Natural Cure for a Sinus Infection!

A few weeks ago I was plagued with a horrible sinus infection. When I get sinus infections I usually get them extremely bad and the only cure until this point has been to be be put on antibioitcs. Since I am pregnant I really did not want to do this unless it was absolutely necessary. So, I decided to try some natrual remedies and only go to the doctor if I couldn't get rid of it on my own.

I am excited to share that I was able to get rid of my sinus infection for the first time without antibiotics! I felt awful for about a week, but the remedies I used brought relief within a few days and then it was quickly gone!!! I was so excited one morning to not wake up all clogged up and with a horrible sinus headache!

Trisha's Natural Cure for a Sinus Infection:

-Take 1-3 cloves of garlic a day(Garlic is a wonderful natural antiboitic). To do this get a clove of garlic and chop it up in small pieces. Next drown it in honey. Then take it like a pill and chase it with water. Do not chew it!! If you cannot do this you can also buy garlic pills, but they are not as effective in my opinion. I think it is best to go with the real thing when possible.
-Go and get a Neti Pot (Thanks Melissa for recomending this!) This is a sinus cleanser. You can buy them anywhere--CVS, Walmart, etc. Use this 3 times a day.
-When you make the salt solution add 5 drops of grapefruit seed extract (another great natural antibiotic) for each use.
-Take 1-3 500mg of Vitamin C (I only took 1 since I am pregnant)

When you follow this you should feel relief in a few days and it will be gone within a week or so. I also heard that sometimes before a sinus infection heals it can get worse. I had this happen to me. The first day or two I felt like I was getting worse and was about to go to the doctor, but then it quickly started getting better. Even if you get put on antibiotics from the doctor it can take a few days to work. If this remedy does not work and you are not feeling some relief within a week of doing all of this you may want to head to the doctor.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Any medical advice should be answered by your highly trained and qualified pediatrician. This information is only my advice and opinion from experience at what I have found helpful for my family.

Wednesday Posts!

I wanted to let you know that I have decided to post on this blog every Wednesday. This way you will know when I have new posts and when to stop by.

I also wanted to leave you all with two verses today as the election is nearly a week away.

"You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other… Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other."
--Deuteronomy 4:35, 39

May we all as Christians show everyone that the true leader and authority over us is God. He is the true leader of our nations and not the candidates running for president. No matter what happens we have victory in that our God is our ultimate leader who will reign over us forever. Let us lead this nation to the true leader!

With that said, it is still important to pray for our leaders and nations.

"First of all, then I urge the entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for a King and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." 2 Timothy 2:1-2

Please take time over the next week to lift up prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings for the upcoming election and for those that will be in authority over our country.

God Bless!

Ear Infections--Just Say No to Antibiotics and Yes to Natural Remedies

Did you know that ear infections are the number one cause for trips to the doctors office? Did you know that almost every child by a few months old has been on antibiotics for an ear infection? Are antibiotics really necessary for ear infections? My answer is NO and here is why....

Over the last 19 months I have dealt with about 4 ear infections with my son. In his early days he had a few that got bad and I put him on antibiotics. I did not want to give him antiboitics, but was not sure what else to do. Of course at the Pediatricians office I was never given any natural alternatives. I now want to share a recent experience I had with an ear infection and how for the first time I did not give my son antiboitcs. Instead used a natural alternative and it worked great! On Wednesay night he was up all night screaming and would not sleep. The next morning I took him to the doctor and he had an ear infection in his left ear. Of course immeditely the dr. wrote a prescription for antibiotics with no other explanation. I asked if I could wait a few days and they were happy I would wait to see if it wouldn't heal on it's own. She also stated they thought it could heal without them, but if it didn't in a few days go ahead with the antiboitcs. I immedietely knew I needed an alternative to anitobitcs this time and I was going to find it! God is so amazing because on my way home I drove past a health store I had never seen before. (on the way home from the Ped's office---how great!) I turned around and went in. I asked if they had garlic mullein drops for ear infections. The lady pointed me to it, which I was so thankful for. Low and behold right next to it was a pamplet on ear infections and bacteria resistance. It was by Mary Ann Block. Click here for a must read article on this topic. This statement was big on the front page--

"Studies indicate that 90% of all ear infections will heal entirely on thier own without antiboitic treatment. These same studies show that giving a child an antibiotic for an ear infection can actually cause the ear infection to last longer."

