Cold & Flu Treatment & Remedies: My Home to Yours

Every mom has it, a cold and flu survival kit.  An arsenal of go to remedies that helps their family survive cold and flu season.

In our home we take a number of preventative measures.  Then I have the tools I use before the storm and then the whole arsenal is in rotation if we end up in the eye of the storm.

I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice, it’s just one mom sharing her toolkit.

PREVENTION

Hand Washing

It’s the most important tool in fighting cold & flu.  We use the PND Foaming Handsoap and water and wash for 30 seconds. We often sing a song. Don’t use antibacterial soaps which likely contain triclosan and aid in the development of Super Viruses. Wash often, wash well!

Multi Vitamin

I give both my children a daily multivitamins. My pediatrician thinks it’s a waste of money, but harmless. My Internist (an Integrative Doctor) thinks it’s worth while.

Vitamin C

Lil’ Dude & Diva get a daily dose of Vitamin C (250 mg) during the school year.  I feel like it helps their immune system.

Humidifier

Lil’ Diva has been having ongoing issues with a morning cough this fall. We’ve put a humidifier in her room to help her sinus’ move any congestion and it seems to help. The extra moisture in the air is supposed to help the little hairs in the sinus’ clean better (according to Dr. Oz).

Personally I take a plethora of vitamins that help keep me healthy – more on that another day.

Neti Pot

I don’t use this for prevention, but many people do and swear by it.

Perhaps you’ve seen Dr. Oz demonstrate the Neti Pot on Oprah or now on his own show.  I haven’t tried it with my kids, but have seen pictures of children using them on flckr.

Using the Neti Pot with a solution of warm salty water will help thin out mucus, clear your sinus cavity and flush out the very area were the little buggers are multiplying. While I know there are benefits to using this daily, I use mine when I’m feeling a bug come or when one has set it.

What they don’t tell you when you see it being demonstrated?  The first time you use the Neti Pot it feels almost like you’ve taken a dive in the swimming pool and the water went the wrong way. The good news, you quickly get used to it.

The Neti Pot is also useful for people with Chronic Sinus Problems.  Dude uses “Sinus Irrigation” for his asthma and feels that it helps (he uses the plastic bottle – it looks more like a nasal spray).

If you must use the plastic bottle, don’t feel compelled to buy the packets to add to water… simple table salt will do the trick just fine without the waste and expense.

WHEN YOU KNOW IT’S COMING

They aren’t sick yet, but you can see the signs. You have multiple children and one is sick, it’s time to give the siblings systems a little help.

Echinacea

If one child is sick and the other healthy we give echinacea to the healthy child only. My understanding is that echinacea doesn’t help once the virus has settled in – it only aids in building immunity prior to being sick. It also shouldn’t be used for more than 14 consecutive days.

Tiger Balm

If they are showing signs of congestion I will rub them down with tiger balm. It can be a little burning on sensitive skin, so I’ll use a layer of Un-Petroleum Jelly first and add the tiger balm on top. I rub the chest and glands on the neck.

Methylcobalamin B12

My understanding  of Methylcobalamin B12 (Melthylated B12 or MB12) is that it is Vitamin B12 that has been  to enable the body to absorb vitamin B12 better, in it’s regular form B12 doesn’t readily absorb.

My first experience with MB12 was in a nasal spray.  To get a nasal spray you need a prescription and a compounding pharmacy – this is the only one I know of that produces the spray.

The good news is this is now available without a prescription in a lollipop form called Revita Pop!  Much easier for the kids!

The minute I get a sore throat I take the MB12. It typically instantly makes it go away, if it comes back again the next day, I take it again. I also give this to the littles when they are coming down with something.

Many people are using MB12 in their battle with autism, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome and other maladies as well.  It’s worth looking into if you have health concerns.

Look for a review and giveaway for Rivita Pop soon!

Zinc Gluconate

This is a remedy that my husband and I use, but not as consistently as other remedies and I haven’t used it for the children.  Zinc is found in Cold Ease and a few other products. It’s great to take if you are going to fly and helps prevent you from getting sick if you’re around others with cold and flu. Apparently it works because it attaches itself to the same part of the cell that the virus would attach to, so if the real estate is occupied it has no place to go. Zinc may interfere with the absorption of antibiotics.

Neti Pot

When I know it’s coming – I start the irrigation. It would be better to use it daily – I just don’t have the time!

General Prevention

I have stopped using all Splenda and never give this or any sweetener to the children.  I have no scientific data, I used to use splenda in my daily coffee and I would drink Diet Black Cherry Hansen’s soda everyday.  It seemed that I would get every bug the kids dragged through our home, I was healthy for a week or two, sick for a week or two – seriously.  Since eliminating splenda – no cold or flu.

NO MORE DENIAL – THEY ARE SICK

Black Elderberry

Apparently Black Elderberry contains an enzyme that inhibits the ability the virus to spread. There seems to be evidence to support it helps with both Influenza A & B.  We use the liquid form.  It actually tastes pretty good and the kids are always trying to cough so they can have some.

