Natural Remedies by Krista

Posted by  | Monday, March 10, 2008  at 8:30 AM  
I'm hoping that this week's topic is going to be a lot of fun and generate great discussion. We've all received advice - some helpful and some, well. . . But this week we want to share the helpful tips we've received. It could relate to children at any age and in any area of child-rearing.
Since I really enjoy natural remedies, a lot of the helpful advice I've sought out and put into practice is in this area. Here goes:

  • Lavender Oil - Great for helping babies sleep. It calms and soothes. Dab a little on your baby's chest and gently rub it in.
  • Hyland's Homeopathic Kid's Kit - Excellent resource to have. It has 6 different remedies as well as an ointment for bumbs and bruises. Tablets included are for things such as teething, colds, fevers, coughs, pain of varioius kinds, inability to sleep, and more.
  • Hyland's Colic Tablets - You can get these at Wal-Green's or Wal-Mart these days. They're natural and did help Lydia when I ate something too strong in those initial days/weeks of breastfeeding.
  • Clove Oil - Excellent to rub on teething gums.
  • ACF Cold Remedy - there is an adult and children's formula. We begin to take this at the onset of a cold.
  • Colloidal Silver - This is an absolute must. Josh, definately not the "naturalist," even swears by this stuff. If you take it at the onset of a cold (within the first couple hours of when you start feeling symptoms) most times you can keep from getting sick entirely. Waiting a little longer to take it will definitely lessen the severity and help it go away more quickly. Taken along with Grapefruit Seed Extract and Oregano Oil, this is a powerful combo that will help even serious ailments.
  • Diaper Rash - if zinc oxide doesn't do the trick, then there's a good chance it is yeast related. Take a spoonful of plain yogurt with active cultures and smear it on your baby's bottom. If the diaper rash is yeast related, it should be gone by morning.
  • Tea Tree Oil - if you cloth diaper and use cloth wipes, put a few drops of this oil in your water bottle. It is a natural antiseptic, antibacterial, germicide, and fungicide, and I also like the "cleanness" of how it smells.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any ear infection tips/tricks?? My 11 month old has one in each ear (our first battle, thank goodness, but still a rough one!) and he's on an antibiotic and th NP we saw said to just keep giving Motrin for the pain. I didn't think almost a week later, he'd still be in this much pain and I don't want to continue Motrin all day, every day!

Thanks!

Jeffrey & Shannon said...

Ooh, I'm so excited about this week's topic. Thanks, Krista - this is super helpful.

Many of these natural remedies I have not tried yet, or didn't even know about. But I LOVE tea tree oil. I use it with water to clean almost anything. And I love the way it smells. My friend mixed it with baking soda, and sprinkled it on her pet-smelling rug. Several hours later, she vacuumed it up, and was very pleased with the results.

Question: is there a suggestion for where to purchase these things? Are most available at health-food or vitamin stores?

Keep it coming, ladies... I've got my pen and notebook ready!

Krista said...

Shannon,
The cheapest place I've found is www.iherb.com. Awhile back, your first order also had a discount and free shipping. Maybe they still do that?!

Terra,
I do not have any personal experience with ear infections. I have been told that they are rare if you are breast feeding. Also, and more interestingly, I have several friends who say that, without a doubt, the chiropractor is hands-down the best place to go when you have an ear infection. One of my mentors in natural things once told me that with all four of her children this was true: they'd have a fever and ear infection, she'd take them to the chiropractor screaming, they would calm down on the way home, take a nap, and wake up with the fever broken and the ear infection gone.

Anonymous said...

Well, I was breast feeding til my supply had dried up w/ this pregnancy...so, I can't help that way! :) Hopefully that is what kept the infections away for so long. We may have to look at the chiropractor route (Feel weird taking my 11 month old there! lol)

Thanks for the idea

Thomas said...

Please do NOT take a child to a chiropractor to treat an ear infection. You cannot kill bacteria by "adjusting" the spine. Ear infections can be serious and can cause hearing loss (among other things). If it does not resolve in a week you may want to seek a second opinion (always a medical doctor or NP).

Unfortunately there is no magic bullet to deal with pain. I agree that excessive use of pain relievers come with risks. Sometimes positional changes will help.

Meg said...

Krista,
I was curious exactly what type of coll. silver you use. When I looked it up, there seem to be many types and brands and I just wondered what exactly to get.
Thanks,
Meagan

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