Your baby is 19 lbs (19 divided by 2.2 ~ I kg = 2.2 lbs) = 8.63 kg x 250 mg per kg body weight = 2 grams (2.157, but who cares about the 157 bit... that equals exactly half a teaspoon.
That would be my starting dose, because I don't know what her immune system is like. That may be enough, but it may not. If its worse than that, you will have to increase the dose per kilo to 375 mg per kg body weight which would be 3,250 mgs.
Yes, to bioflavinoids, but only if your baby will take them. Some won't. I get citrus bioflavinoids as a powder, which is always mixed with sodium ascorbate at the ratio of 1 part bioflavinoids to four parts sodium ascorbate. So for every four grams, use 1 gram of bioflavinoids. make sure you wait for the bioflavinoids to dissolve properly, which takes about 3 minutes with the type I have, otherwise grit + child won't go well. Otherwise, you could squeeze a small orange and mix it into that, but you can't quantify the bioflavinoids in an orange...
If you think that she might be getting whooping cough then YOU need to start taking vit C + bioflavinoids as well. And up your Essential fatty acids, minerals and probiotic foods.
If you think she's getting whooping cough, here's the basics:
thread on antibiotics in general with whooping cough:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...78#post3784778
Here is another post on Zithromax, which is one they prescribe:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...1&postcount=18
Quote:
| DS is doing relatively okay. Mostly he just has these coughing fits every hour or so, but it's hard for him to get the mucus up each time even with my help. His cold symptoms mostly ended about a week ago. |
He needs to go onto vitamin C to bowel tolerance, and a good liquid mineral supplement. Also cod liver oil.
Quote:
| DD has been miserable for what seems like forever; I think 3 weeks now. She has an incredibly stuffy/runny nose, and has these coughing fits which sound like classic WC where she turns purple, and then a glob of mucus comes up. She is finally sleeping better at night though, after a couple of sleepless weeks. |
She's over the hill of it then, but again, I would have put her on vitamin C from the start which stops the turning purple.
http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorba...-p1884-eng.htm
This thread might help
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ough+treatment
Quote:
So, anyone with experience, are these guys still contagious? How much longer is this all likely to go on? |
Your one whose cold only finished last week will be contagious for at least another fortnight...
Quote:
| I am doing the vitamin C stuff as of yesterday, but couldn't find sodium ascorbate; is there a big difference? |
Post specifically to answer your question here:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...6&postcount=12
A thread came up on a search as a vitamin C 101: Actually its a tome. Tells you everything you need to know.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...cium+ascorbate
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Here's a few posts from my hard drive just in case....
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But here is the sequence.
First they get a cold, which after a week, just seems to go.
then they start the odd cough, and after about two weeks, it starts to get strong. If you watch them, they go cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough (and at this point are starting to go pink in the face, cough, cough, (and at this time are starting to wonder when they can have an in-breath) cough, cough, and then right at the end, they stop coughing, and the inbreath is really fast, because they want to expand their lungs.
At the end of the cough, (about a month in), they might bring up a glob of fairly thick mucus. This is because it pools down the bottom of the lungs, because the toxin from the bacteria has finally cut off most of the hairs in the bronchials that sweeps the mucus up and around, like a non-stop river to keep the surfaces moist. The cough sounds dry-ish, and that's because the mucus membranes aren't being kept as regularly moist as they normally are.
Most children, so long as they constantly get that mucus up, and do not pool it (where secondary bacterial infections can set it) only have "problems" when they are coughing. The rest of the time they are normal. Coughing can be provoked by touching the back of the tongue, eating food, or running around.
Oh, and towards the end, if you tell them off, they automatically start coughing. You might think its diversionary tactics, but I think its because they tense up, when you tell them off, and that scrunches pooled up mucus, and triggers the cough....
I would get a sheet of paper and put it, and a pen where it isn't going to get covered up. then I would write down exactly the progression leaving spaces, because you would be amazed at what you remember as time goes by. (If you do need professional help, this record becomes invaluable. Tell them to read it, not ask you ad nauseum repetitive questions!)
I would watch her carefully throughout the day, and write down everything including how I was feeling. If she felt hot I might take her temperature, but that wouldn't mean much. I would under no circumstances use tylenol or its like, or any cold medicine.
I would know that if it is a cold, there is absolutely nothing they can give her. If it is an earache, they might offer antibiotics, but I believe the side-effects of that outweigh the advantages, particularly as antibiotics don't work for earaches anyway. But they do suppress the immune system and often mothers find that 6 weeks after antibiotics, they are back in square one again.
