As we head into cold season, what do you keep on hand?

[emelsea]

I never seem to be prepared when colds and illnesses hit. I'm usually scrambling out the door either before DH leaves for work, or as soon as he gets home.

I think part of the problem is that "sick foods" (like crackers or ginger ale) aren't things that we buy to begin with.

What sort of items do you stash in your pantry or freezer for when you or your family members get sick?

Also, what sort of medicines or treatments do you try to keep on hand?

[Violet2]

I just made chicken soup today to freeze.

I try to keep stomach flu type stuff around too; crackers, jello etc..

Med wise--Dayquil and Nyquil for us. All my asthma meds.For DD, Emergen-C, vitamin D3, Probiotics, and Zinc supplements. Actually I take those vitamins too.

During the summer, I make sure we all get some sun. I only use sunblock on sensitive areas like shoulders and face. This has helped me stay healthy and I know the body makes more than vitamin D from sun exposure. There are bunch of small chemical reactions too that they don't know what they do yet. So we soak up sun and then supplement the rest of the year.

V

[number572]

garlic (it makes you smell bad if you eat whole raw cloves (I've offended many a friend apparently before being told that I stank!!, so I now eat the odor-controlled capsules as long as they're highest quality and not heated during processing)

ginger (for nausea, raw is best altho I love to boil water and throw some fresh organic ginger shavings in)

tea tree oil (to put in the back of my throat and under my ears when i feel that "sick" taste coming on... the cold is usually gone by the next morning without ever showing up! fyi, this is nasty tating stuff, so i do an apple juice "chaser shot" haha)

sea salt (for the neti pot, regular table salt is actually toxic, so get unrefined sea salt if you decide to use salt)

Also, Vitamins:
B
C
Zinc

Oh, and plenty of water and avoid high fructose corn syrup, processed foods, try to eat a grean smoothie daily, etc... but thats more preventative. Green smoothi sounds horrid if I'm nauseated or sick in any way


And if that doesn't work, my neighbor swears by a shot of high quality Vodka mixed with chamomile tea and a sea salt bath! I've never tried that, but, I don't see her with many colds/flu, so?!?

Oh! Haha, obviously NOT recommending the Vodka tonic for the kids!! lol

[Adaline'sMama]

I try to always keep a can of chicken noodle soup for DH ( I dont eat meat). We always keep ginger tea, peppermint tea, tea tree oil(i love it on my back when im sick), and dr. bronners soap with vapor rub. You can mix a tiny bit of vapor rub in a bottle with dr. bronners and bathe your arms and chest with it when you are in the shower. It turns the whole shower into a huge humidifier with sinus clearing capabilities. We were sick last week and I bought these wipes called "Boogie Wipes" at Walgreens. Ill never go without them again. They kept my (and DD's) nose from getting raw.

[emelsea]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama

I try to always keep a can of chicken noodle soup for DH ( I dont eat meat). We always keep ginger tea, peppermint tea, tea tree oil(i love it on my back when im sick), and dr. bronners soap with vapor rub. You can mix a tiny bit of vapor rub in a bottle with dr. bronners and bathe your arms and chest with it when you are in the shower. It turns the whole shower into a huge humidifier with sinus clearing capabilities. We were sick last week and I bought these wipes called "Boogie Wipes" at Walgreens. Ill never go without them again. They kept my (and DD's) nose from getting raw.

That reminds me...I always forget to have a box of Kleenex on hand. Are Boogie Wipes like kleenex with lotion?

[motherlover3074]

Originally Posted by emelsea

That reminds me...I always forget to have a box of Kleenex on hand. Are Boogie Wipes like kleenex with lotion?

I'm not sure for that.

[SuburbanHippie]

Chicken bone broth or at least chicken feet in the freezer
Vitamin D3 in 2,000 IU, 5,000 IU (capsule), and 50,000 IU (capsule) dosages
Probiotics (our Vit D has probiotics in it, but we keep some on hand in the fridge anyway)
Thieves oil
Garlic
Emergen-C
Wool socks (for wet sock therapy http://www.pacificnaturopathic.com/a...rticles35.html)

[Adaline'sMama]

They are wet wips with aloe and saloine solution. I thought it was a scam, but they were on sale and they really worked!

[stardogs]

I always have Vit. C, probiotics, and Echinacea on hand. In the fall/winter I make sure I have soup, kleenex, Zicam, Oscillococcinum, and cough drops. I did get some neat chest rub stuff last year when my nose was horribly runny - I put it under my nose and it helped the chapped feeling *and* helped clear out my sinuses. I think it's something like Badger Balm?

[ian'smommaya]

you might wanna look into the zicam stardogs.

i'll bbl with my list though.

