at what point, if any, do you pull out the otc meds?

[Beauty4Ashes]

I'm slowly moving away from the idea of using conventional medicine. I'm not to the stage of searching out a homeopath or a naturopath just yet, but maybe one day...Yesterday, Danny's last dose of tylenol was around noon. I stopped giving him tylenol for his fever and just continued giving him rest, fluids, healthy foods that he would eat, gave him a bath, wet wash cloths on his body when he was burning up, and time...finally his fever broke, 16 hours later. I'm starting to get that if the body is not well, than maybe just maybe it's trying to tell me something--slow down, get some rest, eat more, something is out of balance. We'd been using foods to help with colds/stomach bugs for a while now. But we hadn't completely given up otc meds. What do you use instead for coughs/sore throats/stomach bugs/etc., other than nutrition (hot teas with mint or ginger, yogurt to help with intestinal problems, for example)? And at what point do you use tylenol or otc meds? Or do you stick with homeopathic remedies? I have Smarter Medicine for a Healthier Child, but haven't read all of it yet...

[simplegirl]

We had a stomach bug not too long ago and breastfeeding and cuddles was my only defense, and even the breastmilk wouldn't always stay down. I don't know if you're still nursing but breastmilk is magical in and of itself. Put it in ears, nose, and eyes for infections. I do use tylenol every once in extreme cases where we just need some rest for awhile or such. But from what I've gathered, the fever IS fighting the infections so it's best not to try and reduce it by using tylenol. Also the things you suggested, like rest and such are good. Also (still don't know if you're still nursing), but I take extra vitC when they're sick so some they will get more through the milk. I'm trying to head in that direction as well as you .

[freshwaterfish]

If it's a fever, I keep an eye on it during the day, but no OTC drugs, I just let it run its course. At night, if he's restless and having a hard time settling down, for a fever I would give him some chewable tylenol, cause good rest will help him recover more than letting the fever run it's course in my experience, and I find fevers always seem to run highest at night, and Micah tends to throw up when it hits a certain level, which means even more accelerated dehydration...

For colds, I use a salt water saline nasal spray to open up his passages, lots of sugar free cranberry juice (watered down) for the vitamin C, and hugs and kisses. If he has a terrible cough, I will give him a cough med at night, again to aid his sleep more than anything. During the day I don't give him anything unless he's coughing so much it's making him throw up.

[Marielle]

even having been through a febrile seizure episode with my youngest I don't break out the tylenol for a low grade fever.

A while back I bought Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Jill Romm after seeing it mentioned at the back of her vaccine book. It's been a wealth of info because it has tons of recipes that you can pick and choose to use instead of the pricey ready made stuff from the NFS. My two mainstays are 1. a healthy kid tea blend that I read about in HEM magazine and 2. A cough syrup herb blend from the Romm book I mentioned.

I bought the herbs in bulk from MRH and then blended them, and finally packaged them. The cough syrup (with lots of good immune boosters and honey for soothing the cough) keeps for 2 months in the fridge so I always have a batch ready. The healthy kid tea I give on a daily basis or less often depending on how often I remember.

Around here the issue is colds that settle into the oldest's chest requiring nebulizer treatments. So in order to head that off or soothe it if it's gone far enough I keep a vaporizer on hand and add eucalyptus oil in the water then run it all night.

Other than that just having the book on hand as a reference and having a pedi who is very inclined towards natural remedies is great.

[The Tickle Momster]

The Zand book is fabulous! You don't have to read it all, just look up what you're dealing with and go from there. There's a section on what to have on hand in your "emergency/first aid kit".

For fevers, I'll pull out tylenol if it gets too high (above 104 for us) or like pp said, the child just needs to rest. Otherwise, comfort measures, liquids and lots of tlc.

I also keep a stock of Herbs for Kids on hand. We use their echinaccea/astragalus blend, tummy blend, calming blend and fever support. I also have a very basic stash of homeopathic supplies as well.

