Health Flu, Viruses, Bacteria's
Germs, viruses, bacterial infections, measles, chickenpox and the like can turn life pretty much upside down. Blessed with a robust health prior to becoming a mother I never spent a second thought on health issues. When people talked about amalgam fillings being bad, the fluor conspiracy, the meat cartel, I shrugged it off. Then a major shift happened that turned my life into a constant and exciting adventure, I fell pregnant.
At first no major changes. My daughter was born healthy, took a while to adjust but soon we could be found at moms and babes once a week, later at Kindermusiek. When she turned two she outgrew the home environment. It was time for socializing and interaction on a regular bases. I enrolled her into a Montessori toddler group.
Well, parents if it is your first, buckle up. Our immune systems were hi-jacked on the spot. 5 times chicken pox (yes, despite having gone through it as a child it can be recurring, especially if your immune system has weakened through constant attack). Followed by measles, mumps, rubella, constant colds, flu's: in short, every bug, virus and bacteria in the Southern Hemisphere has been visiting. With most parents working, unless their kids are paralyzed, hospitalized or plastered with a visible kind of a rash, they are sent to school. Nothing could have prepared us for the germ-war zone called pre-school.
Hail to penicilin and its followers. Saviors of the day. A quick fix, parents shrugging "I had to". Mhmm, my daughter did not go for it. She refused to swallow antibiotics. One time, scared out of my wits during a particularly viscous flu cycle, I was told by her Pediatrician that it is the only way, so I bought the antibiotics, mixed it, forced it down her throat. No go, after 5 minutes she threw it all up (clever child).
One month ago, a new bug made its turns. A lot of class mates on antibiotics again. I went to her Pediatrician again. He told me it can develop into anything and wrote a script for guess? - some antibiotics. I was appalled. My dogs' vets are more thorough. I fired Chanel's medication happy Pediatrician. Maybe I should bring her to my vet? Close - I phoned my vet, explained the situation (she is a medical Vet and also a qualified homeopath). She referred me to a colleague of hers who studied homeopathy together with her. A GP, medical doctor and qualified homeopath. Wow. The first tip I got was not to give any Panado's, Aspirins or any such pediatric syrups unless the child goes into extremely high fever (how much is that? 39o Celsius to me is pretty high!) or visits no-man's land (the time when they are no longer responsive). When my daughter approaches 39,5 o Celsius, she is in a place where you can't reach and suppositories a must. This time, with immediate homeopathic remedies I managed to avoid her going there. Her fever still peaked 39o Celsius in the early mornings but she was fully responsive and took her homeopathic medication strictly every half an hour. Her immune system reacted like "doom" on TV, it killed bugs "dead". It took two days and she was fever free. Many of her class mates just could not get rid of it. After 5 days they switched to antibiotics and it still took them more than 7 days to get rid of the bugs.
The difference? I gave the homeopathic remedies every 1/2 hour strictly. No panado or suppositories. Mums old recipes with vinaigrette socks helped. Sponging down helps, if the warms baths made slowly colder are not tolerated. The GP's advise "No syrup or suppositories" allowed the fever to be high and kill off the invaders quickly. Yet the homeopathic remedies he dispensed kept the fever in check. It was not severe enough to make her non-responsive. I have used homeopathy on myself and my dogs successfully for the last 10 years. Yet on my little child, I dared not. The choice of a dually qualified GP and homeopath made it safe to try the natural route. He supervises strictly, a professional that does not shoot cannons at sparrows. Hail to the medical doctors that take a step away from their strictly medical colleagues. Professionals that undergo additional studies obtain alternative qualifications are open to new ways of saving the world. A big thank you to you. There is a place for both. Preferably the natural route first (please only ever supervised by a qualified professional) and only when really, really indicated, the medical route.
There are many accounts of doctors warning parents of reaching for quick fixes. Pediatricians complain that parents insist on antibiotics. Articles of bugs becoming resistant and ever stronger antibiotics needed to fix bacterial infections. A major complaint of professionals that antibiotics are requested for treating viruses. That equals putting diesel in a petrol engine. Not only is it the wrong stuff, it also damages the engine. It bent the cylinder heads of my car and that did not sound pretty. No, I am not blonde, it wasn't me who filled the car that day.
Other toxins we subject our kids to, often unknowingly:
Household insecticides. My skin crawls when I see the Doom ad's on TV: a pretty woman sprays a cloud of poison all around her house with an angelic smile on her face. The commentator in the background reeling on how safe the spray is and approved by hospitals and canteens. Mhmm. The hospital safe insecticide that automatically sprays every 15 seconds for convenience not only gave my entire family sore throats but also caused epileptic seizures in one of my dogs. At that time we lived in a suburb with an abundance of horse-lovers. The flies reached epidemic proportions. We sold the house and moved. 2 years later I did a biofeedback session. The insecticides sprayed during that time still showed at a toxic level in my body.
Smoke. It is an addiction. Sure. We all have our shadow sides. I did not manage to get rid of that one cigarette a day either when pregnant. Quite frankly I still feel guilty about it. But we banned smoking from our house. Nobody allowed to smoke inside. There is always a cosy balcony or a garden. The picture of a family driving with closed windows and parents smoking...Please if you are a smoker, give your children a smoke free living space. You brought them into this world, take care and make it as safe as possible for them. When you watch the Rugby game with your friends on Saturday afternoons, please make sure the kids have a room where they are not exposed to the chain smoke of a group of people watching a gripping game.
