Natural Alternatives to Healing

As a mother, it breaks my heart when my child is sick. As a wife, I sympathize with my husband when he is sick. And as the household nurse, I struggle along when all of us are sick. Such has been the past week in my home.

Of course, I bought the Benadryl and diaper rash cream for my son and the cold medicine for my husband, but being pregnant, there wasn't much I could do for myself. After several days of misery (and barely any sleep) I decided to try something I said I would never do - I tried a Neti Pot.

For those of you who don't know what this little device is, imagine a child-size tea pot. The one I purchased came with 50 packets (for only $13) of the saline solution you use with it. Now, the point of this pot is to clear out your nasal passages and head of all that mucus. You warm water, add the packet and mix together, and then literally pour half of the mixture into each nostril. I am slightly claustrophobic and believed that this would feel like I was drowning. However, once you position your head down, all the water (and gunk) flows out of the other nostril. If you move your head too far back or have a deviated septum or other nasal blockages, then you will get some water flowing down your throat, but not so much that you can't immediately spit it out. After using this, you simply blow your nose a time or two and you can magically breathe again! Now, I would never want to be a model for the Neti Pot (or even let my husband see me use it), but it is something I'll use again. I used it one time and the effects lasted throughout my entire cold. And I was (somewhat) back on track to taking care of my family again.

I'm not against pharmaceutical remedies by any means, but sometimes they cannot be used, are not readily available, or just don't work. For example, my two-year-old son has had diarrhea for nearly two weeks. I took him to the doctor who told me not to worry so long as there is not blood in the stool or that he doesn't have more than 3 - 4 bowel movements a day. He says the virus will work it's way out of his system and that, in the meantime, I can give him yogurt with active cultures to help get good bacteria back into him. It's been three days since then, he still has the diarrhea and no amount of diaper rash cream has been working. So, starting first thing in the morning, I'm going to try some old-fashioned remedies. Here are some that I found and will try:

1. Don't use wipes on the bottom; use wet cotton balls. They're more gentle.
2. (Recommended by my mother) Brown flour in a pan on the stove, let it cool so that it's just warm, and put on baby's bottom.
3. Brown corn starch in a pan on the stove, let it cool so that it's just warm, and put on baby's bottom.
4. Give luke warm baths with baking soda.
5. Mix equal parts of Lotrimin Anti-fungal cream, zinc oxide, Neosporin, and Mylanta Antacid and apply to baby's bottom.
I HAVE NOT TRIED ANY OF THESE YET; THEY ARE SIMPLY SOME TIPS I FOUND ONLINE. ALWAYS CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR FIRST IF IT SOUNDS REMOTELY UNUSUAL TO YOU.

The last two tips I have to offer are sometimes so simple that they're overlooked. Bleach, Mamas, and bleach some more! Door knobs, faucets, drawer handles, oven knobs, toilet handles, telephones, etc. They are all things we touch so often and forget about, so make sure you're keeping the germs to a minimum by disinfecting them as often as you can. And lastly, don't forget to disinfect your toothbrush! The germs that thing must carry at any given moment! Use some Hydrogen peroxide in a glass, let it soak for a minute, and then rinse thoroughly.

Hopefully these tips will lessen the time of your/your family's illness.