[Iarwain]

I break out the Tylenol when the child is totally miserable and I know it will help them rest so they can put their body's resources into healing, if they're in a whole lot of pain (like a bad ear infection) or if a fever goes above my comfort threshold which is usually about 103. There are certain OTCs I don't/won't ever give. I won't use a cough suppressant or cold medicine for me or my children because IME it just prolongs the problem. I don't use any of the OTC things for tummy bugs because IME they don't help much. Resting the tummy and using ginger (which although a food, is also herbal medicine) works better. Tummy bugs we usually just ride out with supportive care like you mentioned. Fevers and coughs/colds are more likely to have me breaking out the homeopathics. It is very rare for me to resort to conventional medicine. It's usually just not necessary. Even with six kids in the house a bottle of children's acetaminophen usually expires before it gets used up.

I dont want to highjack this thread but would it be possible to post that cough syrup recipe because I have a little one with a all night cough right now?

[MidnightCafe]

For my family, the trick to getting better usually involves getting better sleep. If an illness has been interfering with sleep for a several days, then we consider OTC meds.

Otherwise, we use garlic or grapefruit oil in the ear, heat packs, and lavendar oil around the ears for earaches.

We use eucalyptus oil in an infuser & in the bath for stuffy noses.

We use Yogi throat tea for sore throats, and sometimes we'll chew on a whole clove (as in cloves, not garlic). Clove numbs the throat. Mane doesn't like it (says it's too spicy), but I don't think it's too bad.

We eat roasted garlic, take vitamin C, use echinacea, and visit our chiropractor as an immune system boost whenever anybody starts getting sick or when other people in the house are sick.

For stomach bugs we drink ginger or peppermint tea & eat yogurt.

For sore, tired, or pulled muscles we use tiger balm, evening primrose oil, and Immortelle (an essential oil blend).

We also have some various homeopathics that we use occasionally. I am more familiar with essential oils & herbs (and even there, I'm no expert). I only use homeopathics on a trusted recommendation from someone else.

[me]

There really isnt much food cant do that a natural remedy can. We rely mainly on foods.
Over the years I noticed that our body started reacting more and more to foods as a remedy. I was like you and took the approach of sort of weaning us off of otc's. I thought we would have to start using eo's and stuff but the opposite happened. Our body adjusted to foods instead and we havent had to us either much.
We use to use tylenol for fever and pain but with time our fevers didnt require it and the foods kept things from getting painful. (I have used it over the past year for dd's dentist visit and a couple of growing pains that woke them during the night)
And cough syrup the same, with time our body started reacting the same to foods as to cough syrup. I did use some once when we all had a cough that bothered us at night and ds started vomiting. I wish I had gone to the doctor instead because turned out, foods werent working because that time it was allergy enduced asthma. So we dont use cough syrup at all. If foods dont help we will go to the doctor to find out why.
And for stomach bugs foods always work faster for us now too. This last one was really bad so I automatically bought pepto for the adults. I gave the kids foods and we took some too. We didnt even have to open the bottle of pepto.
When we use foods we also learn what our bodies dont want. And if we eat things our bodies dont want odds are we get sicker. Like with dairy, legumes, and nuts. If we eat those things we will often have sinus or ear problems along with out allergies or colds. If we crave oranges/fruit I let them eat as much as they want. Which usually means we are fighting something and when we do finally break in a fever it is for a short time and very tolerable.
If I look in my medicine cabinet I have:
1.adult/childrens pain reliever for unforseen emergencies because I dont think anyone should ever be in pain.
2.pepto-never been open, will probably throw it out
3.benadryl-we have severe allergies, I use that for emergencies (our epi pens have never been used)
4.Occsilo.... (I always forget) but this we use instead of eo's when we have the flu or instead of a flu shot
5.Guifensen we use at first sighn when foods arent potent enough to keep things flowing. It usually expires but the few times we will use is enough of a boost to keep things mild and quickly recoverable.
That's it. Everything else is just food/herbs

[SansSouci]

I've given up the cough/cold meds - they never seemed to help anyways.

I've given up Tylenol, b/c I'll just use Motrin - and I pull that out when temps get up above 101 b/c I get freaked out! (I prob need to read more about that.)

I have bought a children's homeopathic kit, so when I think about it I'll read that.

My first measure is always the humidifier/vaporizer - it seems to really help (cough, stuffy nose, etc.).

Then again, the kids aren't sick all that often, so it's not something I really deal with too much.

I love the book ideas to have on hand! I'll have to check those out! I always check askdrsears.com to see if there are other things I'm not thinking of.

