Cold and Flu Survival

You often hear parents say that their children tend to get frequent colds once school start. Is this normal? How can I minimize their symptoms?, they ask.

Statistics indicate that the average schoolchild has several colds a year. Comforted, falsely, by statistics, parents accept all manner of cold and flu as “normal childhood diseases”. “After all”, we tell ourselves, “it could be worse. What’s a case of the sniffles or the odd ear infection now and then? It’s something all kids need to go through.”

This is erroneous thinking. Health, not sickness, is the body’s normal state of being. Just because all the other kids at school are sick doesn’t mean yours have to be. You can maintain a respectable level of wellness for your child even in the face of the nastiest colds and flu.

Herbs are especially useful in healing flare-ups of the upper respiratory system. Many of the therapies presented below are preventative so the old adage that “all kids get sick” doesn’t have to prove true in your home--it certainly didn’t in mine!

Sore Throats

Gargles are an age-old method of bringing soothing substances to sore throats. To see if your child is capable of gargling liquids: Have her hold a small mouthful of plain water towards the back of the throat. If this is easily done, gargling can become a fun activity by vocalizing, causing the liquid to vibrate. If vocalizing makes your child uncomfortable, simply have her retain the liquid in the throat while you count, encouraging her to hold it a moment longer. Be sure the liquid is expectorated (spat out) so the toxins drawn out from the swollen tissue are not swallowed.

Salty Lemon Gargle

The astringent properties of lemon juice and common table salt (or, for a more pure version, sea salt, found in all health food stores), when combined with warm water and used as a gargle, shrink swollen tissue. As a result, this classic blend reduces the inflammation and pain of sore throats while providing excellent anti-microbial protection. Combine the juice of half a lemon with one tablespoon salt in 1/2 cup warm water. Have your child gargle with this mixture at least four times a day. To further enhance the astringency and anti-microbial action of this gargle, mix the lemon and salt into 1/2 cup sage tea instead of plain water.

Grapefruit Seed Gargle

The extract of the grapefruit seed contains potent anti-microbial as well as astringent constituents that help relieve an inflamed, sore throat. Add 4-6 drops grapefruit seed extract (purchased in health food stores) to1/2 glass water. Have your child gargle with the diluted extract, spitting it out after each gargle.

Soothing a Congested Chest

When yours or your child’s chest feels tight as a result of cold or flu and coughing is painful, a ginger rub will bring herbal heat to the chest. Ginger’s stimulating properties increase circulation and help loosen things up, with greater comfort being the happy result. I can remember times when this remedy was so effective that the next night my son required an onion pack to stop the incessant coughing from all the loosened phlegm!

To prepare this rub, mix together 1 tablespoon each powdered ginger and a non-petrolated petroleum jelly.

The mixture will look rather like brown frosting. But don’t eat it, instead spread it on the chest, then cover with a cotton t-shirt.
A reddening of the area is normal and indicates that the ginger is increasing circulation to the capillaries near the surface of the skin.

In the morning, the petroleum jelly will have been absorbed, and the ginger will have worked its magic, as indicated by your child’s ability to breathe more easily.

Another wonderful reason to use ginger: A Brigham Young University study revealed that this herb significantly decreased nausea and diarrhoea associated with the 24-hour flu.

Fluids

The best and most important fluid for the body is good quality water. At all times, but especially during periods of illness, the body’s need for water must be met to enable the proper manufacturing of proteins, enzymes, and hormones. When the body is physically compromised, it must be kept well hydrated so that its chemical processes facilitate healing and the flushing of toxins and this is especially true for infants and children.

Dr. Zhang recommends Jade Screen a most trusted herbal formulation for children and adults who experience frequent colds and flues.

Information on this site is provided for educational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional.

Herbalese.com makes no claims as to efficacy or safety of products appearing on this site. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.