Back to school – Coughs and Colds

Back to school – Coughs and Colds

It’s back to school time and the weather is changing. For lots of families with young children this often means the onset of coughs and colds.Obviously prevention is better than a cure so here are some tips for warding off the winter bugs.

When my boys were small a very wise Indian homeopath told me that when the weather is changing to put my boys on a course of Vitamin C and Cod Liver Oil. Over time I changed the Cod Liver Oil for Udo’s choice oil.

I did this every September and January and the number of ‘legitimate’ days they needed were very very few. However there was no cure for the number of ‘fake illnesses’ they managed to pull over on me!

A course of Echinacea is also a wonderful immune system booster. I believe it is a good idea to give either of these as a course for a month and repeat a couple of months later rather than being permanently on them and allowing the body to become resistant.

If your child does develop a virus here are some remedies to help relieve the symptoms:

Aconite

This should be given at the first sign of a cough or cold that has come on suddenly – often from getting very cold. The cough usually sounds croupy.

Arsenicum

Common cold with burning nasal catarrh – a profuse, watery discharge. Often the skin below the nostrils will be red.

Bryonia

The Byronia cough is dry; in fits and is exhausting but little or no mucous is produced. The child will often be in bad form – bear with a sore head comes to mind!

Drosera

The cough is barking, deep, dry at night, violent fits of coughing. It is worse for lying down and often children will wake at midnight with the cough.

Gelsemium

This is a great remedy for those flu like symptoms – heaviness and aching all over, chills, head aches, eyes ache, flushed feeling in the face.

Natrum Mur

Discharge from eyes is watery. Nasal catarrh drips down the back of the throat – profuse, white or watery and this alternates with a blocked nose. There can be lots of sneezing and the lips dry and cracked.

Pulsatilla

A keynote of the Pulsatilla cough is dry at night and loose in the morning. It can be an exhausting cough and it is difficult to cough up any mucous. The child often sits up to cough. Often the child needing Pulsatilla will have an offensive smell from their breath, especially in the morning.

I hope this helps keep your family fit and healthy in the coming months! If coughs and colds are a recurring professional you could consider making an appointment to address the underlying problem.

Gráinne Adams – 086 2600893