If your kid got really sick S/O

[craft_media_hero]

Reading on the vax forums, someone mentioned that many parents would not know how to care for an ill child beyond just the minor sniffles.

That really hit home with me as I realized that I wouldn't know what to do if my little ones got really sick with a major illness. My infant son is sick with a cold right now, and we've been managing it all right, but again I realized that if he were very ill, I really wouldn't know how to treat him. Beyond electrolytes for dehydration and garlic/echinacea/vitamin C, what else would I do?

Is anyone willing to share their Dr. Mom wisdom? Have you nursed a very sick baby back to health in a natural or holistic manner? Are you prepared to do so, and how? What should I have in my home?

Any feedback is appreciated!

[JulianneW]

I swear by vitamin D3 and Sovereign silver. We take vitamin D3 at the first sign of illness. My sister in law started us on Sovereign silver when her toddler daughter had a terrible ear infection. She put silver in her ears ( with the dropper) and 5 hours later both ears were completely back to normal. I have them lay on my lap and drop silver into an ear, let it sit for five minutes and then do the other. Obviously with smaller children five minutes is impossible, but it still does the trick. I have used it for ear infections, strep throat and common colds, it cleared up everything right away.

Garlic feet- for babies, toddlers or older children. Crush a few cloves of garlic in a bowl and cover it with a small amount of olive oil. Rub vaseline or ointment on feet of sick child- this prevents the garlic from burning the feet. Place the garlic mixture on the feet cover with a paper towel, wrap with saran wrap, put socks on over the saran wrap and put them in bed.

Thyme Bath- Boil 2 quarts of water, Add two cups of dried Thyme, Let steep for 10 minutes, You can strain the thyme "tea" into the bath using a kitchen towel or you can just add it to the bath, Make sure the bath water is hot as you or your child can stand it, try staying in the bath until you are sweating but be sure to get out while still plenty warm, Wrap them in a towel straight out of the dryer and tuck them into bed or under a lot of covers. The Thyme vapors and the heat have cured many colds in my family. Garlic feet after the Thyme bath works wonders, just be sure to wait till they have got all the benefit from the heat.

http://drtenpenny.com/fever.aspx

http://www.naturalnews.com/027128_thyme_herbs_coffee.html

The following site provides great dosage information on D3.

http://homefirst.com/info-1/current-health-news/vitamin-d3.html

[bcblondie]

Hmm. Well what kind of illnesses are we talking about here? If it were serious I'm guessing I'd take him to the doctor, as well as research online / ask  opinions from loved ones. We can't really know medical treatment for every single illness our child might possibly get. We just take life as it comes.

I do have lifeguard training though so first aid/cpr, that kinda thing is drilled into my head if anything became life threatening.

[craft_media_hero]

Originally Posted by bcblondie 

Hmm. Well what kind of illnesses are we talking about here? If it were serious I'm guessing I'd take him to the doctor, as well as research online / ask  opinions from loved ones. We can't really know medical treatment for every single illness our child might possibly get. We just take life as it comes.

I do have lifeguard training though so first aid/cpr, that kinda thing is drilled into my head if anything became life threatening.

Well, strep throat is a good example, bad bronchitis, a really nasty stomach bug . . . beyond the scope of a little head cold. Also (and I don't want this to become a vax/non thread), rotovirus (which my dd had tho she was vaxed), whooping cough, the dreaded chicken pox ;)

We'd consult with a doctor, too, if a dc got sick with smth really heavy. I guess I'm thinking in a hypothetical situation, how could you successfully treat your child's illness at home? While keeping in mind that some of this knowledge could prevent having to go to a doctor or the situation getting so dire in the first place.

First aid/cpr is great---I should definitely get re-certified.

Also, great ideas with the garlic feet and thyme bath---I will keep those in mind as we always have both on hand. I had never heard of D3 either, that's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for!

[bcblondie]

Oook Gotcha. Well i used to always be on antibiotics for my brochitis. I used to get it a LOT. Then I learned that it was really a viscious cycle, and the antibiotics were what was killing my immune system to begin with. So I stopped that (once I quit work and could afford to be sick for a while) and worked on improving my immune system. Which also includes avoiding sugar as much as possible, and eating probiotics, etc. Taking my vitamins and eating healthy, real food. Not packaged food. That helps a ton in prevention.

