I loved winter until our kids, no matter how carefully I cared for them or bundled them up, got sick. I don’t remember any sick summers but plenty of cold days with colds. Eventually well-meaning busybodies usually badgered me into taking my children to the clinic, after which we usually returned with nothing more than expensive advice to “keep doing what you’re doing.”
Our tried-and-true methods held up pretty well against COVID. After that I stand even stronger by the best tips from my doctor, pharmacist and other mothers.
Decades ago when fevers struck our oldest child, my doctor advocated letting them burn. His nurse urged fever reducer for even a few tenths of a degree above normal. I trembled while rocking my child through the night, wondering if I should listen to my doctor or nurse. I don’t think I would have persevered without the moral support of my sister-in-law. Success gave me confidence, and I became quick to watch for dehydration and offer small, frequent amounts of however much liquid a feverish child could keep down, particularly a nursing child, but I’m now a firm believer in my doctor’s method to incinerate germs. I do intervene with a pain reliever that breaks fever if it is interfering with sleep, however. Usually after a few days, the fever has done its work and breaks on its own. I would enlist the help of a doctor if it doesn’t, in case it’s indicating a hidden condition that needs medical attention.
Our children generally bounced back to health, but during a bout of “flu-like illness,” I wandered the medicine aisles, trying to decipher the over-the-counter ingredients. Our pharmacist came alongside me and offered a brief tutorial that has seen us through almost three decades of childrearing. I already knew that sleep is necessary for recovery, but my pharmacist taught me that stopping a troublesome cough or runny nose with a decongestant like psuedoephedrine can bring on a sinus infection or pneumonia. Alternatively, a cough suppressant like dextromethorphan with an expectorant like guaifenesin can give relief and hasten healing. Similar to a fever, a cough is there for a reason and must be worked with rather than against.
I also use a warm salt water gargle or drink vinegar water (2 teaspoons per cup) to tame a cough, along with lots of fluids. Honey is good for promoting respiratory health; vinegar is good for about anything. For a really stubborn cough that wakes me during the night, I peel and eat a whole orange, drinking a cup of warm honey lemon water afterwards if necessary. It rarely is.
To stop an illness in its tracks, we first turn to a dropperful of astragalus root three times a day, usually before meals. Next, throughout the day we drink three glasses of vinegar water (preferably homemade apple cider vinegar with the mother), usually one glassful after each meal. When worst comes to worst, we gargle those glasses down with two long gargles per hour which we then swallow. Since vinegar is very acidic, I use it conservatively, like the other remedies (and often followed by brushing or a milk chaser unless I’m dealing with coughs and congestion). Very young children, of course, can’t gargle at all.
When backed into a corner, my last resort is colloidal silver, 10 parts per million, a teaspoon 4 times per day (1/2 tsp. for children 12 and younger) for 10 days. This is a natural antibiotic and must be used in conjunction with some form of acidophilus like yogurt, kefir or pills to replace the good intestinal bacteria that will be killed (along with the bad intestinal bacteria). I was usually terrified into using this, like the mother who first recommended it to me. She said the first time she gave it to her son, she stood in the dark at the foot of his bed, knowing that in the morning she would probably be bringing him into the doctor for pneumonia, again. After trying silver, she never made another routine morning trip to the clinic. Neither have I.
We loved our doctor but rarely paid to see him. He’s retired now. Our family still uses poultices for skin infections, vitamin D to compensate for reduced winter sunlight and the freshest, the most natural local sources we can find of milk, eggs, sweeteners, fats, meats, fruits, vegetables and flour. We hardly ever eat out, and baking together is the highlight of our celebrations, along with eating our creations. We put a premium on Bible study, fresh air, exercise, sleep, kefir and our own organic garden produce. I feel better than I did in my 20s. When my husband turned 60, he looked forward to it being a little easier to win his new decade category in our town’s annual 5K run. He’s won since then.
Coronavirus hit my husband the hardest of us all. In addition to vinegar and astragalus, he pushed liquids and used pain relievers to help him sleep. His body ached, with a low temperature which kept him feeling cold. Head congestion affected him, our youngest and me the most, along with the low temps, but mostly we were very sleepy and let ourselves rest. I hadn’t slept so much in years. We both suffered little and recovered quickly. We took vitamin D, astragalus and vinegar, along with plenty of liquids and good food. He tried ginseng, green and pau d’arco tea for his head and throat, but he thinks any good tea would probably do. He took zinc, magnesium, vitamin C and D supplements, along with elderberry lozenges. Though he didn’t feel like eating, he crunched down carrots and apples, and ate kefir and yogurt. He believes time and a variety of good, and especially raw, foods is the key. Overall he did a really good job with taking it easier, and he is a workaholic who continued to teach his 7-8 grade science students online, which meant he was available almost always, day and night. He recovered slowly, but the next time COVID came around, recovery was faster and symptoms lighter for everyone.
Twenty years ago we used to get strep throat each fall, with all of us going on antibiotics. Since the vinegar gargling treatment, only one of us got it again: our overachieving daughter who was too busy in college to use it. When I mentioned this treatment to my uncle, he said, “Oh, Grandma Tillie’s hooch.” It warmed me to think we were using one of my favorite grandma’s home remedies. I didn’t know she used any. I don’t tell everyone that I do, either, but I’m so thankful others have shared their best tips with me so that I could pass them on. And these days, I even love winter again.
cclay.org 