Medicine Mom 101–Your Home Remedies Wanted!

This is not really a remedy but a handy trick. When a child falls and gets a bump, put vaseline on it and it will diminish the bruising and sometimes it will not bruise at all!

Your picture is appropriate b/c honey is great for those nighttime coughs. (daytime too I’m sure!) Give a small child a teaspoon full of honey and send them back to bed. Older children and adults may take more. I took 2 teaspoons myself last time I had a cough and it worked! Plus, of course, local honey is good for preventing allergies.

While we love herbal remedies and all natural products, BUILDING OUR HEALTH has helped to illiminate and even prevent many symptoms. Since we made this change in how we think, we hardly ever get sick and when we do it is over quickly. Supplements, supplements, supplements. That’s the way for us. Think *Build* not *fix*

P.S. When we do get sick we take Pau d’arco and colloidal silver at the first sign (2-3xa day)- this usually stops whatever flu/cold/virus in it’s tracks. It ‘builds’ the immune system.

Apple cider vinegar seems to be one of those “miracle” remedies.

Not only great for colds and sinus infections, but as Mrs. Santos mentioned, a great preventative as it balances the body’s ph. Take a tsp. or so in a glass of water, sipping througout the day.

Garlic, in pill form, when taken one pill every day, boosts the immune system, is good to diminish cholesterol, and fights yeast infections.

Apple cider vinegar poured into the bath water helps itchy skin. About 1/2 a small bottle per bath.

A paste of baking soda and water kills the pain of a bee sting.

A tea of lemon juice and honey soothes an aching throat.

And for a crying colicky (spelling) baby – GRIPE WATER! We went through 10 bottles of it (at least) with my 3rd baby. Any mom who is suffering with a colicky, gassy baby, should rush out and get some all natural Gripe Water.

Jess in Peru

1. My absolute favorite is Tea Tree oil. You can get it in most drug stores (even Walmart has it).

It will heal just about any type of wound and take out soreness very quickly.

Do an internet search sometime and you will be amazed at all of the things it can be used for.

It is antibacterial so you can put a few drops mixed in a spray bottle with a squirt of dish soap and water. Spray countertops, floors, and toilets to disinfect.

2. When my boys were babies, I used peppermint water for colick (Amish do this).

You crunch up half a peppermint and put it into a bottle with water and shake it up. They will give a loud belch and then they will instantly feel better.

Also for stomach pain –
I learned this trick from an Indian friend: mince about 1 T of fresh ginger, put into mug. Squeeze one lemon and warm the juice; pour over ginger. Let steep a couple minutes. Drink the infusion and eat the ginger. Not delicious, but effective. Also, depending on the cause of the pain, add a hot compress.

Never give honey to an infant (under 1 year). It can contain botulism, which can be fatal to infants even in miniscule doses.

Kelly,
Do you have a particular apple cider vinegar brand that you use? How do you test your ph?

I am in total agreement with your idea for getting trained in practical health care and nutrition. My concern with my family is that we suffer from asthma and allergies. I am a bit reluctant on adding herbs when there is a high allergic reaction to grass and tree pollen with my son. Any thoughts or advice that you have come across?

Lori,

I don’t have a particular brand of apple cider, though I’m sure most would recommend organic??

I buy ph strips that you just stick in your mouth to measure ph. I usually find them on ebay the cheapest.

Garlic poultice. Crush the garlic, place in a paper towel, fold up and place in really warm water for about a minute. Squeeze it out and place on bottom of feet, behind the ears, on the chest. ( for no longer than a minute at a time, it will burn, I learned this the hard way) Garlic is a powerful natural antibiotic and antiviral. We do this for upper respiratory infection. I have also done garlic oil in ears.
Adults can peel one clove of garlic and put it in a spoon full of honey and swallow. Garlic is most powerful for healing when taken just after peeling, or crushing. The main ingredient is Allicin.

It’s not really a home remedy, but it might help save some money on doctor visits. My pediatrician said that ear infections left untreated will go away on their own in a week, with an antibiotic it will go away in 7 days. It does nothing. You inner ear has few blood vessels, and antibiotics travel through the blood, so it doesn’t even go to the ear. Most likely you are only giving yourself or your child a placebo. Best way to cure it? Rest and lots of fluids.

