Screenshot of Carlson's cod liver oil.
This advice is not just for kids-although contact with "cooties" will inevitably go up when kids (and teachers) return to school in the fall. If you or your grandchildren have a history of being vulnerable to commons colds or flus at the beginning of the school year, there are a few simple ways to help stave off the misery of being ill.
Hand-washing is an obvious, but under-utilized, method to prevent disease. Avoid the triclosan-containing anti-bacterial soaps, which are contributing to the invasion of the super-bugs. Just use plain old bar soap with warm water and thorough rubbing of the hands for at least 20 seconds after every dubious encounter. Wash hands before and after eating, or with food preparation, also after using the bathroom, after handling money, or doorknobs or the mail. Teach the kids in your life to keep their fingers away from their eyes, noses and mouths by being a good example for them. Ideally avoid all processed sugar, commercial red meat and cow-milk products in general, but especially at the first hint of illness, for at least a week, because they reduce the capacity of white blood cells (the work horses of the immune system) to fight infection. Also, get enough sleep. Fatigue is a key cause for vulnerability to illness of all kinds.
One of my favorite preventives for the common cold is good old-fashioned cod liver oil-one teaspoon daily for a kid, a tablespoon daily for adults. It comes in yummy lemon or orange flavors now-or even strawberry. Also, make sure you are getting about 1,000-2,000 milligrams daily of Vitamin C; kids under 85 pounds usually need about 500 milligrams daily for optimal immune function. You can hardly overdose on Vitamin C-it will give you loose stools if you are taking too much, in which case just cut back to a comfortable level.
If you have succumbed, these tips may shorten the duration of your suffering. There's a terrific traditional Chinese medicine combo herbal product called Gan Mao Ling which is effective at shortening the course of a common cold, especially one that starts with body aches and alternating chills and fever. Take three to four tabs three times daily for five days or until symptoms subside. If your bug is a stomach flu (achy belly, loose, smelly or broken-up stools, no appetite) then Huo Hsiang Cheng Chi Pien, four tabs three times daily will help, as well as reducing food intake to nutritive broths (such as good quality bone broth) and steamed vegetables only for a few days.
Most common colds are viral-so please do not take antibiotics, unless there is proven evidence of a secondary bacterial infection. Two of my favorite anti-virals are zinc (50 milligrams daily for adults) and Vitamin A (25,000 international units daily). These can be used preventively, or as soon as symptoms come on. Stay replete with Vitamin D3. If you have never checked your Vitamin D3 levels, do this soon. Most people are low. Vitamin D has emerged as a critical nutrient not just for bones, but for mood, cell integrity and cancer prevention. Optimal blood levels range between 60-90 nanograms per milliliter, and make sure you check (and supplement with) the active 25-OH Vitamin D3. This is an inexpensive nutrient: Don't get bamboozled into taking the D2 drug ergocalciferol. It's way more expensive, and it needs to convert to D3 in your body to be effective.
If you are mostly suffering from a sore throat, try an anti-viral liquid containing either eucalyptus or some other mentholated substance (such as the Olbas sprays or pastilles). Listerine (the caramel-colored type-not the stuff with blue food dye) has eucalyptus as the active ingredient and works well to prevent and treat viral sore throats. I also like solutions featuring oil of bitter orange to heal a throat infection.
If your cold is starting with a cough, hot honey water with the juice of a whole lemon can work wonders. Don't ever give honey to a child younger than age 1 (it can cause botulism) but older children can benefit greatly from the anti-infective and soothing effects of honey. If the cough is deep, a mustard poultice (see side bar) can effectively loosen the mucus and be more readily coughed up. Taking 600 milligrams (kids) to 1,200 milligrams of NAC (N-acetyl cysteine, an amino acid) at bedtime is also effective for loosening mucus in the chest and sinuses.
If your illness features a fever-do not suppress the fever with Tylenol. Fever is the most potent natural anti-viral. Viruses can't live in high temperatures. I have helped hundreds of people get well overnight by applying the cold-wet sock treatment. ("Oh no, mom, not the cold socks!") Gather some cotton socks, some flannel or wool socks and some extra blankets. At bedtime, the patient should ideally take a not-too-hot bath, get into comfortable PJs and be ready to sweat, then settle in for the night. During the bath, the cotton socks, saturated with water, then wrung out, are placed in the freezer. I like to put a can of juice or old tennis ball inside each wet cotton sock to help keep it open. When the patient is in bed, pull on the crisply frozen cotton socks (which will be unpleasant for about 10 seconds) and cover with the wool socks. The extreme cold on the feet will cause the body temperature to rise and ideally the patient will "break a sweat" and then sink into a deep sleep. This is an effective, low-tech therapy to burn out a viral illness and, of course, you can apply this to yourself if a helper is not available.
There are a few tried and true homeopathic remedies for common colds. All the remedies can be taken in six times potency, three to four pellets three to four times daily for a few days, or in 30C potency (in homeopathy, this is dilution by a factor of 1060) once a day, as follows:
-Alium cepa (onion) especially for a runny nose
-Ferrum phos (iron phosphate) especially for kids feeling weak or in the first stage of inflammation
-Kali carb, if secretions are greenish or yellow
-Kali mur, if secretions are thick and sticky
-Belladonna, for a red face, dry throat and throbbing headache
-Aconite, for very abrupt onset, fear and anxiety around the illness, restlessness and no sweating. Stop aconite when sweating begins.
Emily Kane is a naturopathic doctor based in Juneau. Contact her online at http://www.dremilykane.com.
