Another Sick Day...

It doesn't seem that long ago that my baby girl was sick, but got over it pretty quickly on the yogurt, which in turn saved me a trip to the doctor.

I faced the same challenge again, although this cold seemed a little worse, and as always, I was a little bit worried. I pretty well refuse to take my kids to a doctor anymore since all they want to do is give them antibiotics and drugs, which haven't worked for my kids anyway in the past.

So far, for over a year now, we have done great with treating our ills at home the old fashioned ways, and with a big boost from yogurt.

So when she came down with this cold, I just started letting her eat whatever she wanted, as long as it had nutritional value. Spaghettio's is good because it has a full serving of veggies in it, and she loves spaghettio's.

I also bought her some non-medicated saline nose drops for her nose. Last time I talked to my mom, she told me how there is no medication in them, but it seems to be the quickest way she gets over a cold, so thought I would try it this time.

So I have, and even aside from the reassurance that it is drug free, it also really frees up her airways in her nose! Her nose looks really great after I spray some in there and in fact she seems to feel better as well.

So she has been on this regiment for the last 3 or 4 days and is now pulling out of it. Keep in mind, after I started this regiment (including uping her yogurt intake), I closely monitored her to make sure that she got progressively better, not worse. If she had gotten worse, or became lethargic, etc, I would have taken her to a doctor. She never ran a fever with this cold and she got a little better every day.

So, here is her regiment in a nutshell:
1. all the yogurt she wants
2. all the saline nose spray she needs
3. any healthy food she wants (spaghettios, soup, anything with vitamin C)

That's about it for this one! had she been running a temperature I would have given her the proper dosage of Tylenol. If the Fever does not go down with over the counter medication, something else is probably wrong and you should take your child to a doctor immediately. This happened to my son once when the doctor I guess he didn't believe me, so he went on with a 104 degree fever for 4 days and finally checked him out and found that he had Mononucleosis. (yes, the kissing disease) and he contracted this when he was only 2 years old. His doctor said he had never seen mono in a child this young. He contracted it from someone in the daycare (which I pulled him out of), ended up the daycare was on probation for something and when I notified them to tell them to tell the other parents the exposure to mono, they didn't notify anyone.

That is why I am an at home mother now. You can't really trust your kids to anyone. be careful out there!

Here's How to Minimize Your Childs Sick Days

Author: Darrell Miller

Article:
A healthy diet is critical in keeping your children healthy
especially one filled with power foods such as organic yogurt
and whole grain cereals; cooking with spices; drinking organic
orange juice and elderberry; including omega-3 fatty acids from
wild salmon; consuming lots of colored fruits and vegetables;
and avoiding sugary drinks, artificial sweeteners and sweet
candy. Make sure to also add in adequate amounts of rest, as you
do not want to drive children too hard or overload them.
Additionally, try not to pressure your doctors into making
antibiotics their first choice. Although there are times when
they are needed overuse of antibiotics can actually weaken your
child's immune system.

Many recent studies have found that a healthy population of
beneficial bacteria in our children's stomach is extremely good
to their health as these good bacterial strains help to keep our
children resistant to germs carried by their school friends. One
of these studies shows that special strains of probiotics can
reduce daycare-related illnesses. Probiotic milk may also
slightly reduce respiratory infections in these children. In one
study which took place over a seven month winter period, 571
children attending daycare centers in Finland were given milk
with or without a specific probiotic blend. During this study,
parents recorded any respiratory symptoms such as fever, runny
nose, sore throat, cough, chest wheezes, and earache, or
gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and
stomachache. The actual number of days where these symptoms
occurred was much lower in the group of children who received
probiotics, causing fewer absences from school and a smaller
requirement for antibiotic treatment.

Many pediatricians are now recommending the use of age-specific
probiotics to give your children the support they need in
fighting off germs. It seems as if pediatricians are
increasingly recommending giving probiotics to children instead
of prescribing antibiotics. This is partly because 20 percent of
children develop antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD), which is
a severe diarrhea that can cause them to miss even more school
days. Studies show that children given probiotics even during
antibiotic treatment experienced reduced AAD incidence. Giving
your child or teen probiotics is one of the safest and most
beneficial things you can do to support their overall health.
These probiotics safeguard your body from a buildup of harmful
bacteria, yeast, and fungi, while enhancing immune function,
improving gastrointestinal health, and helping to support colon
health.

One amazing fact that most probiotic companies have ignored is
which probiotics you should take depends entirely on how old you
are and your condition. Unfortunately, most companies only offer
a one-size-fits-all probiotic. Babies and toddlers should have a
predominance of Bifidobacteria such as B. infantis, B. bididum,
and B. breve. Adults, on the other hand, should naturally
contain high concentrations of lactobacilli, such as L.
acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, and L. plantarum. Those probiotics
that are right for adults are not right for a teen or child, and
once you're over 55, your needs change again. Researchers have
discovered that after age 55 is reached, the populations of
helpful Bifidobacteria start decreasing steadily. Therefore,
adults in their later years will need higher potencies of
Bifidobacteria strains once again.

About the author:
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