In my relatively short incarnation as a mother I have been blessed with a very healthy daughter. She’s only suffered from a cold and runny nose. Excuse me while I go and knock on as many wooden surfaces as possible…
…okay, I’m back.
I would give just about anything to keep my daughter from ever getting sick, but I know that is not possible. Someday, probably before a much anticipated vacation or family reunion, she will get sick., I will be terrified and do my best to nurse her back to health.
When I was a child, my mother operated as a walking pharmacy. At the slightest sign of illness, she would pull out some jar of pills and tell me to take one. I’d look at her skeptically and ask, “What are they for?” She would shake her head at me for questioning her and answer, “Dyust take eet! Eet make dyou feel good.” (Just take it! It’ll make you feel good.)
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Well, I took them and sometimes they helped and sometimes they did more damage than good. One of the pills that my mother routinely gave me caused iron-deficiency and a vitamin tonic that she insisted I take every morning was pretty much just a shot of alcohol. My mother meant well, but unbeknownst to her at the time she was sending me out into the world anemic and drunk.
I believe in better living through science, but my mother’s methodology was ridiculous and I’d rather follow the example of my grandmother. My nana knew all sorts of natural remedies that truly worked. Unfortunately, my nana has long since passed and taken most of her knowledge with her. I will do my best to research homeopathic remedies for my daughter and my family.
I understand that many times traditional medicine is unavoidable, necessary, and a blessing, but I feel strongly about using homeopathic remedies whenever possible because I know from experience that sometimes the cure is worse than the affliction. (As I write this, I am dealing with very sever complications that have developed as a reaction to medication I’ve had to take for iritis.) My goal is to keep my family healthy with as little toxicity as possible. Wish me luck.
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I pray that your little one will always be happy and healthy.
Homeopathic remedies are a favorite of mine as well…
I agree with your take on the modern medicine sometimes making this worse!
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That is so true though. Think about those damn drug commercials and how they list the plethora of horrible side effects if you take em!
I'm with you on trying not to over-medicate our kids. I was sick a lot when I was younger and was on one antibiotic after another and ever since I stopped taking them as an adult I've been sick far far less. It's tough though as a mom I, too, never want to see my kids not feeling well and the impulse is to reach into the medicine cabinet.
Me too. So far, my little one's only been sick once…and I haven't had to give her any “drugs” ever. Well, except for a little Tylenol. I hope to keep it that way too.
My daughter has been very healthy and she is almost 5. My son, has been pretty healthy, but has had many illnesses along the way…oxymoron?
I want to learn more of the Native American ways. I think that before people came here from England and brought disease with them, the Indians used herbs and plants to keep healthy. I know what you mean about the side effects of the meds that are considered safe should not be making us sick or introduce a different and sometimes worse symptom. I hope your eye is better soon.
I was just reading another post today about natural oils and things to put on a Shingles breakout. And I commented on how said it is that we are losing these remedies.
Well, homeopathic remedies can at least be relied not to do any harm in and of themselves – a complete absence of any active ingredients ensures that much.
Natural remedies that really work tend to end up as part of the body of mainstream medicine, think of aspirin which was derived from willowbark – willowbark tea was a traditional headache remedy, penicillin from a bread mould – bread poultices were commonly used to treat wounds long before penicillin was “discovered”, vitamin C to prevent scurvy – the consumption of citrus fruits was recognised to prevent scurvy centuries before the link between the disease and vitamin c deficiency was established.
I'm all in favour of not medicating unnecessarily but when my kids have a bacterial infection that's making them miserable (ear infections in particular, or secondary respiratory infections after having a virus) then I'm not going to stuff around – off to the doctor we go for antibiotics – no perforated eardrums or double pneumonia in this house thank you very much.
Having a kid get sick with a cold or flu or tummy bug is pretty miserable, but the human immune system is pretty cool, it'll deal with most bugs by itself and for the times when it needs a little support I for one am damn glad of paracetamol, antihistamines, antibiotics and cough suppressants. I'm also really grateful that none of my kids have ever needed the big guns of modern medicine – but I'm very glad that they're there for the people who do need them.
So while I don't believe in unnecessary medications, I do believe in treating what needs to be treated. Does that make sense?
All I know is when I got sick, my Nana would cake on the Vaporub and wrap me in papertowels and shove me under a heave San Marcos blanket. 🙂
I remember the day of calling the dr. and just asking for a prescription for an antibiotic over the phone. Everyone did it-and what do you know; it was NOT good for our children or any of us for that matter.
The story about your mom was a crack up. Anemic and Drunk…what WAS she giving you? 🙂
I agree with Mimbles. If your child has say the common cold then their immune system should be able to get rid of it. But, when they have ear infections and fevers and such then they do need the doctors and the meds.
Funny this post should come up now, my son (2.5) has a stomach virus type bug, he has had the runs all week, snot and no appetite and a horrible cough…ears are fine (which is a HUGE concern for us since he is deaf in one ear, we must baby the “good” ear) chest is fine….but now my husband was not happy the doc didn't “prescribe” anything for him for the runs or the cough, I told him he is a baby and it has to run its course. The doc said no dairy products, a bland diet and either pedialyte or gatorade to be sure he doesn't get dehydrated. He is especially ticked because now our son has a diaper rash and just bawls when I have to change him. SO….I take him to yet another doc tomorrow for a second opinion…wish me luck!
I amended my post slightly after reading your comment because I don't want it to come across like I wouldn't use or even hesitate to use traditional medicine when necessary.
