Immune Bulider for my ds

[elizawill]

My son will be 3 next month and seems to have a cold all of the time. My dd is healthy as a horse, but my son always has something going on. He is playing and doesn't have a fever, but I can hear congestion in his chest and he has a yellowish runny nose. I normally would give him dimetapp or something else over the counter but as I'm just now learning from you all, I want to take a more homeopathic approach to treating my children. I don't want to ignore it because it's been weeks now. So what should I give him or do for him? If I take him to my doctor I'm sure they'll want to prescribe an antibiotic or an over the counter medicine...which I'm not interested in. Thanks for your advice!!! I learn SO much here!! It's awesome!

[OMama]

I just wanted to bump this. I'd like any immune boosting ideas for my soon-to-be-three year old too.

[Gitti]

First, is your child vaccinated?

Vaccines interfere with building a healthy immune system since they actually tricks the immune system into thinking the body is sick in order to build superficial immunity in an artificial way. The injection will have to be removed or dealt with by the child until it is either neutralized or somehow put aside. That causes a lot of stress on the human body since it is completely unnatural and has bypassed all natural filters.

Second, did he ever get abx?
That is another interference in the way the body works and again it must be gotten rid of which weakens the child for a long time. abx actually stays in the body for years if not for the whole life time of the child.

Both those things can cause asthma and allergies in many children (obviously not all) and are mentioned as legitimate side effects in the insert papers.

If either of those things are the case, then it will take time for him to get over it. He will seem weak for a long time as he is trying to work to get his natural constitution back.

Here are some more holistic approaches we take when we need them.

HTH

[elizawill]

yes, my son is partially vaccinated. he was born in March 2004 and he received all of his shots from birth through November 2004. at that time, i began to hear horror stories about vaccinations and that's when we decided to stop all shots for both of my children (my dd was two and a half). i can't undo what has been done....unfortunately. so what i'm reading is that there is nothing to help make my son's immune system stronger? or nothing i can give him when he has yellow thick yuckies coming out of his nose & chest congestion? surely there are holistic approaches i can take to treat my son regardless of my past mistakes.

[mz_libbie22]

Originally Posted by elizawill

yes, my son is partially vaccinated. he was born in March 2004 and he received all of his shots from birth through November 2004. at that time, i began to hear horror stories about vaccinations and that's when we decided to stop all shots for both of my children (my dd was two and a half). i can't undo what has been done....unfortunately. so what i'm reading is that there is nothing to help make my son's immune system stronger? or nothing i can give him when he has yellow thick yuckies coming out of his nose & chest congestion? surely there are holistic approaches i can take to treat my son regardless of my past mistakes.

There are absolutely ways to boost immunity, regardless! Don't beat yourself up, what's done is done, but the human body is designed to bounce back. My DS was vaxed, fed both dairy and soy formula, given antibiotics, and all sorts of other awful things that could be listed but won't It might be a slow progression but it's definately possible to strengthen your immune system. Some good things for when they're already sick are: fresh squeezed lemon juice in water, green or white tea, homemade soups, spicier foods if he'll eat them, and raw fruits and veggies. I'd advise looking at diet first, that's all I've done myself, as holistic medicines are expensive and pretty lacking in effectiveness (at least in my experience.) One thing that I think really helped DS is avoiding all medicine, homeopathic or not, and letting the illness take its course. Use antibiotics only if it's really really serious. Ear infections do NOT need to be treated with antibiotics, they will go away on their own. However, you will need to give over the counter pain relief like Tylenol immediately, if you've ever had an ear infection I don't have to tell you why. Me and DS have probably had 1,000,000 ear infections between us, I got them every year into my twenties so don't believe it when doctors say that "it's just a part of childhood, he'll grow out of it." The ear problems have vanished after we stopped treating them with antibiotics and started eating better.

It's hard to give any advice as to how to boost immunity with diet as I don't know what your diet is right now. Basic things are:

avoid processed foods like the plague

keep sugar intake as low as possible--sugar depresses the immune system for hours after ingesting it. I have a hunch that this is why illness is spread so quickly in schools/daycares that are so horrible about giving kids numerous "treats" and desserts.

be sure you're eating enough/getting enough calories--kids require ALOT of calories-the same as alot of adults believe it or not. Their pickiness and small tummies makes it really hard to get enough calories/nutrients in them, and that means low immunity. This leads into the next tip...

include lots of fat in your DC's diet. Choose oils that offer both the high calorie content AND nutritional benefits. Extra virgin olive oil, butter from grassfed cows, unrefined coconut oil, flax oil, cod liver oil, unrefined sunflower seed oil, are all healthy. Make sure they're packaged properly so they're fresh. Kids need very concentrated diets so calorie dense fats and nutrient dense foods (eggs, red/organ meat, fish, dark green leafy veggies, etc) are really important.

Choose organic whenever possible, *especially* animal products like milk and eggs. "Grassfed" products will be high in Omega 3 fatty acids, so choose those if you can find them.

