You or the kids feel a virus starting, what do you do to "fight back"?

[rafiki]

.

[Kate CA]

drink lots of water

use saline nasal spray

nasal rinse

try to get extra rest

drink green tea

wash hands frequently

 

What else can we do?

 

Depends on where it is we feel it. If it is in the throat we gargle and swallow 1 teaspoon of colloidal silver several times a day. This kills on-site bacteria and we have not had strep throat for years and years. For other inner sicknesses that might be brewing (colds, whatnot) I put four drops of Oreganol Oil under their tongue. This tastes nasty and no one likes it, but they hold it there until they can't any longer and then swallow and follow with water.

 

We also increase Vitamin D and my children regularly take a really good vitamin (littles) and (teens) as well as D for both ages.

 

HTH!

[MIch elle]

Grind garlic in a mortar w/olive oil and put it on bread. It's still HARSH but it works!

[Kate CA]

Grind garlic in a mortar w/olive oil and put it on bread. It's still HARSH but it works!

 

Do you think it would kill the properties if you baked the garlic? Yum! :001_smile:

[Jennifer in MI]

That would be right now in our house. My MIL brought "allergies" to us. Right. Allergies. :glare:

 

Anyway, I've been:

 

Oreganol - 2 drops in a glass of water/day (antibacterial)

Elderberry (capsules for the older kids, liquid for the 4 yo) (antiviral)

NAC (helps clear mucous)

Extra Vit. C

 

And, I have a bunch of homeopathic remedies from Boiron. One for runny nose. One for sinus pain. One for sore throat. And one for cough. I'm using them as symptoms progress. My dd is almost better and her cold only lasted around 3 days. She only ran a fever for around 12 hours. So, I think it's all working!!

 

Forgot - we also take all of our regular vitamins - D, calcium, etc.

[Dandelion]

In addition to many of the things already mentioned above, we also take Black Elderberry syrup twice a day when we feel a cold/flu coming on (it's an immune booster).

[Kate CA]

What is NAC?

[Jennifer in MI]

What is NAC?

 

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine

 

It's an amino acid that binds to mucous to loosen it. I swear it has kept my asthmatic off meds. Last winter, he was on his inhaled medication more than he was off of it. He had to to have steroids twice. It was horrible!!!! Then, my mom was told about NAC by a doctor. I started giving it to William and he's been off any medication since then. When he gets sick now, the mucous drains instead of getting stuck in his sinuses or lungs.

[Kate CA]

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine

 

It's an amino acid that binds to mucous to loosen it. I swear it has kept my asthmatic off meds. Last winter, he was on his inhaled medication more than he was off of it. He had to to have steroids twice. It was horrible!!!! Then, my mom was told about NAC by a doctor. I started giving it to William and he's been off any medication since then. When he gets sick now, the mucous drains instead of getting stuck in his sinuses or lungs.

 

Wow, where do you buy it? One of my dds always has her colds settle in her lungs and struggles with asthma.

[creekland]

Cold-Eeze. It works VERY well when taken as directed - esp right before bedtime (and NOT with Vitamin C). None of us have had a full blown cold in years - pretty much since we discovered it.

[Jennifer in MI]

Wow, where do you buy it? One of my dds always has her colds settle in her lungs and struggles with asthma.

 

I can get it at my health food store. But I got it the last time at VitaCost. I hope you have a much luck with it as we have!!!!

[Imprimis]

Raw garlic. It's a natural anti-viral and anti-bacterial. I chop it or run it through a garlic press and spread it on bread or toast, sprinkle it on salad, or vegetables.

 

I have always had good results. It should be eaten raw though, because cooking destroys some of its properties.

Edited October 10, 2010 by Imprimis

[Kate CA]

I can get it at my health food store. But I got it the last time at VitaCost. I hope you have a much luck with it as we have!!!!

 

Thanks so much! I am a pretty frequent VitaCost customer and that is just great to know. I hope we have the same success too!

[cylau]

I do flexseed oil. My kids take 2 tsp everyday. When cold starts, I double it up, so they take 2 tsp in the morning and 2 at night. They feel much better the next day, but they take it for a few more days just to make sure it doesn't come back.

 

"Super Immunity for kids" is my favorite book.

[littleWMN]

Emergen-C. We swear by it. You have to catch "it" early though. And drink several packets that day and for the next few as well.

[LunaLee]

Emergen-C. We swear by it. You have to catch "it" early though. And drink several packets that day and for the next few as well.

