kids and the common cold and homeopathy

I'm going to copy from FB, it's a long and technical read but it explains everything really well!

PART 1

Winter almost seems to be upon us, and it is time to boost immunity early to prevent feeling miserable, flaring temperatures and no appetite and just feeling low. n mother wants her bay/child or child to feel this way, so let's examine some of the first symptoms of winter: catarrh...

I have had many inquiries the past months about ‘snotty noses’, better known as catarrh in children.

When the body functions normally, special cells (goblet cells) in the mucous membranes lining the orifices of the alimentary system, the respiratory system, and parts of the genito-urinary system produce mucous. This mucous lubricates and protects the sensitive tissues lining of these parts of the anatomy. If germ life, foreign matter or toxic substances enter the body, they are then entrapped in this sticky substance mucous, and eventually excreted from the body as catarrh (flowing mucous).

Catarrh is derived from the Greek words, cata (down) and rhein (flow), literally meaning, ‘to flow down’, as snotty noses run down. So as long as catarrh is allowed to flow, you as a parent will know that the body’s natural defense system is working properly. Not flowing continuously, but allowing to flow and clear the body of toxins, implies a proper functioning body immune system. Obviously if your child has a permanent snotty nose or can’t breathe then you need to address the “foreign matter or toxic substances enter the body” and its origins and what can be done to eradicate this and the symptom, catarrh.

Now if you accidentally cut your skin or finger, your body goes to work forming a scab to protect exposed cells and prevent microbes from entering the body, through the cut. If you dropped a strong solution of acid onto your skin, or burnt yourself, you will see a blister form within minutes and thereafter a scab appear to protect the exposed cells in the ensuing healing process.

Bio-chemical fluid in the body that become acidic, is also a source of irritation in the body and causes inflammation and the production of excessive mucous. The excess mucous is not the dis-ease – it is simply, the cell’s natural response to the problem of being bathed by an acid medium. Rather than combatting the mucous, rather ensure loads of water so adjusting the acid medium of the cells to a more alkaline medium, and through detoxification. As water will slowly start to dilute uric acid and more breathing to expel toxins, as the lungs and kidneys are essentially two organs that can regulate acidity in the body.

Nothing in the human body is static, and everything in the body must move to accomplish its day to day function, and catarrh is no exception. Catarrh’s presence may even herald the beginning of a cold or flu or other elimination processes, which is the body’s attempt to heal itself by throwing out entrapped microbes that cause disease. Unfortunately, the universal response is to visit a doctor and leave with a host of anti-biotics, which will unnaturally stop the flow, therefore preventing the body from allowing its natural flow of elimination.

Germ life and toxins cannot thrive and reproduce in our bodies without substances to feed on. Stagnant mucous provides this substance, and thus an environment for germs to thrive in. The use of medication to suppress catarrh containing germ life, toxic substances and foreign material, implies driving it back into the tissues that are so desperately trying to expel it. Here it functions as a low grade poison, interfering with cellular metabolism and serving as a constant irritant, doing far more damage and planting the seeds for chronic disease, leading to the degenerative stage of disease.

It is best to blow mucous continuously and gently from your nose, the flow itself encouraging the body to heal quicker by throwing out trapped germs and toxins. Coughing up and spitting out mucous will also help. Swallowing back down the throat is not dangerous as stomach acid will render the microbes harmless and pass them out through the rectum.
So when a cold or flu appears at the time of catarrh, do not suppress the cold or flu using antibiotics of pharmaceutical drugs, as we do not need a cure for the cold and flu, as the cold and flu, is the cure itself… PART-2: how the Thymus gland helps to make antibodies; PART-3: how antibiotics feeds the sickly cycle and PART-4: Natural alternatives that works optimally to enhance the health of your baby/child...

Gloei, what you say about their immune systems being under-developed is very true. From what i've ready and heard they are normally much more fully developed by age 3, so you should start seeing an improvement by then already.

If you find out the name of that probiotic please let me know. At the moment I give him the probiflora junior chewables (they're the cheapest) and he LOVES them and thinks they're his sweeties LoL.

ooobaby - thanks for sharing your combo.

Hi!
To cut a long story short, been there done that got the tshirt on every snot nose vrot tonsil bug you name it my 2 year old got it every 2nd week at nursery school.
I tried all the well known brands. He needed antibiotics every time it was soooo bad.

Then started researching.
There is no ONE multivitamin syrup that covers all the immune boosting vit & min requirements..
I came up with the following combination & it works like a bomb.
He's been taking this since Dec and has not had a fever, been to the Dr or required antibiotics ever since.

It is very important that you do not skip days unless indicated to do so.. even if this means you are running late one morning and you go to work without makeup so be it!

WEEK DAYS (Found best prices at Dischem)
Chocaton Syrup - 5ml - mornings (+-R50/ bottle)
Zinplex Junior Syrup - 5ml - mornings (+- R35/ bottle)
EyeQ liquid - 5ml - mornings (+- R120/ bottle expensive but worth every
cent!!)
Herbaforce Sinus & Post Nasal Drops - 5 drops in a teaspoon of water mornings & evenings. (+-R50)

SAT & SUN
Take a break from the syrups, only give the herbaforce drops mornings & evenings as usual.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THE DREADED SYMPTOMS START.. ie Grumpy, snot nose, cough.. (BEFORE THE FEVER STRIKES!)

Up the Zinplex dose to 10ml - mornings
Give additional 5 drops Herbaforce at lunch time
Do not take weekend break on the syrups.

Within 3 days he is all back to normal as if the symptoms had never started.

At first i didnt beleive it was working.. but over the past 4 months he has started with symptoms 3 times and then miraculously his body has bounced back without needing antibiotics.. YAY!!!!

