer}
* Lemon Throat Spray: is a traditional sore throat soother, and you can put into a spray bottle of any size (look for travel-size spray bottles to take some with you when you're on the go) and stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Combine:
- 15 drops lemon essential oil
- 5 drops peppermint essential oil
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 t food grade vegetable glycerin (again my family won't use this if it's not sweetened, so this is a must, it slightly sweetens and helps the taste)
[Found this in my files a few months back, not sure of where I got this, but we have been using this and it is very soothing.]
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