Otherwise, if there is lots of fluid that just won’t go away, you can have a doctor “pop” your ear to drain the fluid. (But this puts you back at the doctor.)

My favorite is prevention. We supplement like crazy. I have 3 children and we’ve only been to the doctor once for a sick child, that’s when we learned antibiotics do nothing for ear infections.

Oh, I have lots of home remedies. I learned to rely on the Lord and herbs while living in Mongolia where I refused to go to doctors (many were very unsanitary). It was so beneficial for our health and our faith, that we still don’t go to doctors!

My favorite resource when I was just starting out in our herbal journey Shonda Parker’s book called Mommy Diagnostics. She’s a Christian mommy and herbalist and the book is very well done. So practical and user friendly. I highly recommend it!!!

So, here are some of our most used remedies:

~GSE (grapefruit seed extract) We have used this to treat everything from tooth infections to sinus infections to colds/flus! It’s safe to take during pregnancy and breastfeeding, too. For real infections we take 20 drops in water or juice 3-4 times a day. The infection is usually gone in a day.

~Super Tonic. We take this at first signs of a cold. Put equal parts garlic, onion, horseradish, ginger and cayenne peppers in a blender. Cover with apple cider vinegar and puree. After two weeks you strain out the chunks, but we usually leave them in. We keep this in the frigde. We take about 10 spoonsfuls a day if we are sick. This knocks out a cold or flu very quickly and really boots the immune system!

~Slippery Elm Bark is a marvelous little herb (comes in a powder) for vomitting or diahrea. It restores intestinal flora and helps one to get over the illness very quickly and prevent dehydration.

Just the first three remedies off the top of my head!

ENJOY!

We too, love GSE… and at the first sign of a sore throat or cold, we start drinking aloe juice. It really seems to keep the sickness at bay.

For bug bites/rashes/yeast/and just about everything else you can think of, we like to use GOOT. There’s lots more information about it on the welltellme forum, as well as at http://nacd.org/health/goot_garlic_oil_ointment.pdf

As an immune builder, my mom has rercently started using ACF (by Buried Treasure), and has had excellent results with it.

This next one is not exactly an herbal remedy, but I find that my body tends to get extremely acidic… which in turn gives me headaches. So if I start feeling acidic (headaches/heartburn/etc) I add the juice of a lemon to a large glass of warm water and sweeten it with raw honey. (The lemon helps alkalinize your body. As a side benefit, local raw honey builds up an immunity to local allergens)

Civilla – “we end up sitting in the corner feeling stupid.” I am very sorry to hear that. For the record, I quite enjoyed your take on decor (curtains in garages), and Nancy Pelosi’s breeding philosophy. 🙂

Oops, I realized I was being extremely redundant so I deleted my last comment and tried to simplify it….

Civilla,

Please don’t feel stupid. You have a lot of wisdom to offer young moms.

I think there is a difference between “untreated” and using herbal treatments. If someone uses… say… tea tree oil, they are treating their child’s infection with a natural antibiotic *instead of* running to the doctor the minute they realize this.

I think (and by no means do I think I am the queen of knowledge or wisdom, but in my opinion)
the difference from when you were a young mom and today is that doctors *today* have gone overboard prescribing and over-diagnosing
(I do not EVER remember taking a 10 day antibiotic as a child… we just got the rare shot.. and that was very rare).

My son’s doctor tried to tell me he (my son) had ADD and was going to medicate him for that. Thankfully we decided against medicating him only to pacify his school-teacher. I have since realized that I would have avoided some character training if he were a medically-induced-well-behaved child.

This very same child became immune to some prescriptions (for mono, strep, and ear infections) because of over-taking them.

Now, I am not saying I wouldn’t take my children to the doctor, but I am less inclined to run over to the doctor as much as before.

Once, I took one of my sons to the doctor and because I waited a couple of days, I got a stern look. They kept prescribing him pennicillin over and over.
That very year, my son had contracted strep, mono, and several ear infections all under the careful eye of the doctors and nothing seemed to help.
I finally quit doing the incessant well visits and visits for colds and things really have gotten better.