Here's whats in them if anyone is interested.

Chocaton - Vit A
B1, 2, 6, 12
C
D
E
Nicotinamide
Calcium

Zinplex - Zink
Selenium
Vit C

Eye Q - Omega 3 & 6 oils

Herbaforce drops - Pulsatilla
Sambucus nigra
Flos et folium
Hydrastis
Canadensis
Kali bichromat
Kali mur
Allium cepa

Oh and just for interests sake.. my child is a big medicine "puker upper" .. almost always threw up when he had to take the antibiotics. Now he gets excited in the mornings to take his "special medicines" .. i have tasted them & they are all quite nice.. chocoton is like a thick chocolate sauce, the zinplex has like a turkish delight flavour and the omega oils have a lemon flavour which is suprisingly quite pleasant.

I have a couple of friends whou have tried my combination & they now all swear by it.

Good luck! I hope it works for you, because if there's one thing worse than any other torture, it is sitting in a waiting room for an hour with a sick toddler.. wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.. gives me anxiety just thinking about it!

Huggles, thank you for taking the time to reply.

You are making a lot of valid points. I am starting to think that nothing seems to help.

However since she has been on the long term nose spray and deselex the intensity of the colds have decreased. Where she previously almost always had infected tonsils (receiving antibiotics then) she hasn't had that once since we started the chronic nosespray/deselex.

I have been doing some reading now (don't know why I haven't googled before posting today?! ) and the main cause of the repeated colds is due to an underdeveloped immune system in young children. Many articles claimed that the only thing you can do is to try and strengthen their immune system. The last time I was at the GP he swiftly mentioned a new product on the market, a probiotic with a spesific strain that fights colds and have been proven to make a difference. I got a pamplet, but lost it! I read about these type of probiotics in articles about creche syndrome. Will have to contact my DR again and get that name.

Many articles stressed the importance of a healthy diet for youngsters. (We do eat lots of raw food, little processed and minimum sugar).
Articles stated that by the time kids turn 5 they have developed a stronger immunity indicating that you should just "ride it out" untill then. PHEW...Sigh....

I will look at those products you have mentioned since it seems that is all that you can do, strengthen immunity!!

Thanks for sharing your experience it helps so much to know of other parents going through the same thing.

I finally took logan to a homeopath last year after he got his 9th course of antibiotics when he turned just 10 months old. Honestly I didn't really find it helped much, I felt like she gave me the "wrong" remedy more often than she gave me the right one. So I'm not sure if it was just my homeopath getting it wrong, or if they weren't really helping much for the general run of the mill snottiness that seems to be part and parcel of winter.

However she did refer us to an ENT as he had chronically red ears and he landed up with grommets and had his adenoids out and has been SO much better since then. But then again it's also been summer so who can really tell. But they deifnitely did help him as now a bit of snottiness is just that, and then disappears, whereas before it would turn into tonsillitis, ear infection, and sinusitis.

I'm seriously hoping that since he's been so much better the past few months and has now been antibiotic free for about 5 months that this winter will go much better.

Looking at all the things you are giving her, I have often foudn that they are actually better off without all the extra multivitamins. My friend swears blind that Creche guard always made her child ill. I gave it for a while but don't anymore. Also gave zinplex for a while but don't anymore. I do, however, currently have him on the Vital Viral Boost (www.vital.co.za/cms/2012/09/vital-kids-viral-boost/).

Regarding all the nose sprays - given that they are stated as chronic nose sprays I guess it would be ok to use long term, but I do know that some nose sprays (iliadin etc) must not be used longer than 5 days because then they actually have the opposite effect and cause more snot. So perhaps consider taking her off all the nose sprays for a week or two and see if that doesn't help. Personally I have always been very anti-nosespray for myself, but I then I dutifully gave it to logan after the paeds and gps prescribed it and I honestly never noticed it doing a darned thing.

I sometimes think it's best to actually just let the body do what it needs to do as sometimes all our interferance just makes things worse.

You can also try looking at the tissue salts as an option though if you want to try something - check out www.natura.co.za for those.

Ladies,

I am at my witts-end. Ever since my LG started going to school she has been struggling with regular colds. I know this is normal. It is said that 12 colds a year is seen as normal. My GP said that there is nothing you can do about this apart from giving a good multivitamin. These regular colds are called "creche syndrome".

She has been much better since I took her off dairy from Jan this year and only got her first cold a month ago. She has not been even back at school for 2 weeks and now I can't send her again because she is sick. The school is strict on not allowing sick children to school, no cough or snotty nose allowed. That means she will be at home for the next 2 weeks again and then the school closes for the next month. That means she is at home for the next 5 weeks! I work from home with no extra help which means it puts me under quite a bit of pressure.

She is currently taking the following supplements:

1. Biobalance immunova. (Immunity booster highly recomended by pharmacists, with fulvic acid)
2. Viralchoice multivitamin tablets.
3. Omega 3&6 (I give this 3 times a week only)
4. Calcium supplement (Since I took her off dairy, only give it every second day)
5. Low dose Deselex anthihistiamine suryp. (As prescribed by GP and urologist to help prevent colds)
6. Low dose chronic Antihistiamine nose spray, used daily
7. Daily Probiotic
8. Salt water nose spray
9. Scotts emulsion (I give this 3 x per week)

When she was younger I falled into the trap of giving her antibiotics if the GP recomended it, but for the past year I have not given antibiotics once for a cold.

Now, my question is....has anyone had success with homeopathy in the sense that you could prevent the colds from happening so regularly??

I would really appreciate the input as I am really down in the dumps with this situation.