Sunday, our oldest started us off being sick with a headache and sore throat. He started coughing the next day. It seemed as though a regular cold was all he had. No fever. No achey joints. So, he went to school. He did come home from school tired, spent the evenings in his bed and didn’t go to practice. My husband and I also began having the cough and sore throat. However, we all functioned as if we had a cold. Miserable, but we can deal with it. I even kept up with my 4:15AM workouts!
Today was different. Today I arrived at work only to get a text that our oldest was feeling more sick all of a sudden. He said his headache was worse, his cough was worse, his eyes hurt, his body hurt, and he was feeling weak and having trouble breathing. If the media wasn’t so set on making all of us freaked out about INFLUENZA, I wouldn’t have been so panicked. But, as I talked with the ladies in the office at my school and tried to get a substitute arranged, one of them mentioned the poor young man who died recently after his parents thought he had a cold. I was about in tears, even though I didn’t want to show it. Can you imagine? Your child being sick with what you thought was a cold, only to die the next day because it was more than that? I really couldn’t… and added this family to my prayers in my 30 minute drive back home. A quick Google search (darn Google) provided many other examples of people who have recently died from this season’s flu. I was not taking any chances and left for home immediately.
Thankfully, I was able to get him in to the doctor. They did a rapid Influenza test and it came back negative. We were relieved… until we heard from a couple people (and then confirmed with a quick Google search-ugh, like the poor boy mentioned above who had a NEGATIVE TEST and DIED the next day!) that those rapid tests can give false negatives frequently and shouldn’t be solely relied upon. Nothing against my doctor, but he really did solely rely on it. Before the results were back, he even said to us “I am pretty sure he will have a positive test.” Soooooo… why wouldn’t we treat it as such? I’m not sure. What I’ve read online is that the doctor has the ultimate say in the decision making and should use his/her judgement.
Of course, I didn’t find this out until we had left… so I decided to stop and get him some Motrin and head home. My plan is to watch him carefully and call the doctor’s office if anything gets worse.
Before we get all doctory up in here… I do have to say that our family USUALLY doesn’t go to the doctor very often. We try, whenever possible, to treat things naturally at home. I mentioned in my essential oils post that we used them to clear up a nasty case of Impetigo last summer instead of going the antibiotic route. So, when sickness hits our house, we pull out our arsenal!
Thieves Oil
This is my FAVORITE oil of all. My husband and I typically take a drop on our tongue daily during cold and flu season. It has powerful antibiotic antimicrobial properties and has really helped reduce the amount and length of illness in our home.
Raven Oil
Another favorite for cold and flu season, we rub this on our chest and neck and also diffuse it in our diffuser. It also has powerful anti-microbial properties… PLUS anti-viral power. It’s a great tool to have in your kit!
Elderberry Syrup
I buy this from a friend who makes it. She makes it every winter during cold and flu season and swears by it. From what I’ve read online, it seems the Elderberry is supposed to reduce congestion and the duration of a cold or flu. Her recipe contains elderberries, ginger root, cinnamon, nutmeg (instead of cloves because her family can’t have cloves), and raw honey. And, I know it helps… and we’re willing to do anything we can to help get this crud out of our house!
Humidifier
One of our childhood strategies that we still depend on to help with congestion and coughs is the humidifier. The added moisture really seems to help loosen things up. The heat from our humidifier seems to work well also.
Diffuser
I am currently diffusing Raven and will continue to do so through the night and week. As I mentioned above, Raven is a powerful tool for fighting germs.
Thermometer
Can I just say, I really miss the glass mercury thermometer we had when we were kids? It was just so accurate. Yeah, it took longer and we had to *GASP* wait a few minutes, but it was consistent. I swear, every time I use our temporal thermometer or digital thermometer, it gives a different reading. Never fails. How are you supposed to know what the ACTUAL temp is? Anyway, gotta have a thermometer to make sure you’re staying on top of things.
I will likely be returning to work tomorrow, barring any fevers that could pop up like my son. Unfortunately, our oldest will be staying home again with grandparents trying to recover. He’s not super excited about that. Teenagers get bored when they don’t have friends to talk to text. He wanted to get back to school. But, we will save others from this fate and keep our germs to ourselves.
Stay healthy people!
Share your natural remedies for cold and flu in the comments below.
Nicole Sarkany says
We eat elderberry chews when cootie symptoms show up. It seems to help. The flu has hit Idaho hard this year-46 deaths so far and they’re of every age. I sure hope he feels better soon!