A disclaimer:
I am not a doctor. So please, if you take any of this information regarding natural remedies and choose to use it on your family, do your own research about it. Thank you!
A preface:
There are several ways to prevent and cure simple illnesses (and even disease), however the ones that I am listing are very cost efficient. Meaning, they cost near to nothing. Most items you can find in your kitchen. The reason we do these is because we can't afford some of the other natural options for wellness (for example, while I fully support and appreciate the benefits of fermented cod liver oil, we simply can't afford to supplement our whole family with it, same with colloidal silver and other amazing remedies/supplements).
The purpose in writing this post is simply to encourage you to assess the situation before you run to the doctor to solve your issue and to give you some tools to take "solving" the problem into your own hands!
Antibiotics are so bad for your system and your child's especially. Again, there are times when one has no other options, but for simple, standard, childhood infections or viruses, they will absolutely do more harm than good. Research what they do to your body. It's not pretty. If you or your child has had them, fine, research how to rebuild a healthy flora in your gut and make a goal not to get them again--it can be done... and here are a few tools to help achieve that!
Infections:
Ear infections are very common in babies and small children. They are the reason behind the number one prescribed antibiotic in children: Amoxicillin. There is a super simple remedy that you can find in your cabinets from the moment you suspect your child has one: Olive Oil. I'm going to teach you how to make garlic oil, which is a bit more effective. But seriously, Olive Oil alone has ended what I assumed to be an infection in my children.
Now we don't have the little ear gadgets to identify, but if your child has any sort of mucous (runny nose, cough, etc) and a fever and is very cranky or acting in pain (often pulling the ear is a giveaway), I would suggest to drop one to two drops of olive oil or garlic oil in each ear (just because they're pulling one ear doesn't mean that is the infected ear). These drops will do NO harm if there isn't an infection, it will simply rub into the skin. It's all natural. But you will see a near-immediate difference in your child's behavior and comfort level.
For garlic oil, mince two cloves and barely fry in a pan with 3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (organic for both is best)... cover so that the oil can steep and the garlic will be infused into it. Strain with a strainer into where you would like to store the oil. Let the oil cool to be a little warmer than room temperature (you don't want to burn the ear!). Take a dropper and put 1-3 drops per ear. Make the child lay with his head down to let the oil travel into the canals... of course they will not like this, but after you are done, you will see drastic results. Continue use every hour until the pain is gone, then a few times a day for 1-3 days. This is near-guaranteed, you guys! Approved through five kids! Also, the fever tends to leave within a few hours. (at least in our case!) Click
for detailed benefits of garlic, etc.
This works for adults, too. I've done it before with great results!
For almost any other infection, we use Grapefruit Seed Extract (known as GSE). This stuff is a must have in any cabinet. It's literally just as strong as an antibiotic, just as effective, yet all natural. It's not recommended to take as a daily supplement, but more for if you know you are fighting something off or if you know you have something.
Just add about 10 drops in some water about 2-3 times a day and you will see results. GSE works on sinus infections, strep throat, UTI's, bladder infections, colds, flus, sore throats, candida, and much more. It can also be used topically for chicken pox, infected cuts, spider bites, etc... use as you would and antiseptic.
Other uses include using it to wash your produce, clean your cutting boards, as a disinfectant...read up on it and you are sure to keep it in your kitchen at all times.
Colds:
Remember I mentioned these being cost-efficient? Well, the next remedy that we do is a simple Apple Cider Vinegar/ Emergen-C concoction. I wouldn't normally recommend synthetic vitamins or supplements such as Emergen-C, but to be honest, it helps a lot with sniffles and such and is a great way for my kids to take their ACV as it covers the highly acidic taste. The kids call these their fizzy drinks.
During cold season, the kids typically get a half packet with about two teaspoons of ACV. When buying ACV, be sure that it is raw and organic. Bragg is the only brand that I am aware of that is raw, but I'm sure there are others out there. We buy ours in bulk from our co op, which is why it's in this little jar. While the Emergen-C certainly helps fight off colds (due to the extra Vit C), it's the ACV that does the magic. ACV balances your body's acids, all while providing happy bacteria to fight off everything bad that is going on internally, and when you have kids in school and in church and in Bible Study, a lot of things go around!
It can also be used to tame a fever, as a toner, disinfectant and many other purposes, read up on it, it's another must have in your cabinet (and very inexpensive).
Elderberry Syrup is another winter must have. This is like liquid gold. We don't do any over-the-counter meds so having something to help with coughs is important. We are so blessed to have a huge elderberry bush on our property. It provides enough elderberries to harvest and press for winter. Maybe one day I'll post the process of making it, but it's simply Elderberries, ginger, water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and raw honey. It's delicious and the kids do not mind it as a cough suppressant. :-)
It's good to take daily in the cold and flu season, but of course, financially, we don't have the ability to do that so we take it at the first sign of a sniffle and/ or body ache.