[J3K]

Marielle...another thing to have on hand , if your child doesn't have high blood pressure and is over the age of twelve....licorice root. I love the stuff. Keeps those lungs open and functioning. So does fenugreek...and that you can give at any time.


To the OP :
I just bought some otc medicines yesterday. We were completely out and dd refuses to swallow pills. I bought some dye free benadryl , which we always have on hand anyway because of food allergies , and some generic ibuprofen.

I give otc meds when the child is miserable. No clear cut answers to that...just when i see the child is horribly uncomfortable.

Otherwise we use the things you'd find in the back of the book you said you had...by Zand....it's got some good stuff in there.

[Marielle]

thanks for the rec J3K - I now know what it was like for my parents as the caregivers of 3 childhood asthmatics (thankfully we all outgrew it in our teens). My mom too pumped us full of natural remedies from the homeland including shark oil, weird garlic concoctions and anything else anyone mentioned LOL.

[cobluegirl]

pretty much what they said..I don't even have children's tylenol or motrin in the house. I do take Ibuprofin for my headaches occassionally. I have benerdryl.
Everything else is herbal or homeopathic. Last time we needed some tylenol..I just broke one of ours in pieces..

[Beauty4Ashes]

I read through all the responses, took notes, and had some questions:

Marielle, what is MRH and this HEM magazine that you refer to?

Where can I find the occsilo and guifensen and yogi tea?

The funny thing is that it was dh and mil who taught me about some of nutritional ways of relieving stomach bugs. Before we got married, he brought me a dish of potatoes with olive oil, parsley, and green onion. I had a stomach bug the day before, and he felt really badly about it. He brought me the potatoes to where I was working and told me that it would help my stomach. It was the first time that I heard that you could actually EAT something if you were having diarrhea/vomitting; prior to that, it was saltine crackers and ginger ale/gatorade. He told me that olives, cheese, and fresh oregano are helpful for digestion after a meal. So is tea. His mom gave us two different herbal teas, ones that she prepared from herbs that she cleaned and dried. One is good for the stomach. The other one is slightly sedating; it won't make a person unable to operate heavy machinery or anything like that, just gets the yawning going a little. They taste good together. There is this spice mix called zatar, I think it's a mix of thyme, sesame seeds, and other ground spices (Marielle, maybe you saw it in the D.R.?), you eat it with bread and olive oil. It's also good for the stomach. Dates are good for the digestion, or so I am told. Raw milk is the only kind that you will find in Syria, and it's pretty cheap. Over in Syria, and I think also in many parts of the world, fruits are given as a dessert because it also helps the digestion process along, so dh and I adopted that practice in the evenings after we drink our tea.

I think also that a whole lot of mommy touch/massage helped him. He was in my arms almost all day yesterday and slept in my arms last night. I did the same with Bashar at night when he had a fever on Sunday.

[Marielle]

sorry for the undisclosed abbreviations.

MRH - Mountain Rose Herbs an online store for buying herbs in bulk (although you can buy as little as you need, it just was hard to find some of the herbs at wholefoods and their prices were more expensive than MRH).

HEM = Home Educator Magazine. The recipe for the kiddie herbal tea was in it:

Kids Herbal Wellness Tea
(Sophia Dobra - HEM)

Mix together equal parts of: (about 2-3 tablespoons each)

chamomile, dried leaf and flower
Rose hips, dried
Lemon balm, dried leaves
Hibiscus, dried flowers
Spearmint or peppermint, dried leaves
nettle, dried leaves
elder flower, dried
red clover, dried flower

Combine all ingredients in an airtight glass jar and label. To serve steep 2 tablespoons in 2 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes. Sweeten with honey or add a bit of fruit juice to both sweeten and cool the tea.


I've heard of zatar before but haven't tasted it myself. That's neat, I may have to get some now. Geegee just saw your post and I'll see if I can post it tonight. It has a laundry list of ingredients (most that I had to find online) but I now have the herb mix in the pantry so all I have to do is brew the base, reduce it and mix with honey.

m2bd - in DR for diarrhea we give plantain soup or just plantains in general since it has a stopping up effect plus it fights the dehydration. Thanks for passing on the food tips. Keep them coming!