I could go on forever Obviously I think diet is the key to a strong immune system. I mostly follow a "traditional foods" diet, there's a forum over in Nutrition and Good Eating here if you want more info.

[Gitti]

or nothing i can give him when he has yellow thick yuckies coming out of his nose & chest congestion? surely there are holistic approaches i can take to treat my son regardless of my past mistakes.

You did not click on my link? Yes, certainly there are approaches you can take. That's what I posted. And hopefully he will outgrow some of the weakness.

My own grandson was vaccinated up to the age of 15 mo. when we noticed a lot of autistic traits which we had no clue about until his cousin was diagnosed with it and we saw the unmistakable similarities.

We then proceeded to treat every infection, flu and cold with natural foods.
(Hippocrates - let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food)

He is now 10 yr old and very healthy and normal. But it took a long time for him to outgrow OUR mistakes (dd and I did the vaccine research together).

What I meant to convay is, it will take your son some time to get his body back on track and be stronger. You have to give him that chance.

the human body is designed to bounce back.

From any illness or accident. But not so from an injection of poisons. The human body was never designed to be able to deal with that. So, I am not sure that it will ever bounce back to full potential.

holistic medicines are expensive and pretty lacking in effectiveness

I am not sure what you consider 'holistic medicine'?

http://ahha.org/rosen.htm

...the term holism ... a way of viewing living things as "entities greater than and different from the sum of their parts,"

[JaneS]

Raw milk. Kefir smoothies.

High vitamin cod liver oil.

Lots of natural vitamin C.

[earthmama369]

DD recently had that nasty cold that's been going around with the junky cough and sinus discharge. We treated her with:

-Traditional Medicinals Kids Cold Care tea (1 c./day), and ginger and chamomile teas (as she asked for them), with honey and lemon. For her age, I cut the Cold Care tea in half with juice.
-Hylands kids' vitamin C
-Sambucol syrup to help prevent upper respiratory infection
-a lot of garlic, raw or lightly sauted
-vitamin C-rich foods (kiwis, oranges, etc.)
-steam sessions in the bathroom, 10 min. at a time
-Baby Ayr saline nose drops to loosen things up and help her blow her nose and physically get rid of the gunk
-lots of nursing (and lots of vitamin C for me, too!)
-spicing meals with judicious amounts of cayenne, tumeric, paprika, etc., to keep things loose

In general, to help her stay healthy, we focus on diet. Yogurt and kefir for the gut. Plenty of vitamin C in the winter. Stuff like that.

[elizawill]

thank you all so much! what awesome advice. yes, our diet totally sucks! and because we are on a super tight (choking to death) budget i always buy things for price and not quality. plus, we live in SC in a town of under 3,000 and there our NO health stores or markets. i will really make an effort the next time i'm at bi-lo to shop still cost efficiently but choose more healthy products, and i'll also try to NIX the sugar junk. i do buy extra virgin olive oil already...so i have one good thing to start with LOL

i'll need to find a cheap healthy cookbook or something....as i'm totally clueless as to what to feed my babies ...besides mac and cheese, etc. thanks again for all of your replies. sorry i didn't see the link the first time to your recommendations...i clicked it on today and it's very helpful.

hugs to you all.

[studentmama]

Originally Posted by elizawill

thank you all so much! what awesome advice. yes, our diet totally sucks! and because we are on a super tight (choking to death) budget i always buy things for price and not quality. plus, we live in SC in a town of under 3,000 and there our NO health stores or markets. i will really make an effort the next time i'm at bi-lo to shop still cost efficiently but choose more healthy products, and i'll also try to NIX the sugar junk. i do buy extra virgin olive oil already...so i have one good thing to start with LOL

i'll need to find a cheap healthy cookbook or something....as i'm totally clueless as to what to feed my babies ...besides mac and cheese, etc. thanks again for all of your replies. sorry i didn't see the link the first time to your recommendations...i clicked it on today and it's very helpful.

hugs to you all.

I hear you on the budget thing, but what I found out through trial and error and learning tons from the women on this board is that you can really eat whole foods and organic much more than you thought. I actually spend less now on groceries than when I was coupon cutting and getting boxed crap. Hang out in the nutrition forums and there are some great budget tips(like feeding the freezer) and on the frugality forum there is a great grocery budget challenge going. One little example that I can use, when I buy a whole chicken, I use it for about three meals, then when I am done, I use the carcass and cook some yummy broth that I through in ice cube trays and use when I need it. Good luck mama!

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by elizawill

... because we are on a super tight (choking to death) budget i always buy things for price and not quality.

It is not necessary to have a rich budget to buy decent food. All that is necessary to to omit all junk food and going out to eat. Even fast food restaurants are very expensive in the long run.

When you consider going to a ff restaurant for 4 people it will cost at least $ 20, for that you can feed all 4 people for 2 days with really healthy food.

Dry beans which are super healthy cost the very least. So does brown rice. Skip the meat and you can add organic fruit and vegetables and still get away much more reasonable.

Skip the cereal in the morning and buy only oats and you have enough left over to buy organic raisins and nuts to add to the oats.