I knew at that moment that for the first time I was on the right track in healing the ear infection naturally and without antiboitcs! As soon as we got home I put two drops in each ear (in case in spread to the other) and some natural pain releiver for the earache. Then I put my son down for a nap and he slept for 4 hours without a fuss, which had not happened the last several days. Then he slept that night for 11+ hours without a fuss! I knew that the Garlic Mullein drops were working and quicker relief then antibiotics! Then on Saturday my dear friend Dr. Meg (I love her!) checked his ears and they looked good 48 hours later...

Trisha's Natural Remedies for an Ear Infection

-Go to the doctor and make sure an ear infection is confirmed
-Make sure the ear drum as not bursted. If so, you will not want to put anything in the ear.
-Get a prescription but be willing to wait a few days before giving it to them
-Go to your nearest health store or better yet have it on hand!
1.) Garlic Mullein drops or Nutri biotic drops (grapefruit seed and tea tree oil)
2.) Natural children's pain relievers for ear infections- I recommend hylands or ABC, but there are many others.
3.) I also suggest immune boosters or vitamin c to help support thier body to fight it off and heal.
4.) I have also heard that chiropractors or those in related fields can make adjustments to help with ear infections. So, if you know of somebody that would be an added bonus!
5.) Can take Garlic, Grapefruit seed extract, or collodial silver orally as they are natural antibloitcs. We did not have to do this.
6.) If your child has a cold you can put Garlic Mullein drops in thier ear for prevention.
-Then head home and put the drops in thier ear as the dosage suggests and give the pain meds. Only give tylenol and motrin if the natural remedies are not working.
-Wait a few days and see if it heals naturally. I am sure you will be surprised how quickly it heals for us it was only a few hours before we saw relief.
-If your child is not finding relief after trying natural remedies then it looks as if antiboitcs will actually be nessasary and it is the 10% that won't heal without them. But, you can be assured with knowing you tried a natural approach first.

I want to add that it is so important to not give antibiotics unless absolutely necessary! I feel very strongly about this from much research I have done. I will have a post later on antibiotic overuse, bacteria resitance, and how antiboitics harm a well functioning immune system and deplete the good bacteria to fight things off. You are doing much harm to your child by giving them antibiotics when it is not necessary. When the time comes when they actually need antiboitcs you will defintely not want them to have a resistance because of overuse when it was not needed! I also want to add that there are times when it is absolutely nessary and I am so thankful we have them to kill nasty infections!

Here are some other good articles on ear infections and antibotics from MSNBC, Dr. Green, Web MD, and Health Link.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16140545/
http://www.drgreene.com/21_768.html
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ear-infection/news/20060912/cutting-antibiotics-for-ear-infections
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002356.html


If your child gets an ear infection and you try these remedies I would love to hear your results and feedback--It will be helpful to us all!! :)

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Any medical advice should be answered by your highly trained and qualified pediatrician. This information is only my advice and opinion from experience at what I have found helpful for my family.

Natural Cold Remedies for Infants and Children

I saw on the news yesterday that again they do not think it is safe for infant/children to take over the counter cold medicines. Many have even been taken them off the shelves. I wanted to take this time to give some natural remedies that are completely safe, have no side effects, and work very effectively!!

These remedies have helped my son tremendously when he has gotten a cold. For the first year of his life he got colds really bad and I did not use any homeopathic or natural remedies. I must admit that I even used some of the over the counter medicine that is now not considered safe. EEKS!!! His colds always lasted for weeks and also had bad lingering coughs for another few weeks. For this post I want to give you other options of great remedies for children's colds since it looks like it is your only option these days anyway.

Now that I am using natural and homeopathic remedies my son usually only gets colds for a few days, they are minor, and he has yet to get a bad cough again with it.

Here are my suggestions if your little one starts coming down with a cold that you will want to have in your medicine cabinet:


-Probiotics I give this to my son everyday, which is good bacteria that will build up and help fight off the bad infections when they come in. I actually give him a supplement as I think it is the most effective, but you can find it in many yogurts as well. I will post later about the amazing benefits of probiotics and the ones I would recommend.

-At the first sign of a cold I give him things that will boost his immune system to fight the cold off. The top herbs to do this are Vitamin C, echinacea and eldeberry. In most cases I have done this by giving him Buried Treasure, Children's ACF, ideal for cold and flu season. Click on link to see details and all of the wonderful immune boosting ingredients. This is amazing stuff and if my son is sick this is one of the first things I start giving him to help his body fight it off. One of the ingredients that I love is Collodial Silver because it is basically a natural antiboitic and helps fight off infections. You can also get children's Vitamin C, echiacea, and eldeberry extract, etc. in individual forms at most health stores that are also a great option.