 

Same here. We usually drink them once a day anyway but triple up when we feel a cold coming on. I usually add the straight unsweetened cranberry juice (major antioxidant) from Trader Joe's to it also-Kind of like an immune boosting Sunrise Surprise...

[rootsnwings]

3-5g Vit C/day (emergen-c is great b/c it has the b complex too) + extra zinc. I loved the zycam nasal swabs but they stopped making them--now we use the zycam loszenges with great success!

[Peela]

Triple doses of professional strength echinacea, olive leaf extract, and ginger tea. Then I will make a soup with lots of chilli and garlic in it. Sometimes raw garlic too.

I have also used colloidal silver.

I can't do vitamin C- it hurts my kidneys.

Also, I make sure my bowels are moving well :) Stange as it may sound, a bowel flush helps the body detoxify through a different channel- a cold is simply one way that the body detoxifies and by taking the strain off other elimination channels , the cold can do its job more quickly.

[Melissa in Australia]

Eat heaps of garlic.

[Ravin]

Vitamin C, 2000 mg a day for me plus extra orange juice, etc., and as much as I can get into DD.

 

Rest.

[Matryoshka]

Two big spoons of Sambucol (Elderberry, and I take the version with vit. C and Zinc as well). If I take it right away when I can feel it coming on, it works great. If I wait another day, it's too late.

[Mrs. Frankweiler]

I cut up a clove of raw garlic and gulp down the pieces with a glass of orange juice.

 

Those days, I'm also VERY grateful to be homeschooling....because my breath is rather stinky! Maybe the cure is two-fold---you stink so much that everyone leaves you alone!

[Pamela H in Texas]

Question on the garlic.

 

Does Mrs F's way work as well as mincing it?

[Laurel]

Extra vitamin C (usually in the form of kiwi)

[mcconnellboys]

Put vinegar (on cotton) in your ears! Acidic rinses help slow down the replication of some respiratory viruses that incubate in the inner ear canals.

 

Take Oscillococcinum. It's a homeopathic med that's simple and pleasant to take. It helps rev up your body's immune system to attack the virus and overcome it more quickly.

[Mrs. Frankweiler]

Question on the garlic.

 

Does Mrs F's way work as well as mincing it?

 

I think mincing is probably the same. My understanding is that to get the cold-preventing effects, the garlic has to be cut up and raw---something about cutting it up releases the chemical that helps the immune system.

 

I did a quick google search and found this article on the benefits of garlic:

 

http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/garlic-benefit.shtml

[tabmtbc]

drink lots of water

use saline nasal spray

nasal rinse

try to get extra rest

drink green tea

wash hands frequently

 

What else can we do?

Eat this. I got it from the Sonlight Forums, Chloe O' the Mountain. It's absolutely effective. It freezes well too.

 

Chloe's Super Virus Busting Chicken Soup ( I changed it to SUPER, cuz it is)

 

One chicken

Appx 15-30 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 Tbs salt

3-4 Thyme sprigs

Cayenne pepper (to taste. I use about a tsp)

Fresh Rosemary sprigs

Fresh ground pepper

 

Place chicken and other ingredients n a soup pot (I use my pressure cooker) and cover with water or chicken broth (I really like those boxes of organic chicken broth). Cook on stove top until chicken starts to fall apart. Remove from heat. Strain out chicken and stuff and set aside until cool enough to chop. Reserve broth for next step.

 

1 large onion (coarsely chopped or sliced)

1 fennel bulb (sliced thin)

1 leek (sliced thin)

4-6 stalks of celery (coarse chopped)

large red pepper (coarse chopped

1/2 lb. carrots (coarse chopped) [edited to say lb. by Jill]

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 C good White Wine

salt and pepper

 

Place oil in bottom of large pot and heat. Add onion, fennel, celery, pepper and leek and saute until onion just transparent. Add wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Cover the vegetables with chicken broth from chicken--add more broth from can or box if you don't have enough broth from chicken and simmer veggies until just tender.

 

Frozen green beans

Frozen peas

zucchini

flat leaf parsely (chopped)

1-2 cans chopped tomatoes with juice

salt and pepper to taste

 

Add these above ingredients and simmer until everything is tender. Add chopped chicken, salt and pepper to taste.

 

No virus can withstand this soup.

 

You can also add cabbage with the end ingredients if you like (I do!), or any other veggies your family likes. Sometimes I'll throw in whatever is in my veggie bin in addition to the above.

 

The next day add egg noodles and turn it into chicken noodle soup.

