Summer colds

Sorry you're sick and have to miss church I HATE missing church too! :) Keeping hydrated may help your sore muscles. Feel better.

I'm so sorry to hear that the girls are sick too! Hope everyone feels better soon. ♥

Thanks for the well wishes. My younger two and I seem better today. Just runny noses/scratchy throats. My oldest, Maddie is much worse. She is my asthma/allergy girl and everything hits her much harder. I actually took her to the doc today because her breathing was so restricted. =( Anit-biotics and steroids, as well as her normal asthma meds now. I am so sad to admit that her asthma does not get better with age but worsens. We're making appot. with a pediatric pulmonologist. *sigh*

I'm so sorry about her being so sick that she needed so much medicine. Our Kina had asthma as a grade school girl and it was such an unsettling thing! I have developed allergy related issues as an "older adult" and when they turn towards asthma it is scary! Does she take any herbs to help build up her system (like ALJ)?

I add Vit. D liquid drops to both the girls' drinks and also give them an elderberry syrup (called BerryWell from Beeyoutiful.com) I have not heard of the one you mentioned. I would have liked to avoid medicines but was not seeing any improvement with natural remedies... and the girls has to be able to breathe! So I still give them the supplements but they aren't enough on their own.

She is doing a lot better today. The steriod and antibiotic went right to work. She's playing like usual today. And yes it sure it unsettling! She gets frantic when she can't breathe and I feel pretty helpless to help her with this.

I'm so sorry about the sickness your family has been dealing with this week. I work a lot with herbs and have seen firsthand how effective they can be in healing, as they work with the body rather than against it. But in serious cases like your daughter's I think it's very important to get help. So glad the meds have brought an improvement. I pray you all are well soon!

If you or any other ladies are interested, here is a glycerite/tincture I developed a few months ago to help my family fight bugs.

- 2 parts echinaecea leaves
- 1 part yarrow flowers
- 1 part red clover leaves

Fill jar with herbs 2/3 from the top. Add water to about halfway level of jar, then add vegetable glycerine until the liquid is 1 inch from the top. (The liquids will need some time to soak into the herbs so give it time to ensure that you've added enough.) Screw on lid and shake well. Place a small towel in the bottom of a slow cooker then fill pot half full with hot water. Put the sealed jar into the pot. Cook on low heat for 3 days. After 3 days, strain the mixture. Store the liquid in a tightly capped bottle. Label and store in a dark, cool place.

Add about 12 drops to a glass of juice for adult dosage, 6-8 drops for child dosage.

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A few months ago my mom had developed a bad cold in a single day. I gave her two doses of this tincture that day and also had her place her head over a bowl of hot water with essential oils added (towel draped over her head) to help break up congestion. She was almost completely well the next day! The rest of my family has taken the tincture whenever we've felt the smallest signs of catching something and have always been successful in avoiding it.

Why I chose the three herbs:

Echinacea is one of the most powerful antibiotics on earth, it fights bacterial infection, strengthens the immune system, stimulates the lymphatic system, and purifies the blood of toxins.

Yarrow helps with stomach complaints and muscles cramps, reduces diarrhea, cleanses organs, tonifies (builds up) the blood and kidneys, opens skin pores, induces sweating, soothes mucous membranes, and helps abundantly with respiratory ailments.

Red clover stimulates the liver and excretory system, fights infection, boosts the immune system, tonifies the blood, liver and kidneys, expectorates phlegm, reduces inflammation of the lungs, relaxes the body and relieves pains.

Of course, I am required to state that I am not licensed to offer medical advise and this is purely for educational purposes. (I am studying towards a naturopathic degree through an herbal academy, however. =)

Shaklee Kids' Incredivites are also amazing vitamins! They have lactoferrin to build immunity. Warning: they will give your kids tons of energy!! LOL! Anyone I know that's tried them will swear by them.

Maybe I should take them :)

LOL! they are tasty! I take Ortho-Mollecular complex with Iron. I tried the Shaklee adults, but they are tablets and I didn't think I was fully digesting them. The O.M. are capsules (they are what Dr. Streeter recommends.)

Before my kids started the Shaklee Incredivites, my daughter didn't seem to have much energy, and they seemed to pick up every little sniffle and cough. Now they have tons of energy and only get sick if I fail to give them their daily vitamins. I couldn't say enough good about them!

Vitamin D3 is also incredible for immunity. I buy the highest dosage I can from the health-food store (I hear you can't get too much, especially if you are sick!) I buy jell tabs. You can bite the tips off and squirt them into your babies' mouths.