DS Congested, runny nose --- B12? Vitamin C?

[capsgirl08]

Which would help his little system out best? Other suggestions? He does not react well to citrus fruits, so I avoid giving him even fresh squeezed OJ. I have never given him B12 or Vitamin C (I'm thinking crystals, right?)

2 nights ago, he was frequently swallowing while lying in bed, just before falling asleep and just after nursing. It scared me a bit. But I'm thinking it may have been drainage.

Last night, he said, "ear hurt" and this morning, he has a very runny nose and sounds congested. He also coughed a bit this morning, but it sounded like it was from being congested.

We have garlic/mullein drops from the last time a pedi said his ears were red and suspected infection. We did not give antibiotics, yet he did well with the drops and recovered quickly. I am more concerned now, however, with his run down system and the flu running rampant. We did not decide to give him the flu vaccine.

Any thoughts? Thank you, everyone!

[WC_hapamama]

Have him sleep with his head elevated, saline nose spray/drops/neti pot, and lots of liquids.

I get like that every time my seasonal allergies act up.

[kjbrown92]

Got any good bone broth (the 24 hour kind full of nutrients)?
Vitamin C would probably be good. I've heard that Vitamin D helps the flu. I wonder if it helps colds/seasonal allergies as well.

[capsgirl08]

Thanks --- Yes, I sent out DH to get some chicken so I could make an overnight broth. In the meantime, I just made vegetable stock for liquids. DH found Jarrow sublingual B12 and some Vitamin C crystals. I know I mentioned it, but I've never given any of this stuff to DS so I'm a little nervous to start, but I will tomorrow. Tried to get out of the house for Vitamin D. Don't know how much it helped; it was a dirzzly, foggy day.

[tanyalynn]

If you're in the continental US, you probably can't make much D at this time of year, especially if you're not in the Georgia/Oklahoma/Nevada type of latitude (or farther south). Even here in Texas, we're making a lot less D in the sun than we were in the middle of summer; many people in the more northern US aren't making any D at all.

For a cold, I'd do lots of vitamin C, that made the difference between DD who I had to use the suction bulb on her nose regularly to DS who I never had to use that thing for, despite him getting sick a whole lot more than DD.

If it's longer-term, I'd think methylation and folate and B12. Both pass into breastmilk proportionate to what mom consumes (though the more mom needs, the faster she'll use it up and then milk will drop--Bs go up and down quickly in milk). But I started supping both (along with other stuff) to my son when he was 14mos. My seasonal allergies are methylation-related.

I use Carlson Ddrops, the 2000IU form, for the kids. Coconut oil base.

[capsgirl08]

Thanks, Tanya. We're in Texas as well, actually What dosage would you give for the Vitamin C? I did a Google search and found everything ranging from 50mg to 1000mg! I don't want to overdo it, but I guess if DS gets diarrhea, I'll know when to stop...I'd rather not have him go through that, though, if I can avoid it. Thanks for the recs on the other sups and the info on the B vitamins, too.

[tanyalynn]

The general guideline I read was 250mg/kg body weight when sick, which works out to 1.1 grams per 10 lbs body weight. That said, my kids needed a heckuva lot more, but we've got some health things going on. When I started, I wrote down dosages and times so I could keep track of how much I was giving the kids (mostly my son, he got sick a whole lot more than my daughter), but after a few colds, I got accustomed to how much DS needed when he was sick and it was a lot easier.

The diarrhea is just one trip to the bathroom (or diaper depending on kiddo's age) unless you massively overshoot the amount they need. I've overshot for myself, it's not pain/cramping/illness-type diarrhea.