I think there is a balance…. I personally would not completely throw off all ideas of doctor visits, but like Lori I think we mothers(including you) have some good intuition to balance out the doctors over-prescribing.

P.S.

Since I am in the mood to doctor bash.. naw, just kidding.. not really. We have a lot of doctors in the family… but…

I could not resist adding this comment…

My son’s doctor (who has moved to another town) told my sister in law that it was best to space your children 3 years apart.

Another pediatrician told me that “the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend circumcision”…. like that is ANY of their business!

Well, Kim M., of course you should space your children 3 years apart – between every other child! ;P

It’s funny, too, how different countries have different ideas. British doctors think circumcision is a barbaric American custom.

They also didn’t think it was healthy for toddlers to wear shoes, so the little children just ran around in sock-feet.

They didn’t believe in immunizations for children, which is an idea that is becoming popular over here. I noticed, though, that they had autistic children, too, so I don’t know if I believe the connection between immunizations and autism. But, anyway, they believed it was better for children to contract those childhood illnesses and build up immunities on their own. It used to shock me, though, to see loads of children running around with chicken pox all over them. They didn’t bother to quarantine them.

Oh, and in Germany, they use a couple of crushed leaves from wild violet for constipation. Honey is also a mild laxative.

Still not quite on the subject of home remedy-but home prevention–I feel really good about the supplement “Garden of Life Perfect Food”. It comes in powder or capsules and in berry formula. I tastes terrible mixed in water, but we are experiementing with different ways to ingest, and it works well in fruit smoothies (I’m think V-8 juice too, if you like that).

Check out more about it here:
http://www.gardenoflife.com/ProductsforLife/SUPPLEMENTS/FoundationalNutrition/PerfectFood/tabid/654/Default.aspx

Now back (for me) to home health options, and this is my last post, I promise (having so much fun here!).

Ingrown toenails – You need cuticle clippers, disinfectant, and spray pain-killer, like Americain (available OTC).

1. wash, dry, and disinfect ailing toe.
2. allow disinfectant to dry, then spray with pain-reducer/numbing agent
3. under a bright direct light, dig that bad boy out. Twitchy business, may need Dad to help hold steady. Clip it so that it is in a smooth line with the rest of the nail – no points!
4. Spray again, disinfect again, give the patient a chocolate bar or homemade popsicle. 🙂
5. as the nail grows out, try to keep it well trimmed with a straight-edge toenail clipper, and keep a bit uf cotton under the nail corner if it tends to grow down

Nail fungus – seriously hope none of y’all get this in the house, but you don’t have to resort to the toxic stuff.
1. trim the nail back to the quick. A cuticle trimmer works well for this as it has that little point shape and an infected nail often has an irregular nail-bed line.
2. file the nail down on the top to that it is paper thin. No protection anymore, so be careful, but now the topical medicine can actually penetrate to the nail bed, where the fungus is.
3. At this point you should be able to retrim the nail so that it follows the line of the quick more closely. This prevents water from hanging around moistening the fungus, which would make the colony very happy.
4. apply anti-fungal ointment with a cotton swab. Never “double-dip”, but use the fresh side of swab or get a new one. It’s highly unlikely to contaminate an anti-microbial medicine, but no sense in taking the chance.
5. disinfect the utensils (I burn with a lighter, then wipe with alchohol), put them in a separate container so you will never use them on healthy nails. Wash hands and disinfect.
6. apply the ointment twice a day, repeat full process about every two weeks for toenail, and every one week for fingernail.
7. Keep that nail dry!

I’ve used two meds – both with tea tree oil (aka melaluca, right?) and undecylenic acid (12%). (last time I used Thursday Plantation, about $11 at the health food store)Both worked, but it takes time, as it can take easily 6 mos for the nail to grow out again.

If you get your nails done professionally, take your own utensils, no matter what.

Feminine health –
If you have an embarrassing problem, eat a lot of yogurt, and apply internally in affected area. My midwife recommended a spoon, but can’t figure that one. I recommend a reusable douche (you can boil them). Dilute one T yogurt with about one pint distilled water (you do not want the chlorine in there), and allow to flow slowly. Not a lovely smell, but it’s a good first step before going to the doctor for a prescription.

