Showing posts with label toddler health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toddler health. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Toddler Cold Medicine - Home Remedies in the Cabinet


One of the ways parents can limit toxins being ingested by their children is to use home remedies as toddler cold medicine. Professionals advise that parents minimize use of over-the-counter medicines for their children unless they are truly needed.

Here are a some natural remedies to use when your children have a soar throat and cough due to a common cold or flu.

For Common Cold and Congestion
(Check with your nutritionist on dosage for a child younger then toddler age)

Avoid mucus producing foods
(Dairy products, red meat, oats and gluten containing grains. Bananas and Soya products)

Ginger Lemon Tea: To soothe mucus membranes
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice in one cup of hot water. Add 1 teaspoon of juiced ginger. Let steep for 1-2 minutes then strain to remove ginger. Take as needed.


Fresh ginger: To help decongest sinus cavities
1/2 teaspoon juiced ginger, given in a spoon with Manuka raw honey. 2 times daily

Propolis syrup or lozenges: Anti-viral.
Follow directions on the box

Echinacea syrup or tincture: Boosts immunity.
0.5ml 3 times a day until symptoms are better for a maximum of 10 days

Honey garlic vinegar mixture: anti-viral, anti-bacterial
1 teaspoon Manuka raw honey with a bit of crushed garlic and apple cider vinegar. 2 times daily

Eucalyptus oil: To soothe mucus membranes.
Put 2-3 drops on your child's pillow at bedtime, on his t-shirt during the day or in a humidifier.

Salt water nasal spray: to clear out the sinus passages
Can be purchased from the pharmacy; administer as needed

Topical Vitamin E: for older children, to soften and heal the nose's mucous membranes and blood vessels Squeeze the contents of a vitamin E capsule into the nostrils at bedtime

For Cough

Avoid mucus producing foods
(Dairy products, red meat, oats and gluten containing grains, bananas, soya products)

Honey garlic vinegar mixture (as above)

Eucalyptus oil (as above)

Zinc lozenges: to boost immunity; 1/4 tablet for toddler.
For an older child follow instructions on the packaging or ask your pharmacist

Vitamin C: to boost immunity
Start with 500mg 2 times a day (reduce if child gets diarrhea)

Magnesium: to ease tightness in the chest
Or obtain by consuming more magnesium-rich foods such as almonds or
From supervised supplementation if necessary (consult your nutritionist)

If you do use over counter medicines please try and also use the above suggestions. This will help limit the amount of over counter medicine you will have to give to your child per day until their cold symptoms subside. For example: Save the over the counter medicine for night time to get a good night sleep.

A Baby Lymphatic Massage

The Benefits
A Lymphatic massage stimulates the lymphatic system, which runs through the entire body and is a natural draining system that filters out unwelcome molecules and attacks microbes. During illness a lymphatic massage assists in boosting a child's immunity and speed up his recovery.

How to Administer

1. Use a natural oil such as almond oil, or vitamin E oil (especially good for children with Eczema)
2. Start at the feet and work up. Use short, firm strokes. It is important to work upwards towards the heart, as this is what drains the lymph nodes.
3. Do twice a day, 20 minutes, working all the way up to the throat. Just before bedtime is highly recommended. If your child has a soar throat he may complain at this time that it hurts him, like a scratchy feeling. Use a more gentle stroke at this time, but try and complete the procedure for maximum benefit.

Giving your baby a lymphatic massage is a simple task with high reward. Many parents continue to administer this massage even after their child is well because of it's comforting, relaxing effects for parent and child. It is also a great replacement for a bath before before bedtime to help prepare your child for sleep mode.

These home remedies are just as effective, if not more, then the average over the counter cold medicine. In conjunction with a lymphatic massage, make no mistake this combination has a very powerful effect.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Baby and Toddler Health - 9 Items to Go Organic



For a family to purchase all it's grocery items in organic form is extremely costly, which is unfortunate because everyone has the right to be healthy and raise their children on healthy foods that are free of toxins and synthetics. But the truth is organic foods are very costly with the reasoning being the amount of time, effort, and hands on approach the organic growers have to implicate in order for their crops to be toxin and synthetic free.

It is common nowadays for parents to be much more conscious of their baby and toddler health and food intake on a daily basis, including keeping as many toxins as possible out of their body and eliminating household toxins.

According to the Organic Center of Education and Promotion, there are specific fruits and vegetables that retain pesticide residues at a higher level than others and it is these foods you should buy organic as much as possible.

The foods listed below are 9 ways to go organic and help reduce toxin exposure to your family and help keep the numbers down on your grocery bill.


Fruit


* Peaches
* Strawberries
* Apples
* Nectarines
* Pears


Vegetables


* Celery
* Spinach
* Squash
* Sweet bell peppers

So if you are looking to keep your grocery expenses down but don't want to lose out on the value of buying organic foods, concentrate your efforts on "Go Organic" with these 9 foods and build from there.

Do you know the difference between natural beauty products and organic ones? Besides the major health benefits of organic products, do you know the other plus points of going organic?
Go Organic! Here's Why.