Keeping My Family Healthy During Cold & Flu Season

Yes, it is cold and flu season and H1N1 influenza (Swine flu) is going around. I know you have heard a lot lately about taking precautions and avoiding people who are sick. Here are ways my family tries to stay healthy during this time...

Contain and Get Rid of the Germs: Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer regularly and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth which can spread any virus you may have picked up on your hands to your body. Cover your coughing and sneezing. Cough into your sleeve (the bend of your elbow) or a tissue/Boogie Wipe not your hands. Don't stifle a cough and don't sniff the mucous back into your lungs. Sneezing, blowing your nose, and coughing are a must when trying to expel germs from the body. Have good hygiene and brush your teeth/tongue/gums regularly.

Try to stay away from others who are sick and if you get sick try to stay home. Disinfect your house. We use chlorine bleach, ultra-violet light, isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, or vinegar to disinfect things in our home. Let some fresh air in and don't over heat your house. Overheating and not ventilating properly will only make the air in your home stagnant, stale and dry. Lack of humidity causes our nose and tonsils to dry out so they cannot trap germs efficiently. When this happens it becomes difficult to sneeze and cough. Turning down the thermostat and turning on a room humidifier keeps virus-laden mucus flowing out of your body. As gross as it is you need to get it out of your system.

Be Good to Yourself: Get plenty of rest. Remember the old saying: Early to bed, Early to rise, Makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise. There is a lot of truth to that saying. Eat healthy and don't skip breakfast. Avoid refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup and caffeine. Take vitamins and supplements (We take extra vitamin C when it is cold and flu season). Get plenty of fluids. Green tea, water, herbal teas and soups can help tremendously. Orange juice is also great because of the vitamin C. Avoid alcohol and tobacco products (I don't drink alcoholic beverages or smoke anyway). Your immune system needs a boost to help your body not become ill. Exercise and managing stress is also very important.

Here is one of my favorite soup recipes:

Cheesy Chicken Chowder
Servings 6

1 package bacon, diced, cooked, drained
6 medium red potatoes, washed, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, grated
1 medium onion, minced
4 large chicken breasts, cooked, diced
2 cans cream of chicken soup, condensed
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
1 stalk broccoli flowerets
2 cups cheese, shredded
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaver
2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups milk

In a large sauce pan cook the bacon and remove when crisp. Save a couple of teaspoons of fat in the pan and add the potatoes , onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the veggies are tender (about 20 minutes). When the veggies are tender add the broccoli, corn, chicken, spices, soup and milk. Stir until all is smooth and warm then add the sour cream and cheese and stir on low heat until cheese is melted.

Use Natural or Homeopathic Remedies/Medicines: Have you ever tried homeopathic medicines? Homeopathy is a therapeutic method used to help the body re-balance and heal itself using natural substances in micro-doses. My family uses homeopathic and natural remedies/medicine and vitamins and minerals to help us stay well or get over illness sooner. We have successfully used Emergen-C, Airborne, Cold Eeze, colloidal silver, Boogie Wipes, saline nose drops, extra vitamin C, zinc lozenges, and tea.

I haven't tried them yet, but I just learned about 3 new homeopathic medicine for kids that are made by Boiron, the world leader in homeopathy, through One2One Network: Children's Oscillococcinum®, Children's Coldcalm Pellets®, Children's Chestal®.

In case you want to try them out yourself HERE is a link to a $1 off coupon for Boiron's new children's products.