-Homeopathy Medicine to fight the infection and relieve symptoms. Here is a list of items you will definitely want to have in your medicine cabinet when you need it. You can buy these items at your local health store or online:

Aconit + Ferrum Phosphoricum for the first onset of symptoms
Belladonna for fever
Allium Cepa for runny nose
Kalium Bichromicum (+ saline drops) for thick mucus
Eupatorium + Oscillo for the flu

One item that has many of the above ingredients and more that I prefer to use is Newtons Nothing but Natural for Kids fever aid and infection fighter. Then I give Allium Cepa or Kallium Bichromicum depending on the stage of cold.

Natural antibiotics to Fight off infections
If I sense that there is an infection or virus involved I would suggest: Garlic, Collodial Silver, Oregano, and Grapefruit seed extract. These are all WONDERFUL natural ways to fight infections. (I will have another post later with more details about these amazing natural antibiotics. The best thing is that they don't harm the good bacteria and also cause Bacteria Resistance that prescription antibiotics cause).

--WORD ABOUT FEVERS--
One other thing that I must mention is that a fever of 100-102 is a VERY good thing!! 103 is when you need to watch it closely and consider possibly a call to the doctor for advice. 104 is a definite call to the doctor and meds to lower it. If you have a young infant you should seek a doctor for most fevers, but many times these remedies are still very helpful in lowering it instead of the other options. One pet peeve I have is giving Tylenol and Motrin to lower a fever of 100-102. This is doing much harm in fighting the infection. Bad bacteria and infection strives and grows in the normal 98.6 temp range. This is why the body rises so that the bacteria and infection will die off from the heat. If you are stopping the body by lowering the temperature you are not allowing the body to fight it off effectively. Newtons Fever aid or Belladonna is a much better option for stabilizing a fever naturally from getting too high.

May we all have a wonderful winter with colds not being a stress for our families! :)

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Any medical advice should be answered by your highly trained and qualified pediatrician. This information is only my advice and opinion from experience at what I have found helpful for my family.

List of BPA Free Bottles and Sippy Cups

Since children are a big target of concern for BPA and other toxic platics, I have compiled a list of Safe Sippy cups and Bottles. There are many other items that can be of concern in the plastic world that I will discuss in other posts, but I feel this is the most urgent. With my son I have tested out several of these and at the end will give "Trisha's Top Picks" for these items.

Most of these products are BPA, PVC, and Phthalates free. You may be surprised that the brand you are using is actually on the safe list. Many of these options are very cheap, but of course there are others that are on the more expensive side. You can purchase these at many local stores, online, or at my healthy families amazon store.

Also, note that even if you see a brand, it doesn't indicate that all of their other products are safe.

Click on links to see items that can be purchased at amazon.com

Safe Bottles:
Born Free Bottles
Medela Bottles
Parents Choice Bottles from Walmart
Nuby Bottles
Avent Bottles
Browns Baby Bottles (make sure these are the new ones. They were recently replaced)
Adiri Natural nurser bottles
Momo Baby bottles
Green to Grow Baby Bottles
Think Baby Bottles
Siliskin Glass Bottle
Sassy Mam Ultivent Bottles
Weego glass baby bottles
Gerber Clearview Bottles
Playtex origonal nurser Bottles
Playtex plastic drop in liners

Safe Sippy Cups:
Thermos Foogo Sippy Cup
Kleen Kanteen Sippy Cup
Nuby Sippy Cup
Avent Magic Cup
Sigg Water Bottles
Think Baby Cup
Born Free Sippy Cup
Evenflo Sippy Cup
Safe Sippy Cup

Note: I am still working to compile a complete Safe Bottle and Sippy Cup list. This is not yet finalized with ALL of the Safe Sippy Cups and Bottles out there. But, I will continue to update it regularly as I find new ones. You can access this list with the updates on my Label sidebar under Safe Sippy Cups and Bottles.

My Top Picks are:
Cheap Bottles/easy to find: Avent
More Expensive/order online: Momo Glass Baby Bottles

Cheap/Easy to Find Sippy Cups: Nuby
More Expensive/order online: Thermos Foogo Sippy Cups