It’s the worst feeling in the world when your kids are sick and you’re limited in what you can do to help them. This winter has been a doozy for us. We’ve been sick almost nonstop, regardless of any preventative and natural remedies we’ve put into place. I’m not one to run to the pediatrician’s office at the first sign of illness. Two of my 4 kids have never been on antibiotics before. Not because I’m staunchly anti-antibiotic or anything. It’s just that we haven’t needed them. We don’t get sick often, and when we do get sick, it’s usually something that I can treat at home. But in this case, my 2 year old’s fever was getting pretty high, and he was in a lot of discomfort and had been getting progressively worse despite all of my mama-made efforts and prayers. So, we went to the pediatrician, who confirmed my suspicion. We had a viral respiratory bug (aka: a nasty cold), which had caused bacterial infection in little man’s ear and eyes. He wrote us a prescription for “the pink stuff” to help with the ear infection, and antibiotic eye drops for the eye goop. However, he also told me that a lot of the pink eye and ear infections he’s treated this season have been very antibiotic resistant. In some cases it has taken 3 rounds of antibiotics to kick them. So if we didn’t see any improvement in 48 or so hours, to call him and we’d try something else. Great. So we went home and gave him his first dose and then settled in for the night. Around 2am, I heard […]
Easy DIY Vapor Shower Discs
A couple of weeks ago I was clicking around on the web and stumbled upon this article over at Duxbury Farm girl for Homemade Shower Discs. I’d never heard of such a thing, and commented that I loved the idea and would give it a try next time we had a cold run through the house. Fast forward about 9 days. I woke up feeling a little stuffy, but nothing major. That night we took the kids out trick-or-treating. And true to New York State tradition…it was cold and rainy. This exacerbated the cold, and I woke up on November 1st with a full on chest cold. So it didn’t take long for me to have the opportunity to try out some shower discs of my own. Ask and you shall receive. 😉 So I made up some of these, and am taking some of the elderberry syrup that I made a few weeks ago when my youngest had a cold. Those things combined with running a humidifier at night have made it so that we haven’t needed any store bought cough syrups or pharmaceutical treatments (so far) this cold season. Our colds aren’t lasting as long, and when we do get sick, the symptoms just aren’t as bad as they usually would be. (happy mama!) The base of these little discs is just water and baking soda. Then you can add whatever essential oils you’d like into it, in whatever strength you prefer. For children, the standard recommendation is to cut the dose of essential oils in half, so I’d probably just break one of these discs in half for them. Recipe: – 3 […]
How to Make Elderberry Syrup
One of the things I’m doing along with our winter preps, is to prepare ourselves for “ick” season, as I like to call it. This includes replenishing my stash of essential oils known to help with cold and flu, such as eucalyptus oil for a natural vapor rub, rosemary, lavender, tea tree, etc. I also made up a batch of Elderberry and Rosehip syrup. Elderberries are high in vitamins which help boost your immune system. It can help your body fight off the “ick”, and also shorten the length and severity of symptoms if you do end up getting sick. It has the added benefit of being safe for men, women (pregnant and nursing…or not), and even children. I purchased my elderberries and rose hips from Bulk Herb Store (affiliate link). They had the best price I could find, and the best shipping costs for me as well. Search around, though. You may live closer to another supplier, allowing for cheaper shipping costs. (Note: Elderberries grow rampantly across many parts of the United States. Ditto for rose hips, actually. You may be able to forage for your own. I tried and was unsuccessful, but will try again next year! Just be sure not to confuse the elderberries with pokeberry.) Ingredients: 1 c. Dried Elderberries (high in Vitamins A, B, and C, and also contains tannins and flavonoids) 1 c. Dried Rose Hips (Added Vitamin C boost, can also be used alone as a delicious tea) 3 1/2 cups water 1/2-1 cup raw honey depending on how sweet you’d like your syrup to be. Optionally, you may had a cinnamon stick, a 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, […]
Plantain Tincture
What’s Plantain?: Plantain is an herb that grows just about everywhere and it’s easy to recognize. For this reason, it’s a great starter for the novice herbalist. It’s been used for hundreds and probably even thousands of years to treat a number of different ailments from dandruff to upper respiratory infections (source). Of course, you should always consult your physician before using any herbal/natural remedy! How Do You Recognize It?: There are a few different varieties of plantain. The one that grows most in my yard, and with which I’m most familiar, is the broadleaf plantain (Plantago Major). It has very distinct Broad Leaves. The veins on the leaves start at the base and extend outward. Plantain also has very distinct flowers (pictured below) and the leaves will usually grow around the base of the flowers (as seen in the middle picture). How Do You Use It?: The leaves and juice from the leaves can be used to treat sunburns, bug bites, and minor scrapes and burns. Plantain contains antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, think of it as a natural Neosporin. It can be made into a tea or tincture to help tummy troubles (diarrhea, indigestion, ulcers). The same tea can be used as a hair rinse to treat dandruff. Plantain is rich in tannins, which can be an aid in stopping bleeding. A tea or tincture applied externally can reduce the itching that comes from poison ivy, poison oak, bug bites, or rashes. What’s a Tincture?: Tinctures are basically extracts of a particular herb. This is usually done with alcohol. It can also be done with vegetable glycerin or apple cider vinegar, but alcohol (vodka or grain alcohol no […]