[lavatea]

Originally Posted by number572

tea tree oil (to put in the back of my throat and under my ears when i feel that "sick" taste coming on... the cold is usually gone by the next morning without ever showing up! fyi, this is nasty tating stuff, so i do an apple juice "chaser shot" haha)

Do you dilute it?

[tallulahma]

breastmilk
garlic
ginger
silver
osha root
tea tree oil
chamomile
comfrey
nettles
chicken stock
cold and cough homeopathic solution
rumex crispus
eucalyptus oil
rosemary oil
ear ache oil (garlic oil mixed with some herbs)

[oceanbaby]

Vit D drops
sodium ascorbate to mix into juice
fish oils
oscilococcium (sp?)
various homeopathic remedies
eucalyptus/rosemary oil for baths
some homeopathic earache drops - they work great
kid motrin for if they are truly miserable with a fever
echinacea, although it's hard/impossible to get my kids to take this
I use a neti pot, but they don't

Foodwise I like to have raw honey, lemon and garlic to make tea, chicken broth in the freezer (or at least in the pantry), and applesauce. We also have a lot of little rice filled eye pillows that I keep in the freezer for hot foreheads.

[springmum]

Originally Posted by lavatea

Do you dilute it?

I thought I had read that Tea Tree Oil is NEVER to be taken internally...hmmm. I can't find any info that mentions it is safe to take internally. I may not have the right sources - does anyone know more about this??

[number572]

Originally Posted by lavatea

Do you dilute it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by lavatea
Do you dilute it?
I thought I had read that Tea Tree Oil is NEVER to be taken internally...hmmm. I can't find any info that mentions it is safe to take internally. I may not have the right sources - does anyone know more about this??

Oh, most definitely don't use enough to swallow any. I'm guessing that would not feel good at all, if you have any experience with Tea Tree. What I've read is that it's typically used as a diluted gargle. I've read to put a few drops in water and gargle that mixture. I personally gag super heavy with any gargle, so the tiny dab in the very back of my throat works best for me. For a child, I would try a gargle first, but if they have tendency to swallow, I may try other things before Tea Tree. For a kid, I think I'd try everything before Tea Tree, its nasty tasting stuff... why make them suffer more when they already feel bad??

With all natural remedies we have to research and find what may work best for ourselves and families and then go from there... didn't mean to mislead if anyone thought I said to "swallow" Tea Tree Oil... definitely not! Gross!

[springmum]

Originally Posted by number572

Oh, most definitely don't use enough to swallow any. I'm guessing that would not feel good at all, if you have any experience with Tea Tree. What I've read is that it's typically used as a diluted gargle. I've read to put a few drops in water and gargle that mixture. I personally gag super heavy with any gargle, so the tiny dab in the very back of my throat works best for me. For a child, I would try a gargle first, but if they have tendency to swallow, I may try other things before Tea Tree. For a kid, I think I'd try everything before Tea Tree, its nasty tasting stuff... why make them suffer more when they already feel bad??

With all natural remedies we have to research and find what may work best for ourselves and families and then go from there... didn't mean to mislead if anyone thought I said to "swallow" Tea Tree Oil... definitely not! Gross!

Ha ha - oops, sorry I thought you meant swallow! Now I know what you mean. Now that I think about it I have seen Tea tree oil mouth rinses. Good to know

[SandyMom]

We LOVE this stuff - Immunity Plus during Fall & Winter months.
Other stuff I have on hand:
Thieves Oil
Garlic
Nux Vomica (homeopathic)
Peppermint tea
Ginger
Green Tea
St John's Wort Oil
Probiotics
Vit D & C

I also make and use this Immune Boosting Soup Recipe

Oh - and LOTS of epsom salts for hot baths. I have to start stockpiling at th end of summer b/c our market runs out during the winter all the time!

[sophiesgrandma]

black elderberry syrup-super concentrated

[tanyalynn]

Maybe I missed it in somebody else's list, but my new love is cell salts. They can be used for general health stuff, but some specific ones are used for illnesses and I finally tried using cell salts that way for out last two illnesses--I think they work great. There's a $4 booklet that helps you figure out how to use what/when, both for acute stuff and chronic--I think they drastically reduced the length and severity of our last two illnesses.

Before this, vitC and longer-term getting our vitD to decent levels have been very helpful. Along with other stuff people have mentioned here.

[Panserbjorne]

cell salts
various and sundry remedies including some combos (oscillo is great for viruses)
vitamin D
vitamin A
zinc
bone broth
chest rub
thieve's oil
castor oil
elderberry extract
honey
ACV
garlic
emergenC
epsom salts