What I would do in the mean time, is take a good Vitamin and mineral supplement to help my body deal with the emotional stress, and on top of that I would take 30,000 IU's of Halibut Liver oil, and about 10 grams of vitamin C spread out over waking hours. I use powdered sodium ascorbate, and I mix it (10 grams = 2 heaped teaspoons) in with 1.25 litres of water in a pop-top bottle. I would put it next to my feeding chair (a rocking chair) and drink it gradually throughout the day. I would also give myself a loading dose of 5 grams in half a glass of water.
I would express some breastmilk into a cup, and put a pinch of Vitamin C powder into it, and mix it. Then using a plastic eyedropper, I would dribble this into the babies mouth gradually over a few minutes. Don't squirt it in - just drip it in, bit by bit. Or I would insert the dropper in as she fed, which would make it easier. The reason for this is that it takes about 8 hours for the vitamin c you take to get through to the breastmilk, and I wouldn’t want that gap. A Pinch is about 250 mg. Bear in mind here that they assess antibiotics on the basis of 350 mgs per kg of body weight. So 250 mgs is pathetic really. If I thought my baby was really sick, then I would calculate Vitamin C for her at 375 mg/kg of body weight, and give that over waking hours, perhaps also worked so that a larger dose is given just before night.
BUT WHAT SAY IT IS WHOOPING COUGH? WHAT I DID...GENERAL ADVICE. (This is not "shouting" this is a breaker in the page. You can read further or not as you chose.)
If the cough changes, and becomes me more of a bark, and more regular, I might have to consider that it could be whooping cough. After all, it is around, the vaccine doesn't work, and it is primarily spread by vaccinated kids anyway. So this changes the picture.
Whooping cough cannot be correctly diagnosed without a nasopharyngeal swab because other pathogens like adenovirus can cause an identical syndrome - as can other bacteria, so the swab must be tested with the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. Any other tests are useless. Regardless of the outcome, some general principles remain the same in dealing with any cough in terms of management. Read on, and take what you want out of this. If you don't like it, forget it.
If she has got whooping cough, the doctor will try to make you give her erythromycin - which does NOT shorten, or do anything to lessen the course of the disease from what I have seen in this country. They "say" it stops the baby from coughing as much bacteria into the environment for others to catch!!! But it can also really stuff up the gut, and make babies hyper-irritable. Everyone I know who has been given it, has thrown it out in disgust as it has made the total situation much much worse. Do not argue with him. Take and fill the prescription. If you chose not to give it, have it on hand, but do not tell the doctor, because in some instances in this country, failure to give prescribed medicine has lead to the child being removed from custody. In one case, the child nearly died from the side-effects of the antibiotics, which were brochio-edema and urticaria (hives). Not good, on top of whooping cough.
In my case, I have a good doctor who would never do that to me. We had discussed it way before the kids decided whooping cough was the in thing. Besides which, they were number 70 and 71 in his practice with whooping cough that year, and were the only unvaccinated ones.... but some people I know do not go near their doctors if they suspect whooping cough - even for the test - because they are too scared of what will be said or done. I don't know what the situation is like where you are. You might feel quite safe, in which case the diagnosis is what you need - since it will prove that your child does not need another jab, and does/will have immunity.
With any cough, particularly whooping cough, here is what I do. I turn the baby round, with its back to mine. I split my legs, so the baby is supported around the tummy but the legs are straight down. My hands make a net around the baby’s ribcage and tummy, and when the baby coughs, I lean forward slightly and use the hands as a very gentle net so that the baby has something for the tummy to push against. I give the baby some pressure to use, but I do not press in hard. They haven't learned to control their abdominal muscles to get an efficient cough yet, so that hands make it much easier for them. If it is whooping cough, then you will get a thick clear mucusy glob ejected onto your floor. Better out than in. Don't attempt to catch it, or you may drop the baby. I just put newspaper on the floor and caught it that way. If it is whooping cough, then the cough will become more regular. Maybe every hour, on the hour. This is because it takes around an hour for the mucus to pool at the bottom of the bronchial tube. Write the time of each coughing spell down at the beginning, to see if a pattern establishes. This will help with diagnosis. Why write it down? Because life will become so hectic you won't be able to remember, and your paper pad will be your memory. It will enable you to look back clearly, without panic, and see what the progression is.