Treatment I have no idea.... If anyone has home remedies for bronchitis I'd love to hear becuase I actually have a head cold now that's sort of got that brochitis sounding bark to it. Kefir really soothes the throat. I'm assuming that's helping somehow...

We also recently had a bad stomach bug (or something)... and constant fluids, in small doses is what helped. Avoiding solids for a few days.

BREASTFEEDING! lol. So glad I'm still bfing....

[Panserbjorne]

Honestly?  My kids have had a few doozies.  I've never vaccinated and never required OTC or prescription meds.  My basic "secret" is to have a natural practitioner on your side.  No one wakes up with "what to do" in their heads.  It's a process.  I've been using natural medicine for most of my life-long before I had kids.  I also have a clinical practice.  I still don't always rely on my own wisdom when they're sick. It's hard to see your own kids at times and there have definitely been times where doubt or fear started to get in my way.   It's rare that I call out for help, but sometimes you need another perspective.  There's nothing wrong with that.  I have doctors that call me when their kids get sick too...even as a professional it's hard to treat your own kids.

So if you want to avoid medications then your best bet, if you don't have knowledge to draw from, is to have someone on your side.  Even if they aren't your PCP, that's fine.  Trial by fire, when it's your kiddo that is sick is not the best way to go.  I would also add that cultivating health is far more effective than managing disease.  For natural medicine, prevention is key.  A well nourished body, healthy will be far more able to balance itself.

[craft_media_hero]

Very true, Panserbjorne! I am looking for a ND in our area, but they are few and far between in my community. You are so right about cultivating health, that is definitely a big value for us here in my family.

Do you care to share what you keep on hand for natural first aid? I read your list on the homeopathy thread, and I am going to print it off and refer to it as necessary.

[mom61508]

good thread!!! I second the Vitmain D3! Elderberry syrup is something I have on hand during cold and flu season. I have more but DD is in need will come back tomorrow :)

[Panserbjorne]

sure, but list is ever evolving and sometimes overwhelming for others.  take what you need and leave what you don't.  I'll try to list everything but I'm at work and don't have the current incarnation of my first aid bag in front of me.

Homeopathics (I have small kit of 100 remedies and a smaller one of 50 in higher potencies...but you can get by with the other list.)

histaminum (usually not included in homeopathic kits, but necessary for me)

cell salts travel kit

calendula tincture

hypericum tincture

rescue remedy

emergency essence

sangre de drago

pascalite

naturalcalm

castor oil

vitamin D3

Vitamin A

emergenC packets

liquid zinc

zheng gu shui

elderberry

honey

liquid oxygen

tea tree oil

lavender oil

chest rub

thayers lozenges

band aids

flannel for castor oil

mixing cup

gauze and tape

I'm sure I'm missing something...but that's the basic kit.  It all fits in a toiletry bag and is easily accessed by all.  It's also easy to throw into the car.  I can deal with most anything that comes up-even if it's on the way to an emergency room.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero 

Originally Posted by bcblondie 

Hmm. Well what kind of illnesses are we talking about here? If it were serious I'm guessing I'd take him to the doctor, as well as research online / ask  opinions from loved ones. We can't really know medical treatment for every single illness our child might possibly get. We just take life as it comes.

I do have lifeguard training though so first aid/cpr, that kinda thing is drilled into my head if anything became life threatening.

Well, strep throat is a good example, bad bronchitis, a really nasty stomach bug . . . beyond the scope of a little head cold. Also (and I don't want this to become a vax/non thread), rotovirus (which my dd had tho she was vaxed), whooping cough, the dreaded chicken pox ;)

We'd consult with a doctor, too, if a dc got sick with smth really heavy. I guess I'm thinking in a hypothetical situation, how could you successfully treat your child's illness at home? While keeping in mind that some of this knowledge could prevent having to go to a doctor or the situation getting so dire in the first place.

DS used to get sick a lot (knock on wood, this winter is his healthiest ever, I hope I can keep that going), and I can share the stuff that's worked for us.  For us--it's all about reducing likelihood of problems setting in, for DS bacterial infections could set in even after what, in another kid, would've been a normal head cold because he was very susceptible.  And even with stuff that has a higher likelihood of problems--whooping cough or nasty gastro bugs--my goal is to be able to figure out enough support so that they get through with the most common outcome--just sick for a while and then healthy, without complications or lingering issues.  I ramp up or down the support based on how sick they seem.

