What do you do when you get sick?

Do you:

• Run out to the pharmacy or doctor and get medications?
• Use natural medicines like herbs or homeopathy?
• Let your body take care of the bug naturally? 

I recently came down with a cold which reminded of all of the changes I have made throughout my life.  Let me explain, I grew up in a household where my mother was a nurse.  So anytime any one of us (myself or my siblings) would get sick there was always a pill to take.  This is what she knew, this was her training, she felt like she was doing something; there is nothing wrong with that.  And as a mother myself, when my kids get sick I feel that I need to do something, but is medication the answer? 

Until my twenties, medications is what I grew up with, it's what I knew.  When I became pregnant with my first, there was this whole list of medications and over the counter products that I could not take because it "may" hurt the baby.  This made me begin to do some research, why would something I have taken my entire life hurt the baby?  I did not like what I found and turned to homeopathy and herbal medicines not only are they safer options, but these were the original "medicines" used. 

I loved homeopathy, it was so nice not to worry about side effects when my son was teething, had a fever or cold, or got into the cabinet where they were kept.  Something was still nagging at me in the back of my mind..is this the BEST option?  Yes it is safe but do I really need to take anything in order to be doing something?  My gut was telling me no, so I listened. 

I have found the best way to recover from an illness (cold, fever, flu) is to support your body's healing efforts. 

What do I mean support my body's healing efforts?  How do I do this?

• When we get sick we need rest and a lot of it.

• But if you are stuffy and can't breathe, you can't rest, right?  So before I go to bed at night, I set up a humidifier in my room and run it all night.  This takes care of the stuffy nose.
  
• Throughout the day, I hydrate well and drink plenty of green juices. 
  
• I also reduce food consumption because it takes energy away from healing.  This often happens naturally, we don't feel like eating when we don't feel good.  You usually gravitate towards wanting brothy soups and teas.  Do what your body is asking for. 
  
• Eliminate sugar because it slows your immune systems fighter cells down for about an hour to an hour and a half.  That's huge when you are trying to fight a cold! 
• If you do have a fever, sweat it out.  Remember my last post?  Your skin is your biggest detox organ, well sweating will help release any built up toxins.  DO NOT take over the counter fever reducers, this inhibits your body's efforts to get rid of the invader.  Yes I know you feel crappy when you have a fever every time you move you feel it, but remember the first bullet?  Rest, this will help you get through feeling crappy.  
  

So through my life, I have run the gammit of how I weathered a cold but now my choice will always be to support my immune system because it really does know what it is doing!