Somewhere else I posted the basis of whooping cough. The cough is caused by the bacteria adhering to the bronchial walls,
and secreting a toxin which cuts of the cilia (hairs) in the bronchials. These hairs sweep the mucus up and sown the throat. The bronchial hairs moves the mucus around all the time, so that it replaces and at the same time gets rid of any pathogens. (If it didn't do this, then we would die of all the bacteria and viruses and muck we breathe in that gets stuck in it.)
This mucus is part of the inate immune system. It is linked to the BALT (Bronchial associated lymphatic tissue) as I understand it. (Just put that in in case someone decides to rain down coals on my head..) so you must keep the mucus moving. What whooping cough does it by cutting off the hairs, it stops the mucus moving. So long as you keep the mucus moving your baby should not get a secondary infection.
The other thing the toxin can do is get into the blood-stream, and irritate the body. If the baby's immune system is not so good then this toxin can get to the brain as well, but I have never seen that. (this is why 1 in 200 babies die from it - "their" figures which I am repeating back to you, because I don't believe them. I think only 1 in 200 babies who have received standard medical treatment, or no treatment whatsoever might die --- but I have never seen a baby treated and managed the way I am describing have any major problems)[/quote]
If the mucus is not got out bacteria will grow and cause a secondary bacterial infection, which they will want to treat with antibiotics. They say whooping cough in rare cases, can cause long-lasting bronchial problems. Yes it can, if you treat it the way the doctors do IMO, doing nothing other than antibiotics. Just using antibiotics does not deal with the pooling mucus, or manage it, or deal with the toxin. If you keep the mucus moving (you can also use gentle postural drainage if you want) there should be nor further problems other than the cough itself.
The vitamin C neutralises any toxins in the blood and should stabilise the baby. You will have to take it yourself and/or give it until the coughing stops. It is easier and cheaper IMO to give it directly to babies. If you take it yourself, you can never be sure your baby is getting what it needs, because you might be more stressed than you think, and your body may be using up more than you estimate. With our children, the coughing lasted full on for two weeks (oldest) three weeks (youngest)another 4-5 weeks consistent cough, then another month just the odd bark...
The whooping cough will last the normal time - supposedly 100 days...., but it will be nuisance value only. You are breastfeeding. You will notice if it is whooping cough, that each time you feed, this will provoke a cough. Usually just as your let-down does the proverbial New York fire hydrant trick. Deal with the cough first - let the milk spray. Get the mucus up, then put the baby back on the breast straight away, and there will be no cough because the mucus has gone, and she will take the full feed. But you both might be wet, and sticky….your front and her back…..
IME, babies with whooping cough, sleep lightly. I organised the house so that I slept with the babies in a huge double bed (on the floor, not raised) and during the day, apart from toilet stops, well planned,…. I spent most of the day in the rocking chair if the baby was asleep, or put them in the back-pack if I needed to do job, though I got a couple of well-placed mucus globs down the back of my neck....
Everything was organised so that I got the maximum sleep, as sleep deprivation for the mother is the main problem. Littlies seem to be for ever bounding with energy, even though they are coughing - somehow they cope with sleep in short burst better than we do. Though I broke my toe too at the time, which didn't help.
Cleaning - went out the window - I concentrated on cooking, dishes, and keeping up with the washing. A bath or shower was when hubby was at home, and on hand to help - to do baby as well...
I have missed out such things as homeopathics. That is because I have not found they worked very well for this. For older children, they seemed to be better, but there is no set remedy. Each outbreak has slightly different characteristics, and though the books say that Drosera is the right thing to use, in the last outbreak here, moschus and mephitus did better. Although some kids needed a dose of sulphur to clear a constitutional block, if the dose wouldn't "hold" Sounds a mystery a bit. But with our family, we just got on with the job.
I have noticed this with some children, but not with babies:. …that .. If you get in quick enough with a constitutional remedy you can abort whooping cough. But several of my friends who did this - their children just got it the next time around. I don't know if it is possible to abort it with a baby. We have never succeeded, but that may be because we are "dumb" or something. If it could be aborted, then yes, try it - as it is easier for older children to cope with whooping cough than for babies.
Important Addendum.
After whooping cough, for the next 6 - 9 months, any cold that the child gets, that child will start to "Whoop", or cough the same way as they did with whooping cough. The reason for that is that it takes a long time for the hairs to grow back, and so any infection without proper hairs in the bronchials, will result in mucus pooling.
It is this mucus pooling that has to trigger a cough strong enough, to get the mucus from the bottom of the bronchials up to the top.....
I highly recommend magnesium for you before you go to bed. It helps you sleep and passes into the milk and helps your lil' one sleep (search "magnesium" on the family bed board for more info). I take 2-3 pills.
s...
