What To Do For A Cough

A friend just posted on their facebook "Does anyone know a good remedy for a cough for my little one?"

I would like to share my own thoughts but then leave it for an open discussion.  It is a good question, especially for a first time mother or anyone else tired of running their kids to the emergency room or waiting for hours to see a pediatrician.  There are several remedies out there, some work well and some don't.  One thing to remember that medicine forgets is that we are individual people with individual symptoms. We need to take care of the person as a whole, and not just as a symptom to cure.  There are different types of coughs and not everyone reacts the same to the same remedies.  Here is what my wife and I have experienced and learned thus far

The first thing to do is the remove anything that may be an agent to the illness.  This mostly involves Sugars, which feeds the pathogen. If they are congested, the best thing to do is remove all dairy and other mucus forming foods like banana.

The second thing is to give them supplements or herbs that help support the body and immune system and fights off the infection.  A great product we have been trying recently is a company called Wish Garden Herbs.  They have several types dealing with different issues.  One is Deep Lung, another is Kick-Ass Cough, and another is Kick-Ass Immune.  We have seen good results with this, but the cough is relieved temporarily.  We have just tried another product from Standard Process called Broncafect.  It comes in a liquid form and a pill form.  Our kids have been dealing with a mild persistent cough for 5 days recently.  We gave them both two pills yesterday, and their cough is gone.

The third is to use other remedies that may help the conditions.  These are things like keeping them in the bathroom while running steaming hot water in the bathtub which will help open the respiratory tract.  One thing is to use essential oils.  We often heard of using Vicks on their chest on soles of their feet, but we have now been using a mixture of natural oils and rubbing it on their chest.  One great oil to have is Lavender.  It has great affects, mainly it is a calming oil especially to help kids sleep. It also has shown to help build up the immune system in our body.  A few other things to keep in mind.  Make sure they are getting plenty of sleep, plenty of water, and also to have them take a Multivitamin every day and even a Vitamin C supplement to help the immune system.

Please share your ideas and remedies that you have come across.  Your input will help others.  The worst feeling is having a sick child and not knowing how to help them.  With our input together, not only will we have the knowledge of how to care for our little ones, but also have the confidence in what we are doing