Do away with all milk, juices and sodas and you can buy organic yogurt (which just about every store now carries) and some decent cheese from Europe where they don't use the growth hormones in the cows.


The whole thing is a matter or priority and budgeting.

plus, we live in SC in a town of under 3,000 and there our NO health stores or markets.

Most stores now carry a pretty good health food section and if not, you can still eat pretty healthy if you just make the right choices.

i'll also try to NIX the sugar junk.

All sugary things are expensive and people don't even know how much money they spend on that garbage.

i do buy extra virgin olive oil already...so i have one good thing to start with LOL

I don't use the extra virgin olive oil for cooking. That is defeating the purpose of the 'cold pressed' benefits. We only use palm oil or butter for cooking. But if you can find some good beef fat for cooking, that is super.

i'll need to find a cheap healthy cookbook or something....

There is a forum on MDC I believe that tells you what and how to cook. ?

as i'm totally clueless as to what to feed my babies ...besides mac and cheese, etc.

Beans and rice are a much better choice all the way around. Add some apples and a few ground nuts and you have a pretty good meal.

Sweet potatoes and whole wheat noodles are good. Pears and nuts.

There are so many variations. Do you have a food mill? We cook for ourselves and then put some of the food into the food mill for the youngest in the family before we add too much seasonings.

Cut up the apple, put it into a wee bit of water, steam it and you have a delicious apple sauce. Add a bit of cinnamon. Mmmm....
Same with the pears.
Grind the nuts really fine for the baby. (Many kids are allergic to nuts though.)

HTH

[OMama]

Feeding the Whole Family is a great cookbook if you are interested in purchasing one. It has info about nutrition and cooking different foods (i.e.grains, beans, etc.) It also has info specifically about what to give babies. Here's the link to the author's website. I think it is definitely worth the price. http://www.feedingfamily.com/ She is often featured in Mothering as well. And in case you haven't discovered it yet, here's the link to Peggy's Kitchen from the main Mothering site. http://www.mothering.com/sections/recipes/recipes.html

Also, you might be able to find some cookbooks at your library, even if it is a small town. Maybe they are part of a larger library lending system. Happy healthy eating!

[Canadianmommax3]

Originally Posted by Gitti

It is not necessary to have a rich budget to buy decent food. All that is necessary to to omit all junk food and going out to eat. Even fast food restaurants are very expensive in the long run.

When you consider going to a ff restaurant for 4 people it will cost at least $ 20, for that you can feed all 4 people for 2 days with really healthy food.

Dry beans which are super healthy cost the very least. So does brown rice. Skip the meat and you can add organic fruit and vegetables and still get away much more reasonable.

Skip the cereal in the morning and buy only oats and you have enough left over to buy organic raisins and nuts to add to the oats.

Do away with all milk, juices and sodas and you can buy organic yogurt (which just about every store now carries) and some decent cheese from Europe where they don't use the growth hormones in the cows.


The whole thing is a matter or priority and budgeting.



Most stores now carry a pretty good health food section and if not, you can still eat pretty healthy if you just make the right choices.


All sugary things are expensive and people don't even know how much money they spend on that garbage.


I don't use the extra virgin olive oil for cooking. That is defeating the purpose of the 'cold pressed' benefits. We only use palm oil or butter for cooking. But if you can find some good beef fat for cooking, that is super.


There is a forum on MDC I believe that tells you what and how to cook. ?



Beans and rice are a much better choice all the way around. Add some apples and a few ground nuts and you have a pretty good meal.

Sweet potatoes and whole wheat noodles are good. Pears and nuts.

There are so many variations. Do you have a food mill? We cook for ourselves and then put some of the food into the food mill for the youngest in the family before we add too much seasonings.

Cut up the apple, put it into a wee bit of water, steam it and you have a delicious apple sauce. Add a bit of cinnamon. Mmmm....
Same with the pears.
Grind the nuts really fine for the baby. (Many kids are allergic to nuts though.)

HTH

great info!

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by JaneS

Raw milk. Kefir smoothies.

High vitamin cod liver oil.

Lots of natural vitamin C.

:

I would just add plenty of fresh air and sunshine to the list.

[elizawill]

thanks for the peggy's kitchen link!! i love it!! plus there are still yummy sweet treats i can make for my family but that will be healthy. i'll continue to look around these threads for some cheap healthy recipes. YEA! i'm excited for this new endeavor!! i'm so unhealthy. i'm naturally thin, but i'm really tired a lot. eating right is going to be such a great thing for me and my dh...and it's going to make my whole family feel so much better. thank you thank you thank you!!! big hugs.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by elizawill

thanks for the peggy's kitchen link!! i love it!! plus there are still yummy sweet treats i can make for my family but that will be healthy. i'll continue to look around these threads for some cheap healthy recipes. YEA! i'm excited for this new endeavor!! i'm so unhealthy. i'm naturally thin, but i'm really tired a lot. eating right is going to be such a great thing for me and my dh...and it's going to make my whole family feel so much better. thank you thank you thank you!!! big hugs.