Nursing childhood illnesses.
You know there are just some things that you wish you'd known, before you had kids. I feel like I've gained knowledge through a huge struggle. Most pediatricians don't offer much information, and it seems there are very little books out there that provide practical, helpful advice. (Thankfully I ran into one this year. It's listed at the bottom of the blog. ) To give credit where credit is due; I've learned a lot from chatting with mother's who have multiple children. They have provided so much good information too.
Coughs
Rub Vicks Vapor rub on the bottoms of your child's feet, then put a pair of cotton socks on. This relieves the night time cough that won't let them sleep. It usually takes about an hour to work & depending upon the cough will keep the cough away for 4 -6hrs.
Your feet absorb so many things. Good or bad. So, keep your feet out of the wet swifter fluid on your kitchen floor while you're mopping. And in the summer walk bare foot as much as you can in the fresh soft green grass. This is wonderful for your body.
Use a vaporizer. Turn it on for 2 hours on high before your child goes to bed. This is all the moisture that is needed. I used to leave mine on all night, but I found out that doing that can agitate the lungs, and create mold on your windows. (not a good thing). Put some essential oils in the vaporizer like lavender & tea tree for their healing properties. AND be sure to clean it regularly. You don't want to have mold floating in your house because of a dirty vaporizer.
Use a saline rinse. Some kinds are Netty pots, I use the brand called Ayr. This is a bottle that you place on the nostril, & squeeze saline water into the nose. Holding the child's head forward. It flushes the sinus's & removes all the crud that's been sitting up them making it difficult for them to breath. This works really well for infants who catch a cold from their sibling & they are having trouble nursing because of clogged sinuses. Just a warning though...it isn't comfortable. And it is very hard to do on a 2 year old or older by yourself. Usually one person has to hold the child while the other one does the rinse. And for those of you wondering how safe it is. It is very safe. I talked to my Pediatrician about this and he said sure, go ahead if you want to see if you can get your 2 yr old to cooperate. Honestly, it's the best thing that worked for Jesse to sleep at night since he hasn't figured out how to blow his own nose. And OH MY! The stuff that came out, really, the quantity that came out his nose was astonishing! - Another word of caution, don't use a rinse if you suspect any ear aches. This will only cause more fluid to be in the ear canal, and can make the ear ache worse in a matter of minuets. I learned this one by experiencing it for myself. Ugh.
Ear Aches
Fevers
Fevers help most viral infections go away more quickly than medicine.
The most important thing to keep in mind with fevers is DEHYDRATION. A child that becomes dehydrated can have serious complications. Rule of thumb is 2 oz of liquid for a 30lb child, every hour.
Chamomile tea is great for helping fevers. Vitamin C, Elderberry Extract & Echinacea have proven themselves to boost the immune system to fight off sickness.
I like a product called Berry Well and I buy it from Beeyoutiful.com - it isn't a "magic tonic" but it really does help the body improve. It is made with elderberry extract, echinacea, propolis & raw honey. But there are lots of supplements & suppliers out there who make their own. You can even make some yourself if you happen to have a elderberry bush. : )
Some things I learned about fevers...
You know there are just some things that you wish you'd known, before you had kids. I feel like I've gained knowledge through a huge struggle. Most pediatricians don't offer much information, and it seems there are very little books out there that provide practical, helpful advice. (Thankfully I ran into one this year. It's listed at the bottom of the blog. ) To give credit where credit is due; I've learned a lot from chatting with mother's who have multiple children. They have provided so much good information too.
Coughs
Rub Vicks Vapor rub on the bottoms of your child's feet, then put a pair of cotton socks on. This relieves the night time cough that won't let them sleep. It usually takes about an hour to work & depending upon the cough will keep the cough away for 4 -6hrs.
Your feet absorb so many things. Good or bad. So, keep your feet out of the wet swifter fluid on your kitchen floor while you're mopping. And in the summer walk bare foot as much as you can in the fresh soft green grass. This is wonderful for your body.
Use a vaporizer. Turn it on for 2 hours on high before your child goes to bed. This is all the moisture that is needed. I used to leave mine on all night, but I found out that doing that can agitate the lungs, and create mold on your windows. (not a good thing). Put some essential oils in the vaporizer like lavender & tea tree for their healing properties. AND be sure to clean it regularly. You don't want to have mold floating in your house because of a dirty vaporizer.
