Like I have mentioned before, sometimes you do all the preventative stuff and someone still gets sick. That's just the way it is and I have no idea why? My kids take vit C, coconut oil, cod liver oil, and probiotics everyday and yet my oldest still managed to get the flu. My little one only had a cold, and somehow I escaped them both. The hubby had the flu the week after Thanksgiving, so he was already immune.
So how do you know the difference between the cold and flu? Mainly I think it comes down to 2 things. 1. fever over 99.9 & 2. body aches and pains, these are the symptoms that mean flu instead of cold. Both of my girls started feeling bad on a Friday. By that evening they both had a low grade fever, 99.8. The next morning, the little one still had a low grade fever and was playing like she usually does. The older one, fever was higher and she was sleeping a lot! The news goes on and on about how dangerous the flu is and how 36K people die from the flu each year. This is a true statistic, but what they don't tell you is that most of the deaths are from complications due to either a preexisting respiratory condition, or from dehydration. Fevers can dehydrate the body, and in children it can happen very quickly. My personal rule of thumb is to let the body run the fever as a way to fight the infection as long as the fever does not get higher than 102. When it reaches 102-102.5, I go ahead and give Motrin. I also use rice bags that I keep in the freezer to help the body cool down. I place them on the back or forehead. Also for body aches, I put the child in an Epsom salt bath. If respiratory issues are also present, I sprinkle some eucalyptus essential oil drops in the bath water as well.
So since my oldest did get the flu this is what we did... I made sure that she drank plenty of fluids (water & homemade Gatorade) and that she rested lots. I administered Motrin when necessary and then I gave her elderberry syrup and Colloidal Sliver every 2 hours. She was pretty sick for about 8 days. We did not leave the house. Washing her pillow case and blanket everyday, rinsing her toothbrush out with peroxide after each brushing, using disposable paper cups in the bathroom, washing her thermos water bottle before refilling it each time, and steaming the sofa each day along with wiping down all surfaces is what I think helped the germs to not spread. At one point I started to feel like I was getting a weakened immune system, so I used Zicam mouth spray and Cold Ezzee throat drops to help boost my immune system. These are both homeopathic and natural.
Once her flu symptoms where gone, she had a lingering non productive, dry cough. To make sure this did not turn into pneumonia I found a natural expectorant at Walgreens that I gave her to help break up the congestion and get it out of her lungs. There are several homeopathic brands on the market today and that are available at most local drug stores. I encourage you to read the labels and try one of these next time.
So even though we do not do the flu shot, and one of my kids got the flu, we still managed to survive the worst of it. Being wise about when to use Western Medicine and when to stick to the natural stuff is key. Western Medicine is there for us for a reason. I especially do not mess around with a fever and letting it get too high. Use your God given instincts and consult with your health care provider. Respiratory issues and high fever can still cause death and do daily, so don't be too laid back with some of the more serious illnesses. Take care of those little ones and yourself as well!
Stay healthy and warm the rest of this FLU season.
If you are interested in more, read my posts on "Elderberry Syrup" & "What I do when my child gets sick"
So how do you know the difference between the cold and flu? Mainly I think it comes down to 2 things. 1. fever over 99.9 & 2. body aches and pains, these are the symptoms that mean flu instead of cold. Both of my girls started feeling bad on a Friday. By that evening they both had a low grade fever, 99.8. The next morning, the little one still had a low grade fever and was playing like she usually does. The older one, fever was higher and she was sleeping a lot! The news goes on and on about how dangerous the flu is and how 36K people die from the flu each year. This is a true statistic, but what they don't tell you is that most of the deaths are from complications due to either a preexisting respiratory condition, or from dehydration. Fevers can dehydrate the body, and in children it can happen very quickly. My personal rule of thumb is to let the body run the fever as a way to fight the infection as long as the fever does not get higher than 102. When it reaches 102-102.5, I go ahead and give Motrin. I also use rice bags that I keep in the freezer to help the body cool down. I place them on the back or forehead. Also for body aches, I put the child in an Epsom salt bath. If respiratory issues are also present, I sprinkle some eucalyptus essential oil drops in the bath water as well.
So since my oldest did get the flu this is what we did... I made sure that she drank plenty of fluids (water & homemade Gatorade) and that she rested lots. I administered Motrin when necessary and then I gave her elderberry syrup and Colloidal Sliver every 2 hours. She was pretty sick for about 8 days. We did not leave the house. Washing her pillow case and blanket everyday, rinsing her toothbrush out with peroxide after each brushing, using disposable paper cups in the bathroom, washing her thermos water bottle before refilling it each time, and steaming the sofa each day along with wiping down all surfaces is what I think helped the germs to not spread. At one point I started to feel like I was getting a weakened immune system, so I used Zicam mouth spray and Cold Ezzee throat drops to help boost my immune system. These are both homeopathic and natural.
Once her flu symptoms where gone, she had a lingering non productive, dry cough. To make sure this did not turn into pneumonia I found a natural expectorant at Walgreens that I gave her to help break up the congestion and get it out of her lungs. There are several homeopathic brands on the market today and that are available at most local drug stores. I encourage you to read the labels and try one of these next time.
So even though we do not do the flu shot, and one of my kids got the flu, we still managed to survive the worst of it. Being wise about when to use Western Medicine and when to stick to the natural stuff is key. Western Medicine is there for us for a reason. I especially do not mess around with a fever and letting it get too high. Use your God given instincts and consult with your health care provider. Respiratory issues and high fever can still cause death and do daily, so don't be too laid back with some of the more serious illnesses. Take care of those little ones and yourself as well!
Stay healthy and warm the rest of this FLU season.
If you are interested in more, read my posts on "Elderberry Syrup" & "What I do when my child gets sick"
