Cold & Flu Protical For Kids

No, I don't mean putting the kiddo in the corner. But it is time to chill, call in sick to everything! Relax, it all can wait. 

Once again, a cold is the body's way of saying it needs a break. As soon as you know that you are sick call the person at work responsible for sick people and call in sick. DO NOT be a hero. 

Most people push their body's through colds and refuse to eat the right foods to support their body during illnesses. As a result your cold get worse and worse eventually mutating or turning into Pneumonia. Once you hit this point you seek medical assistance, and end up on steroids and antibiotics. These drugs wipe out your good bacteria, the main line of defense against future colds. This results in repeat colds year after year, as well as repeated antibiotics year after year. Slowly your immune system and gut flora is diminished. This wreaks havok on your body's health leading to autoimmune diseases, yeast infections, infertility, poor digestion and chronic illnesses.

Furthermore, forcing your sick body to go to work only ends up sharing the nasty bug with all your coworkers and customers. Most coworkers do not appreciate this, and you're not doing anyone any favors.

Stay home, get well, you are of no use to anyone sick, and you'll heal faster at home.

The following shower protocol boosts your immune system and helps increase blood flow (also boosting your immune system):

Start with warm water, as hot as you can stand for 3 minutes.

Next cold water, as cold as you can stand for 3 minutes.

Repeat this 2 more times, for a total of 3 Hot sessions and 3 cold sessions ending on cold and then get out of the shower. Do not do this longer than 3 minutes for each session and the 3 total sessions, it's very powerful and can overwhelm your body.

Do this twice a day for the duration of your cold.

This is ok for children but don't force it! It can be a shock and hard to tell the appropriate temperature changes. Check out these other options...

Other options: You can also do this in the form of a foot bath: get a tub of hot water and one of cold water and transfer your feet back and forth every 3 minutes, but set up and clean up can take it out of you, so a shower is probably the best option if you're sick.

Rotating warm/cold wash cloths on the forehead can have a similar effect. 

Now that you have a day off it may be tempting to catch up on random things around the house. 

Take it easy... Go to sleep or Netflix and chill. Don't do dishes or laundry. Don't pick up the house and don't clean the bathroom. Just take the day making space for your body to heal!

Gargle with warm water and honey to ease your sore throat. 

Honey and Lemon Tea - Place the juice of 1⁄2 lemon and 1 tbsp of honey in a cup. Top with boiling water. Allow to cool and then drink.

Apple Cider Vinegar Compress - Apply an apple cider vinegar compress to the throat area to ease a sore throat.

1. Pour 1⁄2 cup of cider vinegar into a large bowl.
2. Top off with boiling water.
3. Leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
4. Soak a cloth in the liquid, wring out and apply to the throat area.
5. Lie down and relax for 15 minutes with the compress on the throat.

Congestion is the most frustrating part of having a cold!

If you find yourself unable to breathe or your head feels like a pressure cooker, you can try the following soup, but have a tissue handy because your nose will start to dripping pretty rapidly! 

Onion & Bone Broth Soup

Start by dicing up a raw onion

Next choose your broth: 

Bone Broth (is the best, if possible)

Beef Broth

Chicken Broth 

Vegetable Broth

Heat the diced onion and broth until steaming. Then eat immediately while its still warm, with out burning yourself. 

The zinc in the onion will help with congestion while killing the cold. 

Repeat twice a day for the duration of the cold. 

Take a Steam Bath

This is SOOO amazing for kids and babies!
There are several ways to get the steam into the nostrils:

• boiling a saucepan of water
• Move the pot to a table that's comfortable to sit at
• draping a towel over your head to block the steam from escaping
• and then bending over the pot and breathing in the steam.
• You can also add the following herbs to the boiling water to help...

Turn the shower on as hot as possible and stand in the room or to the side of the water. 

Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Tea Tree can help release blockage.

Mustard Foot Bath

Fill a large bucket or bowl with hot water.

Add 1 teaspoon of mustard powder and stir to disperse.

Place feet in the bowl and stay for 15 minutes or until water starts to cool.

This will help to reduce congestion as well as pull toxins out of your body.

Gargle Salt Water

If congestion gets so bad that mucus builds up on the back of your throat, you can gargle with warm salt water to clear the passage. (Remember, Celtic Sea Salt is best and then Pink Himalayan Sea Salt)

Thym Tea

Warm water and steap with fresh time stems.

Onion and Honey Cough Syrup

• Dice up an entire onion and place it in a canning jar
• Cover with honey
• Let sit for about 5 hours
• The zinc and juices will be pulled out of the the onion and into the honey.
• The concoction will turn into a light syrup. 
• Take a spoonful every couple hours
• It's REALLY yummy, so enjoy ;) 

Garlic Tincture

You'll want to make this in advance before your next cold...

• Place 5 peeled garlic cloves in a glass jar.
• Cover with organic vodka or brandy and seal.
• Leave to infuse for 2 weeks.
• Strain and take a tsp as required to ease a cough. Can be taken up to three times a day.

Barley Water - For that Dry Tickle Cough

• Add 2 tbsp barley to 1 pint water.
• Boil for 10 minutes.
• Strain through a muslin cloth and add the barley to a fresh pint of water.
• Boil this batch for 10 minutes.
• Strain and drink warm or cold, as often as required. 
• Add lemon and honey to taste, if desired.

Warm Water and Honey

A Note about Fevers

Fevers are the body's way of killing the bad bugs inside. Try to work with your body and not against it. Allow a fever to persist and stay hydrated, with WATER or the rehydration drink below.

Rehydration Drink

1 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Celtic Sea Salt

18 fl oz filtered water

1  3⁄4 pint apple juice

• Place the sugar and salt in a jug.
• Add the water and apple juice.
• Try to drink throughout the day.