Yes, it makes total sense.
Good luck and I hope he is feeling better very soon.
I have always found it scary how the side effects of most drugs are worse than what they treat……BRAVO I say to you for trying other methods;) Well done my friend, your daughter will thank you.
Oh I'm sorry! I think I came across more harshly than was warranted there. It's my skeptical streak taking over. I don't doubt at all that you'd take proper medical care of yourself and your family when the need is there, what I was reacting to was the stuff about homeopathy in particular.
The placebo effect is a very powerful thing, but a nice hot cup of lemon tea has more active ingredients than a homeopathic cold remedy, is cheaper and tastes better too – don't waste your money on bottles of water with fraudulent labels!
What I'd like to see happening in “alternative medicine” is the people who sell the stuff being willing to conduct research that adheres to proper methodology and conclusively demonstrates the efficacy or otherwise, and the mechanisms by which they work (or not), of all these remedies that someone somewhere is making an awful lot of money out of.
I, too prefer the holistic approach and have found that it works best. Then in times when traditional medicine is needed it works more effectively, b/c it has NOT been overused.
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Blessings, andrea
so are you enjoying all this sponsorship stuff? I'm guessing they had to approve your blog.
About your remedies – my immigrant mother who has made that final immigration up there (now that's a visa worth getting) still used some 'old country' remedies. I remember one with Sauerkraut for burns. And the leaf of this weed for skin infections (boils I guess). Oh it was pressed on skin – you didn't smoke it or anything (i know there are smoking remedies in CA now).
This is lost knowledge and hopefully some one will study these old remedies because over many generations trial and error will work.
Big time good luck. I'm right there with you on the homeopathic remedies. My son is allergic to penicillin and that made me look into more natural ways to take care of us.
I don't like taking medication of any kind, for any reason. That's not to say that from time-to-time I don't, but it really has to be something that has me down for the count, or extreme pain. Otherwise, I just grin and bear it.
Hope you feel better soon.
It's really a shame how much knowledge of proven, workable remedies and treatments has been allowed to die off in favor of industrialized medicine. Just because a new thing's good doesn't mean the old thing should be thrown out.
Good luck. I hate taking medication because of the side effects, and at age 65 I only take two pills daily. Hubby is of a different belief and takes way too many, and of course has to take meds to offset the side effects. But he won't listen to me. Not much I can do…he turns 70 in a couple fo weeks.
The holistic remedy I turn to for almost everything is colloidal silver. I take a small dose daily as an immunity builder…it works!
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Good for you, Mami! The more natural you can live, the better off your body (your your beautiful baby's body) will be. Many years ago (when dinosaurs roamed) I bought a book through Prevention Magazine called,”New Choices in Natural Healing.” I have used many of the natural remedies suggested in it. There still were times that I had to go with traditional meds, but for the most part, I thought it was good.
Liz from noexcuses
Good luck. I like to keep it natural too.
Anemic and drunk… I know it's bad, but that was one of the funniest sentences I've ever read.
I kind of wish I was drunk right now. 🙂
You and me both, Sister!
I totally agree with you Mami. I've been trying to utilize homeopathic remedies more before turning the harder pharmaceutical stuff. And for the most part they work really well. I myself am on 4 different prescription meds to help regulate my asthma symptoms, and it sucks. There are so many side effects to deal with, and i don't want that for my boy. Thus, I turn to more natural remedies first. Thanks for this post, it sends out a very good message.
man thats crazy about your Mom!At least you will know what NoT to Do!!!Praying little mami has a very healthy and happy Life!!
I'm a great believer in eating a varied diet of simple, home prepared foods, hgh in fruit and vegetables in order to stay healthy. As a result of intensive farming our soil is sometimes depleted in the minerals it once contained so our veg may not be quite as nutritious as it once was. To counteract this, we've always taken a good multivitamin tablet each day as an insurance policy. Touch wood, we've been a pretty healthy lot over the years, although it has to be said that I do believe genetics comes into this – my husband and I both say that we basically come from good farming stock going way back. 🙂
I agree with you, I've never been one to race to the chemist, or doctor, and swallow back pills at the first sign of a sniffle. Same thing with my family. This means that when we need the help of medicine it works quickly and efficiently. I personally would be a little careful about alternative medicine and do loads of research before self-medicating. I've done a lot of reading about nutrition and herbal/natural medicines (and cosmetics) over the years and it's important to know that some are way, way stronger than we might imagine and can have their own side effects and even interact dangerously with other prescribed medicine.
OK, the anemic & drunk part cracked me up! Good luck with the med issues, I'm so sorry for your struggles. xoxo
My mom is a big supporter of natural medicine (herb, etc.) but sometimes it's hard to see eye to eye with her. I guess I should really step back and compare the effects that traditional medicine has compared to natural.
Being Chinese I know what you are talking about. BUT Tiger Balm does work for everything. 🙂
Good luck!!! & {{{hugs}}}
I remember how much I hated medicines as a kid because they tasted like garbage. Now they taste to sweet that my girls are constantly trying to get their hands on them. Which is why I try never to give them any. The last thing I want them doing is trying to take some on their own because they taste like candy.
I love homeopathy too, but I only started loving it after I found a really good homeopath and quit trying to diagnose myself. At least in our family, lots of these remedies really are effective and I love that they have no side effects. Great post, Mami.
tell me about it! I have a rare chronic disease, and it is unbelievable how many pills I take to fight side effects of OTHER pills. no fun.