It's helpful in fighting against colds and flus, sinus infections, respiratory infections, bacterial and viral infections. You can buy it in the health food store as a syrup or you can purchase the berries online (Mountain Rose Herbs sells them) and make your own syrup. The cost ends up being less than cough syrup per bottle and of course has nothing but healing properties rather than alcohol, food coloring, and weird additives that OTC cough medicine has.
Fevers & Flu:
Yuck and yuck. The worst if you ask me.
For the flu, we use baking soda with a splash of lime... sounds strange, but makes complete sense! When your body acid level is too high, this is where a virus or even disease thrives...by settling your acid levels in your body by introducing an alkaline (baking soda), it starves the virus. Cancer has been known to disappear through daily baking soda intake, because it provides oxygen to the body and cancer can't live with oxygen... crazy, right? And obviously, cost effective.
When the flu has gone around and at the first sign of it (body ache, nausea, head ache, etc.), I will take a quick shot of this stuff. It's not pleasant to swallow and feels weird in your stomach until you burp (sorry, that was awkward), but after that, the cure is almost immediate (if you get a good night's sleep, that is). We use it on the kids as well, and man, it's effective!
For fevers, as sad as it is to see your little one weak and tired, we let the fever take its course. A fever is no different then a cough. Just as the body knows how to cough out the bacteria, so does a fever know how to burn out the bacteria. I'm not sure when and where the fear of fever developed but it is natural, it is necessary. If you interrupt the natural process of it by trying to break it, all you are doing is harm to your body. Each moment the fever is present, it's killing the bad, building the good. We all need good little fighters in our bodies, right?!
If I feel like the fever is getting too high (we don't even have a thermometer, so I use their temperament and heat as a gage), I will rub a little diluted Peppermint oil or lemon oil on their feet and the base of their neck. These are cooling oils and work extremely well. Another option is to bathe your child in a mild temp (not too hot or too cold as this can cause a convulsion-reaction) and put a couple of tablespoons of ACV in the tub, this will work as a detox to pull out the toxins in the child's body. You will notice a drastic drop in temperature after that.
Now about oils...there is a huge oil-awareness thing going on right now which is great! There are a few brands out there that are becoming well known (doTERRA & Young Living). They're pretty much the same and even their oil combos are very similar.
Jason and I had a wonderful opportunity to invest in a huge kit. I had been waiting years to be able to make such an investment. I thought that the oils would cancel out all of these other remedies and we would have just one "go-to" for a solution to every problem.
I'm sure they work for some people and their body's chemistry, but at the price point for the oils (and it's not just the individual oil, both companies have membership requirements and shipping costs), I found myself a tad disappointed.
NOT to say they didn't work. Essential oils have always been and will always be a part of my go-to remedy bag, however, I'm not sure they're going to work as a replacement for the other remedies and preventative measures we take...that's all. I hope that makes sense? Not at this price point (to their defense, they are genuine, strong, 100% essential oils unlike most store bought oils).
I use them daily.
Carter, my oldest, has a very difficult time winding down at night. Because his sensory processing is so delicate, a day at school is enough to send him into this overtired, sensory overload-type place where it's hard for him to go to sleep, even though he's the one that requires the most. Lavender oil has eliminated this problem! (case and point, they work)
We've always used lemon and peppermint in our cleaners, home-made toothpaste, etc... we use them for fevers, burns (lavender oil), digestion and tummy issues (peppermint) and whenever we feel the onset of anything (OnGuard--in conjunction with all of the above mentioned stuff!). While we have a lot of oils for different purposes, I have found that the ones pictured are the ones I use the most.
I think they're a great start to begin your journey of holistic care. A great tool for the tool belt, but for us, they're not the answer to everything.
The conclusion:
I hope this helps instill a little bit of confidence or curiosity, maybe awareness on how easy it is to avoid the hassle of the doctors office (which has a good share of germs itself!). I know we are mothers and we want answers, but we have the ability to find them on our own, or to trust the body that God created to do it for us, and simply aid it in the process. The more our body is allowed to do it's work, the more capable and efficient it becomes at doing it. The more you intervene, the more dependent it becomes on intervention...and that's a slippery slope that leads to a lot of medical bills.
Keep in mind that health also is a result of daily care... eating right, eating whole, organic, local foods. Fermented foods, raw milk, fermented drinks, bone broth, etc. It's a process that can be extremely overwhelming, but making one step here and one step there and being able to experience the difference and results, well, that should give you the confidence and charge to keep going!
Do healthy people get sick? Yes! Children are building their immune systems, so they tend to catch everything within the first five years...but healthy kids bounce back quickly. They fight off more things and end up with mild symptoms versus days or weeks.
It's almost a pleasure to see my children fight off something, teach them what we use and why we use it as combat and to have them wake in the morning completely fine and happy.
Honestly, almost every single time I am faced with the fear of what it could turn into, just to find out that trusting their body and how God designed it as well as using what he created to help heal it most always turns out successful.
Please leave any of your own cost-efficient remedies below... for all of us to benefit from!