General illness--stuff that we've done for prevention: get our vitamin D to a good place, remove foods we're intolerant of, work on gut health.  Helps minimize the intensity of illnesses--because for DS, it became clear that it was a matter of reducing his chances of serious complications--bacterial infections can set in after viruses, even minor ones when he was really susceptible, but I can reduce the likelihood if I give him good support through the illness. 

When the kids actually get sick: vitamin C to bowel tolerance has reduced the intensity and severity of many illnesses for DS; cell salts, mostly ferr phos, have been this year's find and are great at minimizing illnesses (both severity and duration I think).  Easy to digest foods, avoiding foods that you're sensitive to (I induced DS's only ear infection by letting him have some of one of the foods he's somewhat intolerant of when he was recovering from a snotty, congested illness).  The sicker the kids seem, the more I do, the more it seems like a simple cold, the less I do.  Some people use zinc for illnesses, you can go pretty high in dosing for short time periods, but my kids always get zinc so I haven't seen an impact from it (or I haven't gone high enough)--but it's something to consider. 

Coughing--I'm weak here.  Honey sometimes slows down coughing at bedtime so the kids can sleep, but not always.  Our DO showed me a lifting technique to help encourage productive coughing, I like it so far.  And DD's last cough was really helped by a eucalyptus and other stuff tablet at the bottom of a steamy shower--seemed strange, but I was getting worried about that cough and that seemed to be the thing that turned the corner. 

Aviva Romm's garlic lemonade is really tasty and feels very soothing on a sore throat.

For whooping cough, the SA form of vitamin C to bowel tolerance seems to make it much more manageable.  And if we really did have WC last fall (it does seem like it), then it was not as bad as I expected. 

Gastro illnesses--prevention is best, having good a good bacterial balance in the gut really seems to reduce the intensity and number of those illnesses that we get--we had a time when the kids and I were all falling prey to gastro illnesses like crazy, that sucked.  Needed to focus more on the stuff to make our digestion good--we already avoided the foods we were intolerant of, but more probiotics, better focus on easily digested foods, I think I tweaked a few things that were more specific to us to help with our digestion too.

Treatment--homemade stock is really soothing in the getting-better phase, either as chicken noodle soup (love the recipe here on the Mothering site, the Recipes portion) or just flavored broth; breastfeeding usually helps but sometimes little ones swallow too much at once and svomit it all up, so either pumping and syringing in a teaspoon at a time, or using a rehydration solution, again a teaspoon at a time.  And DD's rota fever finally broke after I realized that although she was clearly hot, she felt better with a blanket on--that's helped with a few illnesses.

Originally Posted by Panserbjorne 

Honestly?  My kids have had a few doozies.  I've never vaccinated and never required OTC or prescription meds.  My basic "secret" is to have a natural practitioner on your side.  No one wakes up with "what to do" in their heads.  It's a process.  I've been using natural medicine for most of my life-long before I had kids.  I also have a clinical practice.  I still don't always rely on my own wisdom when they're sick. It's hard to see your own kids at times and there have definitely been times where doubt or fear started to get in my way.   It's rare that I call out for help, but sometimes you need another perspective.  There's nothing wrong with that.  I have doctors that call me when their kids get sick too...even as a professional it's hard to treat your own kids.

So if you want to avoid medications then your best bet, if you don't have knowledge to draw from, is to have someone on your side.  Even if they aren't your PCP, that's fine.  Trial by fire, when it's your kiddo that is sick is not the best way to go.  I would also add that cultivating health is far more effective than managing disease.  For natural medicine, prevention is key.  A well nourished body, healthy will be far more able to balance itself.

Maybe I just haven't looked in the right places, but I haven't had a chiro/ND type who I really click with, who also knows a lot about how to treat illness.  Most of what I do, I've learned here at MDC.  So I guess I'd add, sometimes you find someone who's helpful in one specific area--our current DO just does manipulations, no prescriptions and not much in the way of supplements.  But she's shown me some things I can do at home to physically help with coughing and ear drainage and such and that area, physical support (lymphatic pumping, massage to help ears drain, lifting things to help make coughing productive) is an area I had totally overlooked, and this is easy stuff that I, with no background in this stuff, can easily do. 

[craft_media_hero]

Thanks for everything so far! 