Use a saline rinse. Some kinds are Netty pots, I use the brand called Ayr. This is a bottle that you place on the nostril, & squeeze saline water into the nose. Holding the child's head forward. It flushes the sinus's & removes all the crud that's been sitting up them making it difficult for them to breath. This works really well for infants who catch a cold from their sibling & they are having trouble nursing because of clogged sinuses. Just a warning though...it isn't comfortable. And it is very hard to do on a 2 year old or older by yourself. Usually one person has to hold the child while the other one does the rinse. And for those of you wondering how safe it is. It is very safe. I talked to my Pediatrician about this and he said sure, go ahead if you want to see if you can get your 2 yr old to cooperate. Honestly, it's the best thing that worked for Jesse to sleep at night since he hasn't figured out how to blow his own nose. And OH MY! The stuff that came out, really, the quantity that came out his nose was astonishing! - Another word of caution, don't use a rinse if you suspect any ear aches. This will only cause more fluid to be in the ear canal, and can make the ear ache worse in a matter of minuets. I learned this one by experiencing it for myself. Ugh.
Ear Aches
- Ear aches are different than ear infections. (although if your child has a ear infection, most can clear up on their own in 2 days) Ear aches are when fluid backs up behind the ear drum. Ear infections are from bacteria growing in the fluid that is backed up behind the ear drum.
- There are some very affective natural remedies for ear infections, you can purchase garlic oil from the health food store or Fred Meyers. Use this only if the ear hasn't ruptured. Once the ear drum has ruptured & fluid is seeping from the child's ear, the pain is gone. Because the pressure is gone. This is not a bad thing to have. It's just painful when it happens. The ear drum can heal on it's own.
- Most ear aches can be relieved by a simple Chiropractic adjustment. Jesse was about 2yrs old & was screaming in pain because of his ear. I got him into the Chrio and he stopped screaming right after his adjustment. You see the neck being out of alignment pinches that Eustachian tube & kept the fluid from moving.
- Avoid all DAIRY when your child has a cough & snots. Dairy only makes the ear aches worse, because Dairy creates mucus.
- Keep your child hydrated. Lots of fluids thin out the mucus.
- Onions are great for pulling fluid out of the ear. I know, it sounds weird, but I've experienced this first hand. Warm a small piece of onion in the microwave. One that's small enough to be placed in the ear, but big enough that it won't get stuck. Just warm it until it's soft, let it cool a bit before placing in your kid's ear. You don't want it to burn them. Then warm a rice sock. Have the child lay with their ear resting on the warmed rice sock for 15-30min. No kidding, this really relieves the pressure in the ear and draws the fluid out.
Fevers
Fevers help most viral infections go away more quickly than medicine.
The most important thing to keep in mind with fevers is DEHYDRATION. A child that becomes dehydrated can have serious complications. Rule of thumb is 2 oz of liquid for a 30lb child, every hour.
Chamomile tea is great for helping fevers. Vitamin C, Elderberry Extract & Echinacea have proven themselves to boost the immune system to fight off sickness.
I like a product called Berry Well and I buy it from Beeyoutiful.com - it isn't a "magic tonic" but it really does help the body improve. It is made with elderberry extract, echinacea, propolis & raw honey. But there are lots of supplements & suppliers out there who make their own. You can even make some yourself if you happen to have a elderberry bush. : )
Some things I learned about fevers...
- It is safe for a child to have a fever of 104 or even 105.
- Seizures or convulsions are not caused by high fevers. They are caused by the fever rising very quickly and I've read that once they happen, they don't usually ever happen again, and they aren't harmful. Just really frightening.
- A fever should only last 1-2 days. If it is consistently high for more than that, you should seek professional help. But it isn't necessary to go to your doctor at the first signs of a fever. Jesse had a fever for 5 days this year...but it wasn't consistently high. It would peak at night & in the morning it was just a low grade fever. So we didn't go to a doctor.
- Avoid Tylenol. This is only to be used sparingly when your child is having difficulty sleeping. When you lower the temp by giving Tylenol or Ibuprofen you simply make the process take longer or even hinder it.
- There is no consistent relationship between the height of a child's fever and the severity of the illness, it is useless to take his temp every hour. Instead notice how they are responding. It they are tired, it is good for them to sleep. If they are really uncomfortable, consider giving tylenol, but save it for night time to help them be more comfortable. During the day, it is not effective to give tylenol to a child who really should be resting, but because you gave them tylenol they are up bouncing around playing.
Food is very important when treating illnesses.
- Home made chicken soup/broth is very healing and soothing. When you make the broth from the bones of a chicken there is lots of gelatin that you get. This gelatin is what makes the soup fantastic for helping your body heal.
- Herbal teas can really help boost your body's immune system.
- I know mom's who give their chidlren jello or soda to keep their child hydrated. I'm not judging them, I just don't think they are fully informed. Because this isn't their best option. Refined sugars lower the body's ability to fight off infection.
So a Proverb says that wisdom cries aloud in the streets...here's some wisdom that I've learned through experience. A good book that I've learned a lot of new stuff from is called, "Be Your Own Doctor" by Rachel Weaver. However, the title is very mis-leading. It's really about childhood illnesses & first aid. It certainly states when is the appropriate time to seek medical help. Written from a Mennonite woman who had 9 kids of her own.
A complimentary book to this one is "Mommy Diagnostics" by Shondra Parker.
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