Recently, I talked about how sick we have all been and how traditional medicine just wasn’t kickin’ it. Out of sheer frustration, I took the bull, or rather flu, by the horns and fought the battle with natural remedies. The tide turned and we could taste victory. Or was that the weird soup?
So what worked for us? Let me tell you about the bag of tricks I pulled out. That morning, I had to go to the chiropractor and he asked me if I’d heard about putting Vicks on their feet to help with the coughs. I had heard, but I’d forgotten! I told him I was desperate enough to try and would let him know if it worked.
That night, I had the kids all get in their pajamas and bring a pair of socks with them into the living room. We pulled out the Vicks and the kids looked at us like we’d sprouted wings. Or maybe they were thinking horns cause this seemed like an evil plot to them. I mean, can you imagine having Vicks squishing between your toes?
We slathered the Vicks on feet and chest and put their socks on. We were ALL high from Vicks fumes, but breathing easier.
The next day, I went out and bought more ammunition. I pumped vitamin C in them. Poured water through them. Made them rest a lot.
We drank a lot of herbal teas: honey lemon, chamomile, etc. Amber nursed. Nobody else was interested. 
We took equal parts of honey and lemon and heated it enough to mix thoroughly and put this in a jar. The dose: 1 teaspoon every four hours.
We made a soup to help fight the crude and boost the immune system. This stuff was power packed and I put whatever amount (me? measure?) of: chicken broth, chicken, ginger root, onions, garlic cloves (minced), carrots, potatoes, and cayenne pepper. We took a bite. Bland chased by a spicy kick. A weird sensation. We had small portions throughout the day.
We used lavender and eucalyptus essential oils in little burners and in the humidifier. The air conditioner came on at night and the windows were opened during the day. On a decent day, I even dragged our sick selves down to the park for some fresh air.
They made a fast improvement after all this when traditional didn’t do a thing.
You bet I’ll be learning more about natural remedies.
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Susan says
Vicks on the feet. Now I haven’t heard of that! Hope you are feeling better:)
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Lady Why says
Great tips! I love all those remedies!!
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Leslie says
I love the idea of putting Vicks on the feet. I’ll have to try that next time!
Jen says
Thanks for all the great ideas. I’ll definitely have to give these a try next time we get sick (hopefully not for a long time, though).
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Runningamuck says
You know, I hadn’t heard about the vicks/feet thing until this cold season. I tried it and it totally worked! I’m a beliver! Love the soup/concoction idea. I’ll have to remember that one and try it next time. Thanks for all the great tips. =0) And for visiting AND commenting on my site. Ya know we all love those comments!
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Jen @ JenuineJen says
I have a bit of a cold right now. The lavender and eucalyptus essential oils in a vaporizer sounds good right now.
BTW, thanks for visiting my blog.
Memarie Lane says
What sucks is when you do so many things to fix them, you can never really be sure of exactly what worked in the end so you have to do it all exactly the same way the next time. 😛
Robin says
That soup sounds like good stuff.
I hope your son recovers quickly.
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Sheri says
Have you ever tried 3 drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear and let it bubble up for 5 minutes then drain it? It is amazing – I tried this out of desperation when traditional didn’t work and now we swear by it – even my ultra-traditional husband. It helps clear congestion and takes away colds quickly. Repeat two or 3 times a day. Since starting this method we have not had a cold last more than 2 days and a few have been gone immediately.
Christine (aka YoungMommy) says
I’ve tried just about everything and this silly flu will not go away! Ugggh!!
HAPPY MOTHER”S DAY!!!!
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