Shoshana's Recent Bout with the Flu
Shoshana, our 22-month-old, recently had the flu, and here’s how that went:
Friday, she was clingy and had a wet cough out of the blue. That night, she ran a fever. She wanted to nurse literally all night. I kept checking her temperature and it went up to 103 by 2 am. We took a cool, moist washcloth to her feet and removed her blankets. Within 15 minutes, her fever went down to 102. I removed the washcloth, and we did skin-to-skin so that my body temp could help regulate hers. Her fever went down to 100 within an hour. If it would have gone beyond 103, I would have tried a fever reducer (acetaminophen), but we’re firm believers that the fever is there to help kill the virus, so we ride it out as much as possible.
Saturday, she didn’t eat much. We tried to avoid dairy and sugar as much as possible, but I did offer Organic Pear Juice, diluted with water since she didn’t want to drink anything. We spent the day resting, with lots of books, cuddles, screentime, and nursing. She drank some homemade chicken broth our favorite coconut water, Harmless Harvest. We also spent some time with our Rezzimax on her sinuses to help keep things moving. She was also adjusted and allowed me to massage her feet and neck. She ran a fever ranging from 99-101 most of the day and night. We took a long, hot steamy shower, and then nursed throughout the night.
Sunday, was much like Saturday, except we spent some time outdoors since it warmed up a bit.
Monday, we had the opportunity to play outside for a few hours because it was much warmer. I noticed that she wasn’t urinating often, so I decided to start offering diluted juice in a syringe and telling her it’s vitamins (because she loves taking her vitamins). And it worked! She definitely drank a lot more, and I could tell it was making her feel much better. She ate a better dinner and wanted to snack a little more afterward. She took a 3-hour nap (which is totally unlike her), and her fever finally broke!
Today is Tuesday. We decided to take the day off since we see so many children at our office, and it hasn’t officially been 36 hours of being fever free. She ate some avocado for breakfast, we got about two hours of outdoor playtime in the sun before it got cloudy, and we will continue to rest and take it easy today while pushing more fluids, vitamins, herbs, and cuddles. Now, we’re just making sure that no one else catches it!
Here's a list of our favorite products we used to help Shoshana get through the flu with links to them:
www.rezzimax.com promo code: aligned20 for 20% off! We used this for sinuses, but we use it for lots of other things, too, including Vagus nerve stimulation. (blog about that soon!)
Yin Qiao: It’s a Chinese herbal supplement for respiratory support. We take this at the onset of ANY respiratory issue. It’s hard for Shoshana to take it because it’s super bitter, but I try to crush it up and sneak it into something.
We use Oscillococcinum the instant the fever hits. I, unfortunately, didn’t have any on hand, so I didn’t get to use this with her from the very beginning, but we call them Sprinkles, and she takes it with no problems. I’ve been using this since we got our hands on it, in hopes that I don’t catch it!
Zinc Gummies. We’ve all been taking these since COVID, but lately, I’ve upped her dose from ½ of one to a whole one to help her kick this virus.
Douglas Laboratories Zinc Gummies
We use this for nightly massages of the neck along the lymph channels, C7/T1 Area (wind gates in TCM),
along the lung channels, and the bottoms of the feet. She loves it.
Babo Botanicals Eucalyptus Rub
We’ve been using this for sore throat and to help with the cough. Bee Propolis throat spray for kids by BeeKeepers
Anything she eats gets some of this sprinkled on it to make sure she has the minerals her body needs, since our main concern is to keep things moving and to keep her hydrated. Redmond Himalayan Salt
The best coconut water ever. Nature’s natural electrolyte drink. Super tasty, and Shoshi likes it because it’s pink! Harmless Harvest Coconut Water
Hope this helps.