Don’t let the flu paralyze your household

The flu, originally called Influenza, has been attacking households for weeks now.  Having successfully prevented and treated the flu within our family and with my clients, I felt it was time to spread the information to help others do the same! Below you will find 7 tips to avoiding the flu in your household this season.

How do you prevent the flu? The flu is a virus that enters the body through the mucus membranes in the nose, eyes or mouth.  More than 200 different strains of viruses can cause colds or flu and strains of these viruses are constantly changing, so flu vaccines are not the most effective method for prevention.  Not to mention the fact, that the flu vaccine contains  thimerisol i.e., mercury as a preservative, which has numerous health implications. Better methods for prevention include: –

• Washing your or your child’s hands frequently with natural, antibacterial soap and keeps hands away from nose, eyes and mouth
• Getting plenty of sleep and rest
• Lowering the stress in your or your child’s life
• Decreasing the amount of sugar and refined carbohydrates consumed
• Removing allergens (dairy is the #1 common allergen in North America),
• Eating lots of vegetables, consuming vitamins and minerals that strengthen your immune system (please read on to learn more) and drinking lots of filtered water
• Taking Oscillococcinum at the first sign of the flu.  This is a homeopathic preparation made by Boiron that can be found at the Superstore or any health store.  The good news is that every child likes the taste of it!  Miraculous, I know.

How do you know if you or your child has the flu? If there are:

• sore or achy arms or legs,
• a headache,
• fatigue, and
• hot and cold sweats,

then there is a good chance that you have the flu.  In many cases, there is also one or more of the following:

• dry throat
• cough
• fever
• nausea and
• vomiting.

Often, a child with the flu doesn’t feel like eating or doing anything at all – very rare for a child, indeed.

Oscillococcinum and colloidal silver form your main arsenal. They should be administered every three hours or so.  Acidophilus, fish oils and vitamin C provide a tremendous amount of help in strengthening the immune system.

In terms of dietary help, dairy, wheat and sugar need to be eliminated because of their inflammatory, mucus forming and immune lowering properties.  Eat plenty of chicken soup.  And if you are looking for a healthy electrolyte drink, purchase coconut water and forego the chemical laden electrolyte drinks.

The flu can make one more susceptible to pneumonia, ear infections and sinus troubles so ensure that once you or your child have healed from the flu, you hold off on indulging in the treats of the season for at least 3-4 days and even then, approach treats with caution.

For more information, consider purchasing my book, “The Resourceful Mother’s Secrets to Healthy Kids”.  You will find it here:

What do you do to eliminate the flu in yourself or your child? As always, I love receiving feedback on my blog. I offer commentluv. That’s a plug in that allows you to leave a link back to your own site when you leave a comment.

Until next time,

Meredith