My Natural Health Journal Entry #1

We had a lovely Bacterial strain go through our house--our family went through all winter with no major flu or colds, and here we sat with congestion up to our ears (literally-our girls had ear infections that set in). All 5 of us at one time or another squeezed into our Queen-size bed. My husband and I are softies when it comes to not feeling good, so we let our kids pile on. How do you fit 5 people on that size of a bed? Let me show you! It's a little of this:

& a lot of this:

****(Yes, those are glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajammas that Sophie and Sage picked out --we were studying the human body at our homeschooling group at the time--great find to study bones!)****

It started out with cough fits one evening for Sophie. I got my book: Homeopathic Self-Care: The Quick & Easy Guide for the Whole Family and looked up the remedies listed for coughing. With the symptoms she had (barky cough fits when laying down), I decided to try out the RUMEX REMEDY, so I gave her 3 pellets from the vial in my 30c Remedy Kit . It was 9:30 pm, and we didn't hear another cough out of her mouth until 2 am. At this point, I re-dosed the same remedy, and she fell back to sleep without another squeak until 7:00 am when she woke up for the day. This is how well homeopathy can work with everyday health problems that arise! However, if it something deeper than an everyday cough, there would be more to follow....and there was!

Over the next few days, Sophie's cough got worse, along with a stuffy nose and a sore throat that settled in. The cough remedies from the kit didn't stop the cough anymore, so I knew it was a more serious condition than just a cough. I went on to get her RELIEF for those NEW SYMPTOMS with these other things:

• I made up some SALT PACKS (salt is a nutrient that naturally draws out toxins and infections) to lay on her chest (works as a medicine or nicotine patch would, except for drawing out infection instead of absorbing a drug). To make the salt pack, I put a cup of Morton salt in a zip lock bag and had her lay with it on her chest through the night. (This got rid of my mother's Bronchitis fully in 3 nights time)
• I had Sophie take a bath in EPSOM SALT water to get her bowels moving (illnesses, viruses, bacteria and toxins can slow down the bowls, which causes more congestion, pushing upwards--hers started in the lungs, then to the nose, then to the ears, working upwards)
• I gave her FOOD ENZYMES as well to start breaking up the food in her intestines that seem to hold an illness in place
• I made some THROAT COAT TEA with RAW HONEY and LEMON to soothe her sore throat
• I also gave her the homeopathic remedy "Complete Virus", to see if it would help, if so, we were dealing with a virus.

By the time I got Sophie relief on these things, an ear infection had also settled in, which is something acute and needed to be treated in a very timely manner because of the pain aspect involved. I checked out a BLOG site that I knew had some good information on Ear Infections (Treating Earaches the Natural Way), and decided to try:

• PULSATILLA Remedy from my kit
• FENUGREEK & THYME, which is an herb that naturally thins mucus, and some
• Cold Pressed OLICE OIL Drops directly into the ear.

This completely took care of the ear infection within a matter of an hour, and she settled to sleep for the night. I could then focus again on settling the other congestion down the following day.

The next day, our other children started to develop the same cough fits as Sophie. At this point I wasn't thinking it was a virus, since the "Complete Virus" remedy had not taken care of it-- (From my previous BLOG Homeopathic Remedies to Keep on Hand, I mentioned that if a remedy doesn't work, you may need a different remedy, or it may be something you're continually exposing yourself to.....either one would fit in this case). I decided to call my Master Herbalist Consultant to get a little more insight into what was happening. Through the 15 minute consultation, she helped me to see that it was a Bacterial infection. I would do the following to fight off the bacterial infection by raising the immune system:

• baths with ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR mixed in, a natural anti-bacterial nutrient and their bodies would absorb enough through their skin. (YES! VINEGAR makes a great ANTI-BACTERIAL spray alternative to the Harsh and widely used BLEACH--our ladies at church use this in the nursery and kitchen now!)
• ECHINACEA & GOLDEN SEAL drops (a natural "pro"-biotic herb, opposite of anit-biotic) from NATURES SUNSHINE PRODUCTS, and
• the BAC HP (Bacterial Homeopathic) Remedy from Energique.

My consultant also found a really good immune booster that I ordered from a nutrition store called ACF (ACUTE COLD & FLU FORMULA) by Buried Treasure. It contains herbs and nutrients renowned for their antiviral and antibiotic qualities: Echinacea, Goldenseal, Myrrh, Elderberry Extract, Thyme, Osha Root, Usnea Lichen, and Ginger Root, Vitamin C, Bioflavonoids, Zinc, and Colloidal Silver. When I was picking this up from the store, a salesman from another company asked to see it, that he had heard about how good it was through the grape vine. He took one look at the ingredients and said, "Anything with those ingredients has got to be good! I'll have to see if we can market something similar to that." The taste of it alone, would be enough to scare any bacteria or virus away--this product now is a permanent fixture on our refrigerator shelf!

I remember my sister telling me that she once had a cough that stayed around for 3 weeks, and it was her second round of antibiotics that finally got rid of her congestion. The vinegar baths took care of it for the girls--their coughs went away completely! It was a matter of about 1 1/2 weeks to get rid of their coughs altogether--from onset to after the vinegar baths......only because they were being re-exposed to the bacteria and we hadn't found a strong enough IMMUNE BOOSTER in the mean time until using the VINEGAR! The acute symptoms (sinus, ear and respiratory infections) didn't last very long, otherwise we would have made an appt with our Herbalist earlier than we had.

I like to think of Natural Treatments to illnesses as a collective group of things you LEARN to use. This particular method of getting rid of a congestive bacterial infection may or may not work for yours, but you accumulate ideas over the years to use. As you try things, you will get more confidence and will have more methods to tap into before heading to the doctor, or in our case, Natural Health Practitioner! If you get to the point where you can't take it anymore, or you get to a brick wall without any more ideas, it's time to call on someone certified for help. Find someone that is willing to educate you in the process, so you learn what to do if a similar situation arises. My goal was to be able to someday deal with illnesses on our own with only using God's resources. Well, this is the way to do it...by learning through example of someone who cares enough to teach you!

Through ALL of this, we prayed for recovery in our precious daughters and the Lord had brought it upon us by showing us the way. Praise the good Lord for giving our family the resources to fight something like a bacterial lung infection with only his tools of herbs, homeopathic remedies, oils and nutrients. God is amazing and we thank him for blessing our family with the pathway he has led us down. May He also bless your path, and show you His way of healing, as well--He will reward you for your faith you place in Him for healing!

Health In Christ,

WHOL-E-HERBSTER

******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******