Little Ones With Flu

Here are a few tips to help when taking care of young children who might get the flu - this new one or any other one that comes along. This is not an exhaustive list, just a quick posting of things we've found helpful to our family. Be sure to leave a comment if you have a great tip to help the rest of us out!

1. We all hate to change those sheets in the middle of the night or all day long after a little one has gotten sick on them. So, we put a large beach towel or bath towel under them and on their pillows and keep a large stash at the ready. This way, if they get sick and can't make it to the bathroom or even the bag/bucket by their bed, it is so much easier to quickly replace a towel than wash all the sheets and completely remake a bed. We also put towels on the furniture, having learned that lesson the hard way as well!

2. Along the same lines, we line the floor to the bathroom with large towels or washable throws, so those that try to make it to the bathroom but don't quite succeed hit a washable target instead of the carpet.

3. We know that Sprite seems to help settle a stomach. We put a twist of lemon in ours to keep them drinking and going to the potty. Sometimes we add some Emergen-C powder to boost their Vitamin C (not a whole packet for little ones though).

4. We also sometimes freeze a little Sprite in our popsicle molds so they can have something cool on their throats that won't come back to haunt us!

5. For some sore throats, I've found that an immediate gargle with straight colloidal silver does wonders. Nature's antibiotic - but it only works on bacteria, not viruses.

6. We've found that the Bolthouse brand of C-Boost drink does wonders. The girls love the apricot flavor and it is full of vitamins and minerals. They like it much better than those electrolyte drinks.

7. We avoid dairy during fevers at all costs. It seems that anything dairy related just sours instantly on a feverish stomach and you will be seeing it again (ugh!).

8. Instead of paper tissue products which are rough on little noses and cheeks, I give them a cloth diaper, soft washcloth or even soft handtowel for their running noses. When using a washcloth or towel, I can give each one a different color and then there is no confusion over who has which one.

9. For those inevitable chapped little noses and cheeks, I love the Weleda Calendula Oil. Calendula is a very healing herb and this little oil is one of my favorites for many uses.