Garlic Oil

• Crush a couple Garlic cloves into a saucepan
• Add Olive or Coconut Oil and heat on simmer
• Heat as hot as you can while still able to bear touching it to your wrist
• Strain out the garlic and pour the oil into the infected ear
• Place a hot cloth; as hot as you can stand over the ear
• Switch with other warm cloths as the first cools
• Hot pack for at least 15 minutes

This works best when you're in the middle of extreme pain from the earache. 

Do not make in advance always use a fresh batch.

Garlic

Don't have time for the above?

Peel a garlic clove and just stick it straight into your ear. 

You can even crush a little to release the garlic's essence.

Hot pack like the protocol above

Onion

Cut an onion in half and place over the infected ear.

Hot pack like the garlic above

If you feel up to going outside, try to get out into the fresh air for just 10 minutes a day. If you can't get the energy up to go outside, try opening a window. 

Because of the cleaning products that we use today, there are now more toxins inside our homes than outside! If your house or bedroom has started to smell like a stuffy sick house let some fresh air in and you'll be feeling better in no time! Open windows if even for a short time. 

DO NOT use products such as lysol, bleach or anyother product claiming to kill the illness it is doing more harm than good. 

To truly clean the air in the house burn sage sticks! Sage with lavender is so calming.

Keep sheets and cloths switch out and clean. 

Put as much raw garlic in your food as possible!! You can even boil chopped up piece in your tea water and strain out!

You can use the above recipe for the onion and broth soup or you can use the onions in the rest of your cooking to help kill the cold.

Another way to utilize onions during a cold is to use the following onion protocol:

• Cut an onion in half
• Chop the first half into large chunks and put it in a bowl by your bed.
• Dice the second half and put the diced pieces into two socks.
• Put the socks on and sleep with the onion socks on your sleep.

The onion will absorb the toxins in your room as well as pull them out of your body.

Use Tumeric in your cooking with the above onions and garlic.

Tumeric has antimicrobial properties and anti-inflammatory properties, so it can help kill colds and viruses.

Lunch idea:

• Dice up an onion
• Dice up a bell pepper (high in Vitamin C)
• Crush a couple cloves of Garlic

Add all of the above to a frying pan with some coconut oil and sprinkle generously with tumeric. Stir fry until desired... Enjoy!

Coconut Oil has both antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Use in your cooking, or just take a spoonful twice a day. (Keep it in a warmer location, like on top of your fridge or a hot water radiator, so that it's liquid and goes down quickly)

Honey can help a sore throat feel better. Lemon is antimicrobial and high in vitamin C.

• Heat up some water
• Mix in your favorite mug with a teaspoon of honey
• Once the honey is melted in, add a squeeze of lemon and your Echinacea tea bag.
• Let Steep for 10 minutes
• Enjoy!

• 1 or more cloves of garlic 

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 

• ¼ teaspoon chopped ginger 

• Juice of a lemon 

• 1 teaspoon honey 

Add a little hot water. 

Take 2-3 times a day for the first day. After that, take as needed.  

Stay super hydrated... with WATER, coconut water, teas,etc!!! 

Drinking energy drinks, soda, gatorade or other sugary drinks (or sugar in general) kills your immune system for up to 5 hours! 

If you're concerned about electrolytes, use celtic sea salt in your cooking or put a pinch on your tongue to dissolve, coconut water also has electrolytes in it but DO NOT use the above drinks to boost your electrolytes: they don't work that way and make you sicker.

Dairy creates more mucus while you're sick. So avoid Milk, Cheeses or ice cream because it will just make you more congested.

As I mentioned above sugar kills your immune system so try to avoid sugar including stevia and agave while you're sick. Obviously honey is the only exception to this rule.

Your body is busy fighting off a virus, so don't eat foods that are difficult to digest. 

Fruits, Vegetables and good clean fats are the very best.

It's okay to avoid protein and best to avoid simple carbs like bread for the course of the illness and a few days after.

Think of this like a replacement for cold medications. Also, you'll want to make it in advance before your next cold, or in time for the end of this one.

• Peel and crush 8 cloves of garlic.
• Place in a glass jar and cover with honey.
• Allow to stand for several days.
• Use as needed (1 tsp children, 4 tsp for adults, twice daily).

Most people reach for vitamin C to fight colds, but Vitamin D is actually the most crucial in keeping the common cold at bay.

Get into the sun for at least 10 minutes a day during the winter. the lack of sunshine exposure through the winter months leads to a decreased immunity.

You can also get a vitamin D supplement, but take it in conjunction with getting outside, natural D is the best source!

This is the Vitamin D that I take, and recommend to all my clients

A virus cannot take hold in the body unless you're deficient in antioxidants, so keep up on your intake to help keep viruses away...

• All Berries: Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Cranberries and Cherries
• Dark Chocolate (Not Hershey's Milk Chocolate, but dark, 75% or more, no sugar added chocolate, or pure cocoa)
• And Artichokes (believe it or not are ranked the highest in antioxidants!)

Everyone reaches for Oranges. However, below is a list of foods that have more vitamin C than an orange:

Bell Peppers

Kiwis

Acerola Cherries

Rose Hips

Black Currants

Thyme

Parsley

Mustard Spinach

Kale

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Lemons

Papaya

Strawberries

Don't keep things serial. Not all bacteria is bad in-fact there is soooo much good bacteria in the world as we are learning with our guts. 

The dirt is full of vitamins, minerals, and microbial(s) that we need to be exposed to even just by putting our hands in it. 

Get outside and get dirty! 

If you've had antibiotics in the past, your immune system has been compromised. You'll need to replace your gut flora and the good bacteria that you need in your body to fight off future colds and viruses. 

If this is something you're interested in, check out my Gut Healing Protocol.