__________________

I also use a supplement called Nutricillin and it works great.

[Liz CA]

In addition to many of the things already mentioned above, we also take Black Elderberry syrup twice a day when we feel a cold/flu coming on (it's an immune booster).

 

Seconding the Elderberry suggestion. You can also buy ginger root and pour boiling water over it. Dress it up with a little honey if you like and drink it like tea.

Then there are the bigger hitters like specific immune enhancing substances. There is also Vitamin C and Echinacea.

[kewb]

That chicken soup sounds delicious.

 

In our house:

Up the neti pot use. Some members of my family only use it when they feel something coming on.

Echinacea

Raw garlic. My kids hate this but it works.

Throat hurts-teaspoon of raw honey a couple of times of day.

Elderberry

 

If the fever has started-

chicken soup

oil of oregano rubbed onto the feet (along with some chopped garlic if my kids are refusing to take it)

[tabmtbc]

Also, from my chiropractor:

Boil the ear canals out with hydrogen peroxide. It kills the virus in the portal of entry (the ear canals.) If it doesn't bubble when you pour it in the ear, then use a timer and boil for one minute, then dump it out the ear and down the sink. If the peroxide does boil, then boil it in the ear canal for five minutes and dump it from the ear down the sink. Repeat up to 3x/day.

 

I can attest to the fact that it really does work.

[LibraryLover]

Garlic in all forms. Raw parsley. They have antiviral as well as antibacterial properties.

 

My oldest son did get N1H1 last year at college. (Recovered quickly and well, thankfully).

 

However, the rest of us...it's been years since any of us have needed prescript meds. My youngest has never been on an antibiotic, and my teens haven't had an atbx since infancy (16 yr old) and toddler hood (18 yr old).

 

(I do understand that a virus is not a bacterial infection. :) )

Edited October 10, 2010 by LibraryLover

[DB in NJ]

drink lots of water

use saline nasal spray

nasal rinse

try to get extra rest

drink green tea

wash hands frequently

 

What else can we do?

 

all of that plus take extra vitamin c and EXERCISE. a lot. I run about 4 times a week as it is, but I make sure that I don't slack off when I feel a cold coming on. it really helps!

[KuniMom]

Airborne. It works for me every time. I can't take cold meds, so I am miserable if I get a cold. I take it the moment I feel a virus coming on. Usually I only have to take it once.

[HSMom2One]

Airborne. It works for me every time. I can't take cold meds, so I am miserable if I get a cold. I take it the moment I feel a virus coming on. Usually I only have to take it once.

 

Same here! It really works for our family in an amazing way. The only exception is that if I feel especially weak when the cold starts to come on, I have been known to take it every three-four hours around the clock for a day. The only time I have been on my back in bed, sicker than a dog, has been when I waited too long to start the Airborne regimen.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[Amy in KS]

Sambucol. It's elderberry juice and it works GREAT! Last year my son came down with the dreaded swine flu. He was diagnosed in the office. I immediately gave it to him and the rest of our family. He was better within a day and nobody else got sick. I've taken it many times since to keep from getting what everyone else has or to reduce the duration of a cold, etc. I think it works great!

 

I also recommend gargling with a small capful of peroxide (or at least Listerine).

 

I also recommend running or exercising strenously. Even if, especially if you really don't feel like it. It really seems to boost my ability to fight viruses if I feel a bug starting.

[Negin]

I make sure my bowels are moving well :) Stange as it may sound, a bowel flush helps the body detoxify through a different channel- a cold is simply one way that the body detoxifies and by taking the strain off other elimination channels , the cold can do its job more quickly.

:iagree:

 

Those days, I'm also VERY grateful to be homeschooling....because my breath is rather stinky! Maybe the cure is two-fold---you stink so much that everyone leaves you alone!

Yep, so glad for homeschooling when it comes to raw garlic. :lol:

[StaceyinLA]

Olive leaf extract tablets, fresh garlic as mentioned, and drink loads of water. Be sure to drink loads of water if you do the garlic because it WILL make your kidneys HURT if not (ask me how I know this).

 

Also, cut out all refined sugar since it depresses the immune system.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Gargle with warm salt water 3 times a day plus nasal rinse at least twice a day:

 

 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/gargling-with-salt-water-for-colds/?scp=1&sq=salt%20water%20gargle&st=cse

[Soror]

Vit. C.

Extra Cod liver oil and more supplemental D3

Elderberry tonic if I am feeling really brave and desperate