I was careful with Little Dude, because he has some berry allergies, he was fine with the Elderberry.  Meaning the first time I gave it to him I tried a small dose during the day.

Vitamin C

When I feel a bug I start to load up on Vitamin C, I’ll also boost the children’s dosage.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol)

I use acetaminophen to reduce fever in for my children, and when I get headache and such. Others may opt for more natural alternatives. For the number of times we actually use Tylenol, I’m OK with it. It is so effective at relieving symptoms and easing the discomfort.  I am careful not give them more than they really need.

Neti Pot

When I’m actually sick, I use the Neti Pot to help keep my sinus’ moving. I will use it multiple times a day.

Tiger Balm

I keep this going until we’re healthy again.

Closing

I’m sure there are many other remedies that work for you. This is simply a compilation of what works for us.

Please remember, I am not a doctor. The information in this post is simply to share what we use in our home and what works for me. It is not a substitute for advice from your own doctor!

Love PND? Please support our work and take a minute to visit our sponsor hessnatur – a world leader in the natural clothing industry.  They offer a great selection of organic and natural fashions for the whole family.

RevitaPOP – the B12 Lollipop: Review

Longtime readers will be familiar with my experience with Vitamin B12 or Methylcobalamin B12 (Melthylated B12 or MB12) is that it is Vitamin B12 that has been  methylated to enable the body to absorb vitamin B12 better, in it’s regular form B12 doesn’t readily absorb.

For those who are not – B12 is one of my go to cold & flu remedies.  There is no scientific data to my knowledge supporting it’s use.  That said, I know when I get a sore throat – a dose of B12 and the sore throat is gone.

The challenge with this natural remedy is getting your hands on it in a way that our bodies will benefit from it.  You can’t just take a tablet.

You can:

Order it from a compounding pharmacy in Georgia with a prescription.

Make your own compound using 5000 mcg sublingual tablets crushed into .5 oz of water in a dropper or nasal spray bottle (Read Comments in Diva Cold & Flu Tool Kit).

Find a Doctor who administers B12 shots.

The B12 lollipop – revitaPOP – a delicious Lolli that no child will turn down.

In our family we use this remedy treating the common cold, but many say they have had great success using B12 with ADHD,  Irritable Bowel,  and autism to name a few of the symptoms they list on their site.

While their statements have not been evaluated by the FDA they do list numerous sources & studies pointing to it’s efficacy on their site.  I know if I had a child that suffered from autism I would be willing to invest in a few lollipops to see if I noticed any improvement.

revitaPOP contains – no gluten, no casein, no Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’S), no FD & C Colors, no dairy, no artificial flavors, no dyes, no synthetics, no pesticides, no preservatives.

Ingredients – Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Rice Syrup, Organic Fruit Juice, Citric Acid & Natural Goji flavor.

Children may safely take 1 Revita Pop, adults may take 2.

My one wish was that they had formulated  revitaPOP without  Cane Juice – and that it was a little less expensive.  Revita Pops are $34.99 (plus shipping) per bag of 30 lollipops.

Conclusion:
RevitaPOP is a great way to easily administer vitamin B12 and it’s so yummy no one will feel even know they are taking their “medicine”.

They are currently offering a promotion that gives customers who subscribe to receive one bag monthly will get free shipping and get a bag of lollipops for the cost of shipping and handling ($10) when they subscribe.

Ready to Try revitaPOP for Yourself?

Enter to win a One Month Supply of revitaPOP – A $45 value.

HOW TO ENTER:

There are a few ways you can enter, leave separate comments for each entry.

Mandatory

Become an Email Subscriber to PND using the form in the sidebar.  Leave a comment with a name I can print in our newsletter if you win!

• The subscription must be confirmed. You will receive and email that you must reply to for your entry to be valid.
• Already a confirmed Subscriber. Complete any one of the additional entries options – Leave a comment letting Diva know you’re subscriber name and the entry option you selected.

Additional Entries

1. Go to RevitaPop and share your favorite fun fact about this great company!
2. Stumble, Digg, Kirsty, or Technorati favorite this post. Leave a comment with your name and the link.
3. Follow @purenaturaldiva (use link on the sidebar)  on twitter. Leave your twittername in a separate comment.
4. Become a Fan of Pure Natural Diva & revitaPop on Facebook. Post this giveaway as an update, leave your FB Name or Name with a copy of your update in a separate comment. One entry for each.
5. Tweet this giveaway. Copy and paste “WIN a One Month Supply of revitaPOP Vitamin B12 Lollipops a $45 Value Diva Giveaway  http://bit.ly/aFC7kB @purenaturaldiva”. Then come back and leave the direct link to your tweet (go to your twitter account, click on the words when your tweet was sent (ie. 5 seconds ago) and copy and paste that link in comments.
6. Write a post on your blog linking to my blog and to the – Good for two entries. Leave this comment twice so you get both entries!

This giveaway will run through midnight on April 10, 2010 PDT, with winner being announced April 12, 2010 in the PND Newsletter. Winner will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entriesl. Winner will have 24 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen.

Giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.

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