[Panserbjorne]

Tanya,

That is true.  There is no standard of practice as there is in allopathy (which I think is good, personally) so it can be tough.  The bigger point is that you want someone to clinically assess and provide feedback.  With a licensed alternative practitioner you can have ears and breathing checked, you can have vitals checked you can get tests run and not have abx pushed on you (hopefully.)  You will hopefully be given alternate tools, but you will also not have the stress of "do I have to go to the MD and get this looked at?  He's just going to prescribe meds..."  You will have gotten feedback, learned if there is in fact strep present, if the ear is infected, if the chest is clear etc. and have someone qualified to track progress *to make sure what you're doing is working."

Beyond that if you have no skills with natural methods it's a good way to start learning them.

Fear is the biggest block for most moms, so it will be helpful to have someone with a more natural mindset, but medical skills on your side to provide options.  It's rare to find one that will be everything you want them to be, but this aspect is important!

[joanna0707]

Tanya, I'd love to learn more about the lifting technique for cough you have mentioned.

[tanyalynn]

The lifting thing....

Kiddo sits facing away from you (or an adult stands facing away), and you hold onto them at/below the level of their lowest ribs and gently lift them up and put them down.  Move your hands up one rib higher, repeat, and keep repeating til you are pretty much at their armpits.  The weight of their lower body is pulling downward and it helps the whole chest cavity open up.  The kids (mine, I mean) cough more afterward for the next couple hours, but it's more productive, and later that night they slept better.  I could feel the same thing in myself, it's quite helpful (but not the solution to the 8pm coughing-can't-fall-asleep problem, so I try to remember to do it earlier if a coughing illness is visiting us). 

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by Panserbjorne 

Tanya,

That is true.  There is no standard of practice as there is in allopathy (which I think is good, personally) so it can be tough.  The bigger point is that you want someone to clinically assess and provide feedback.  With a licensed alternative practitioner you can have ears and breathing checked, you can have vitals checked you can get tests run and not have abx pushed on you (hopefully.)  You will hopefully be given alternate tools, but you will also not have the stress of "do I have to go to the MD and get this looked at?  He's just going to prescribe meds..."  You will have gotten feedback, learned if there is in fact strep present, if the ear is infected, if the chest is clear etc. and have someone qualified to track progress *to make sure what you're doing is working."

Beyond that if you have no skills with natural methods it's a good way to start learning them.

Fear is the biggest block for most moms, so it will be helpful to have someone with a more natural mindset, but medical skills on your side to provide options.  It's rare to find one that will be everything you want them to be, but this aspect is important!

Yeah, that's true.  Early on, I guess it would've been easier if I'd known someone who could've taught me more. 

The bolded part?  That's huge.  And I have had help a few times when I had that fear, that feeling like I'm not sure if the kids' bodies are dealing with this illness well, it's really stressful.  For me, the biggest thing that's alleviated fear overall, though, is lurking here (and using the Search back when it was good, grr about the new Search engine) to first get ideas, then add some depth and breadth to my repertoire.  Still working on that. 

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by tanyalynn 

Originally Posted by Panserbjorne 

Tanya,

That is true.  There is no standard of practice as there is in allopathy (which I think is good, personally) so it can be tough.  The bigger point is that you want someone to clinically assess and provide feedback.  With a licensed alternative practitioner you can have ears and breathing checked, you can have vitals checked you can get tests run and not have abx pushed on you (hopefully.)  You will hopefully be given alternate tools, but you will also not have the stress of "do I have to go to the MD and get this looked at?  He's just going to prescribe meds..."  You will have gotten feedback, learned if there is in fact strep present, if the ear is infected, if the chest is clear etc. and have someone qualified to track progress *to make sure what you're doing is working."

Beyond that if you have no skills with natural methods it's a good way to start learning them.

Fear is the biggest block for most moms, so it will be helpful to have someone with a more natural mindset, but medical skills on your side to provide options.  It's rare to find one that will be everything you want them to be, but this aspect is important!

Yeah, that's true.  Early on, I guess it would've been easier if I'd known someone who could've taught me more. 

The bolded part?  That's huge.  And I have had help a few times when I had that fear, that feeling like I'm not sure if the kids' bodies are dealing with this illness well, it's really stressful.  For me, the biggest thing that's alleviated fear overall, though, is lurking here (and using the Search back when it was good, grr about the new Search engine) to first get ideas, then add some depth and breadth to my repertoire.  Still working on that. 

and doing a darned good job.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by Panserbjorne 

and doing a darned good job.

Aww.... thanks!