Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and a BIG thank you so much for reading my Blog:)

Now on to the topic of about a dozen emails the past several days:  either you, or someone in your home, has the flu, or a bad cold.  It’s a pretty sick December, isn’t it?  Obviously, the first line of Defense is to PREVENT pathogenic virus or bacteria from setting up shop in the first place.  Read these posts on how to do that plus several suggestions for treating illness after it strikes:  (1), (2), and (3).   Then see what I’m doing right now, including a few recipes.

My daughter Shelby is on her 3rd day of illness.  I’m pretty sure it was or is the flu, and she definitely had/has Pink Eye.  I absolutely DON’T believe in the flu shot.  For one thing, it’s LOADED with Mercury and Aluminum, why would I inject that into myself or my kids?  I’d rather get the flu bugs than Toxic Heavy Metals.  And Two: the CDC admitted that this years shot isn’t even that effective for those who did get it.  (I have a beef with vaccines. My daughter Amanda’s first seizure was 30 minutes after her kindergarten shots.  )   I’m not saying that all vaccines are bad, but they’re not all good either.

I also don’t use standard Cold Remedies anymore.  That stuff’s poison, and they have ZERO effect on actually helping your body kill the pathogenic bacteria or virus – ZERO, or boosting your immune system.  Cough and Cold medicines ONLY suppress symptoms, and actually contain ingredients like acetaminophen ( horrible for the liver), food dyes ( cancer anyone? ), and other chemicals that come with a long list of undesirable side effects.  PLUS *** symptoms like fever, coughs, runny nose, and watery eyes, are all DEFENSE MECHANISMS OUR BODY USES TO GET RID OF BAD GERMS.  I don’t want to suppress those;  I want to help her body clear them.

Here’s what I’m doing in my house for my Sick Kid, and here’s her symptoms: low grade fever ( about 100 ), severe body aches, nausea, sore throat, pink eye.  Everything abated within 12 hours, now it’s mostly a cold and fatigue.

1) She’s on 2 homeopathic flu remedies,  Oscillococcimun, and Influenzium 30.  I got both from my local health food store a few weeks ago.  I stocked up because the Influenzium 30 is actually a good PREVENTATIVE.  The past 2 years we’ve done a “take 10 pills 1x a week” routine starting in January, which worked beautifully.  ( I didn’t plan on someone getting sick so early!  Now, it’s a treatment instead of a preventative. )

2) She’s drinking a TON of water, herbal teas, and my TONICS, recipes to follow.

3) I’m using the essential oil blends ( from DoTerra ), Breath, On Guard, and a personal mix from a friend of Lavender/Clary Sage/Myrrh/Frankincense, which I’m rubbing on her feet, and the skin on the outside of her throat.   I’m a BIG believer in Essential Oils; they’re very, very effective.

4) For the Pink Eye ( and it was wicked!), I made a mix of 1 cup water, 1tsp salt, and a tbsp of Manuka Honey.  We’re putting those drops in her eyes every couple of hours; it started working very quickly.  She went from swollen shut with lots of goobers to wide open and no discharge within an afternoon.

5) Hot baths with Magnesium Flakes and essential oils, the same ones listed above.

6) She’s eating eggs, homemade Coconut Milk Bread w/ butter and honey, bananas, chicken, homemade broth, and peas.  Easy foods to digest.

7) For sleeping:  Melatonin, and Herb Pharm Relaxing Sleep Tonic – this puts her out like a light; our body WANTS to sleep when we’re sick, that’s when it can heal best.

8) Lots of Positive Reinforcement and Hugs.

Here’s the Recipe for Elderberry Syrup from the Wellness Mama site:

⅔ cup black elderberries
3.5 cups of water
2 T fresh or dried ginger root
1 tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp cloves or clove powder
1 cup raw honey (we get from our farmer’s market)

Instructions
Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey!)
Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
Discard the elderberries (or compost them!) and let the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well. ( you don’t want to kill honey’s live nutrients )
When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a pint sized mason jar or 16 ounce glass bottle of some kind.
Ta Da! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity.
Standard dose is ½ tsp to 1 tsp for kids and ½ Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.

Here’s The Vinegar of the 4 Thieves from the Wellness Mama Site, and yes, it needs to sit and develop.  If you make some this week, you’ll still have it for the last part of the winter.  I put a note on my calendar last year to make it in November this year.  I’m learning to plan ahead!

Vinegar of the Four Thieves Ingredients:

2 TBSP Thyme (dried)
2 TBSP Rosemary (dried)
2 TBSP Sage (dried)
2 TBSP Lavender (dried)
2 TBSP Mint (dried)
4-8 cloves of minced garlic (optional)
One 32-ounce bottle of organic Apple Cider Vinegar with “the Mother”
[Note: Most herbs can be found locally, but are also available online at places like Mountain Rose Herbs]

How To Make the Vinegar of The Four Thieves:

Put all the dried herbs and garlic (if using) into a large glass jar (I used half gallon)
Pour the Vinegar over the herbs and garlic and seal tightly. The vinegar is strong enough to corrode some metal lids, so in this case, consider putting plastic wrap or a plastic bag on top and then putting the lid on.
Leave in a cool, dark, place for 6-8 weeks (for health tonic recipe) shaking daily if possible.
After 6-8 weeks, strain the herbs out using a small strainer and store tonic in smaller jars for easy use.
Uses for Four Thieves Herbal Vinegar:

As I mentioned before, this vinegar makes a very effective (though strong smelling!) insect repellent. If you make it to this strength, just put 1/4 cup of the vinegar in an 8-ounce spray bottle and fill the rest with water. Spray on skin, clothes, etc. when in heavily insect infested areas. We store in the fridge to minimize the vinegar smell and make more refreshing.
In cases of illness, the Vinegar of the Four Thieves is very helpful in quick recovery. Adults can take 1 TBSP several times a day (dilute in water!!) and kids can take 1 Tsp several times a day (well diluted in water/herbal tea).
When a family member is sick, diluting this with 1 part water and putting in a spray bottle will make a potent disinfectant that can be used on surfaces or sprayed in the air.
I’ve had some people report really good success using this vinegar as a soak or topical spray for foot or nail fungus.
Diluted and used on the scalp, this remedy is also said to be effective against dandruff.
This vinegar makes an effective natural disinfectant spray for use in house cleaning.