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How do you combat the flu if you don't get the vaccine?


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I think dh has the flu. He felt achy and had the chills most the day yesterday and finally had to come home. When he felt the first onset of symptoms he started taking the Oscill... stuff, extra vitamin D3, vitamin C, oil of oregano capsules, homeopathic pills for fever and flu-like symptoms and later Tylenol and ibuprofen. He still has it this a.m. What do you do to treat the flu naturally or what has worked greatly for treating the flu? We have dc 9 years, 7 years, and 6 months. My fear is the 6 month old getting it. We do not get the flu vaccine. Thanks for any help.

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You could have the kids take some Vitamin D3. During the winter this year my oldest 4 kids are taking 2000 IU a day. My sister's midwife is also now recommending liquid vit D for infants. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends 400 IU for infants daily but I haven't done any other researching to see if that is the best dose or not. I haven't gotten around to getting any liquid drops for our little one yet.

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Look into Elderberry. You can very easily make a syrup that is great! It helps cut the duration of illness and also lessen the chance you'll get the flu. You can buy it in capsules but if you can get a hold of the berries (locally or online from somewhere like Rose Mountain Herbs) you can make the syrup (it has honey, ginger...both good for fighting bugs).

 

And ditto Wendy. Those who get the vax can still get the flu.

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The same way you'd combat the flu if you had gotten the vax (the vax is no guarantee of not getting the flu). You rest, get lots of fluid (soups, teas, gatorade), theraflu for fever and pain if needed.

 

Yeah, I know this from personal experience. My first year in the military I got the flu vaccine (first time for me, but required for all military personnel) and a couple weeks later I got the flu. I told the doc I shouldn't have the flu--I got the vaccine! He just laughed.

 

Agree with all others--rest, fluids. Wait out. Just because you feel better doesn't mean you're over it yet. The doc wouldn't let me go back to work for a week (they can do this in the military) even though I felt better after 3 days. He said my white cell count was too low and I'd probably just catch something else.

 

Cinder

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Can you share your homemade soup recipe, please? :)

 

Sure! It was my Sicilian mil's recipe and she swore by it. :001_smile:

 

Cover three chicken breasts with water (Mom used a whole chicken, but no one in my family likes dark meat, so...) Add a large sliced onion, five or six minced garlic cloves, and three bay leaves. Boil for ~40 minutes, add four-six peeled and cut carrots and continue boiling until carrots are tender. (Total time ~1 hour.) Remove breasts and pick meat off the bone, add chicken back in and salt and pepper to taste. You can add some chicken boullion if you like the broth stronger. I serve it over rice or noodles with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

 

Be sure they breathe in that steam; it really helps clear the nasal passages! The broth is soothing, and the anti-bacterial properties of the garlic and onion really seem to knock back infections as well as stimulate immune function.

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Yeah, I know this from personal experience. My first year in the military I got the flu vaccine (first time for me, but required for all military personnel) and a couple weeks later I got the flu. I told the doc I shouldn't have the flu--I got the vaccine! He just laughed.

 

Agree with all others--rest, fluids. Wait out. Just because you feel better doesn't mean you're over it yet. The doc wouldn't let me go back to work for a week (they can do this in the military) even though I felt better after 3 days. He said my white cell count was too low and I'd probably just catch something else.

 

Cinder

Exactly...give yourself time to get over it, not just feel better.

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I have several boxes of this homeopathic remedy on hand all year and especially during the flu season. It's called Oscillococcinum and if you take it at the earliest sign of the flu it does shorten the duration. Whenever I get the flu, I immediately begin taking this and Emergen-C packets (I take Emergen-C as often as I can up to one per hour if I'm awake). I dose w/the Oscillo at the beginning and probably one other time that day. The Vit D is also good. I've used Sambucol for sickness also. Taking these natural remedies and some good homemade chicken soup and lots of rest is my protocol for the flu. I usually have one really bad day and by the next day I'm starting to be up and around and then I'm almost back to normal by the 3rd day.

 

BTW, they sell this stuff everywhere. I've even seen it at Walmart.

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Keep the rest of the family away from dh as much as possible.

 

WASH HANDS like you had a germ phobia.

 

Once you get it: rest, rest, rest and fluids, fluids, fluids. Control fever (I like to let a fever run up to about 101 degrees--it's a good temp to kill microbes. However, if the patient feels too miserable at that level or if it gets higher, control with ibuprofen, acetiminophen, etc.

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I'm going to bookmark this thread! :001_smile:

 

From "The New Healing Herbs" by Michael Castleman, for Colds & Flu:

 

Angelica

Boneset

Cocoa (dark chocolate)

Coffee (though personally, I can't stand coffee when I'm sick, and I'm a coffee drinker)

Echinacea

Elderberry

Eleutherococcus

Ephedra (may cause potentially fatal heart problems)

Eucalyptus

Garlic

Ginger

Ginseng

Hyssop

Licorice

Marshmallow

Meadowsweet (contains aspirin-like compounds)

Mullein

Pelargonium

Peppermint

Rose

Slippery elm

Tea

 

For cough:

 

Angelica (may cause a rash if sensitive to sunlight)

Cocoa

Coffee

Ephedra (see above)

Eucalyptus

Fenugreek (not recommended if you have a history of blood clots)

Horehound

Hyssop

Kola

Licorice (may cause water retention w/long term use)

Marshmallow

Mate

Mullein

Pennyroyal

Peppermint

Slippery elm

Tea

Thyme

 

Here's a recipe for a cough syrup or sore throat:

 

1 pint water

1-1/2 oz. dried thyme

1 c. honey

 

Boil water. Add the thyme. Cool to room temp and strain. Add the honey. Shake and refrigerate. Take 1 Tbsp. several times a day as needed.

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