Um, all embarrassing problems,but I’m thinking plenty would rather find a cure with the anonymity of the ‘net, than go get the infections probed.

Civilla – Yikes! Wow, when people talk about soldiers sacrificing for their country, I had no idea that might be involved! Horrible! My understanding is that it was a Victorian hang-up to begin with, that just became part of belief (mythology!). O.K., I know I broke my promise, but I wasn’t prepared for forced circ of adults! Sorry…

Yogurt delight – quite right (about the fruit- yummy; and the sweetener, yeast loves sugar) – I also dilute my yogurt with some water, mix and drink. Delish! Mix with carbonated water and some mint,and it’s even better! Also, I mince one clove fresh garlic and mix with 1/2 -1 C yogurt. Add some chopped cucumber and you have a great Tzaziki sauce. Fabulous! (oops, excuse me, is my Armenian showing? 🙂

Oh, Kelly, I’m talking too much here, but, a wrung-out tea bag, as warm as you can stand it, put on a stye on your eyelid will help it to go down.

Also, a friend’s mother swears by this: take the skin of a hard-cooked egg — that thin membrane between the shell and the white of the egg, and put it over a cut and leave it there for a while, and there will not be a scar. Haven’t tried it, though.

Michelle, just wondering, but if garlic is anti-microbial, might it kill off the beneficial flora as well? Or burn? Has someone used it that you know, with good results?

I’ve heard really good things about breastmilk too (such as putting a couple drops in baby’s nose before going to crowded places in cold/flu season), but had completely forgotten about it, so thanks for the reminder.

Garlic is an amazing remedy for just about everything. Onions, too, but the antimicrobial properties of garlic are stronger I think.

As for the antibiotic thing, ear infections can get serious and I wouldn’t recommend going too long with an ear infection without treatment. Further, if more natural remedies don’t work quickly, it is probably time to see the doctor. You wouldn’t want permanent ear or hearing damage to result.

When I was little and had an ear infection, my grandmother used to get a garlic oil capsule, warm it up gently in the microwave, pierce it with a needle, test the temperature of it, and then drip the garlic oil into my ear, and plug the whole thing up with a cotton ball. Worked every time.

If your child needs antibiotics, most areas have grocery stores that give away free antibiotics. For instance, around here, Schnucks stores will give away a 21-day supply of one of seven generic antibiotics at a time to any of its customers (with a valid prescription of course). Without insurance, antibiotics can be expensive, so this is a good deal. Thing is, you have to get a doctor to prescribe them in the first place, which can also be expensive…still, it’s not worth messing with your kid’s hearing over it.

Another natural remedy my grandma used on me that is no longer politically correct was a mixture of whiskey and honey for nighttime cough. I should state that I’m only 25 so it really wasn’t that long ago.

I’ve heard that drinking pineapple juice will help a bruise to go away faster.

That skin of an egg thing: I can’t really remember if it was the skin off of a hard-cooked egg, or a raw egg. Anyway, you put it on the cut after it has stopped bleeding, or after stitches have been removed, like a bandaid, and leave it there for as long as you can. It is supposed to help prevent scarring.

If garlic pills are still too stinky, try taking them at night before you go to bed.

Civilla, you never need an excuse to eat a Grany Smith Apple. Add some cheese or PB and you have a perfect snack. By the way, have you tried fresh strawberries on yogurt? The tartness of the yogurt amplifies the sweetness of the strawberries. Also top y. with mango and nutmeg. Sorry to be on this food kick. I’m hungry all the time these days…

For a sore on the tongue (we used to call it a pimple on the tongue, which comes from rubbing your tongue against your teeth too much) rinse with Listerine, which will heal it.

Also, I guess everyone knows about the BRAT diet for diarreah: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Well, if the child is too sick to keep down any of this, my mother-in-law told boiling rice and then having the baby or child drink the RICE WATER after it had cooled. (A physican’s assistant confirmed that this was good.) That saved the life of a baby she knew once that was dehydrated from diarreah and couldn’t keep down food.

BTW, Kelly, you don’t have to use my name or blogsite if you use any of my remedies, since they were not my original ideas anyway.

Hope your new e-book is a success.

I do hope you compile them! It would be wonderful.

One thing I have done since switching from hospital births to home births is tea tree oil baths the last two or three months. I had two GBS positive births and was concerned about this when we started having home births. I began taking a bath several times a week with 10-20 drops of tea tree oil in the water. I don’t know for sure if it made the difference or not, but I’ve not been GBS positive since then.

Also, rubbing vicks vapo rub (or anything similar) on the feet right before bed and covering with socks with help stop coughing during the night.

Rosemary oil and tea tree oil drops mixed in with your shampoo will help repel lice.

One thing I’ve learned from Mercola.com is that lots of sunshine does wonders for keeping kids and moms healthy. We often take schoolwork outside for extra sun time. Also important is a healthy diet free from sugars. Plus supplement with Omega 3 and Chlorella.

We also drink kefir or make pudding with kefir – it keeps the guts working good, but when I forget to pour it up and it separates, I use the whey to treat cuts and scrapes, and it works wonders on fungal type problems.

Clove oil mixed with stevia or xylotal and liquid calcium is suppose to be good at rebuilding teeth.

We have no insurance, though we do qualify for Medicaid, I don’t trust the doctors. So we do a LOT of home care things. None of us have been to a doctor in around 4 years, so we have tons of remedies, more than I can remember in a setting.

We use hydrastis to help unplug ears and sinus. Lavendar Oil for nearly everything. Hylands makes some great Sinus and Cold tablets and teething tablets that work great. Samythamiacin(sp) makes a drop for pink eye, and other eye problems, and ears.

I haven’t had time to read all of the comments, but the ones I did read were great suggestions.

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Learned about tart cherry juice concentrate from my nurse for my arthritis pain. I started drinking a few weeks back and my joints feel great. I also got free shipping from Fruit Advantage

If you HS I doubt you get them much, but just in case– 40-60 drops of Tea Tree Oil per bottle of shampoo (I get economy sized bottles and use 80 drops) will prevent head lice.

Mint oil in a hot bath will help unplug a congested child. About 5 drops to a bathtub, keep the kid in there for 20 minutes. They don’t like it (or anyway mine don’t, they can feel the mint oil on their skin, I think it’s a nice feeling but my kids disagree), but it works.

Chamomile, mint, or ginger tea for upset stomach.

Chamomile also helps get restless kids to sleep. I feed it to my ADHD kid nightly. Cuts the tossing and turning and getting out of bed because he legit can’t get to sleep in half. Wish Hubby would take it too, but he’s allergic to ragweed (I gather chamomile is related).

It doesn’t have to be garlic oil for an ear ache (though garlic does have antibacterial properties). Any oil, warmed in a pocket for 15 minutes, will help take the pain away while the body deals with the infection.

Before reaching for the oil, vinegar (white or ACV) dropped into the ear will relieve an ear ache that’s from “swimmer’s ear” rather than infection.

I might have missed it, but I didn’t see anyone mention the good old vaporizer. I don’t know how much power it draws (an issue if you’re off grid), but it works wonders for chest and sinus congestion. If you can’t use an electric vaporizer, boil water with mint or mint/eucalyptus oil in a tea kettle. Put a towel over your head and breathe in the steam.

It’s expensive unless you make your own, but 2 teaspoons of concentrated elderberry syrup taken twice a day shortens the duration of cold and flu. So does tea made from the flowers and/or dried berries of the black elderberry plant.

I can’t recommend it, but my aunt swore by it (and us kids swore, too!). For poison ivy: One capful of Clorox on a rag. Wipe down the poison ivy with the moistened area of the rag 2-3 times a day. I remember it. It worked. It was also AWFUL.

Chicken soup is good for colds and flu. Also the soul. Also, while it takes all day to make, you’re never glued to the kitchen for a really long time anywhere in the process (and as long as you don’t add noodles to the whole batch, it’s easy to can). All these things make chicken soup a really great thing to serve when a cold is working its way through the whole family, the kids are whining, and you feel like something the cat dragged in.