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Each year about this time, I start preparing for the Winter months by making tinctures and elderberry syrup (you can freeze ahead) and other remedies to have on hand in case anyone gets sick.
I keep all of these remedies in my natural medicine cabinet so that everything is organized and ready to use.
When Mom Gets Sick…
I realized a few years ago when I was the one to come down with the flu that there was one huge hole in my natural remedies plan…
I was the one to get sick this time. When my husband or children are sick, I get out the remedies and administer them on a schedule until they get better.
When I got sick, I was laying in bed and my husband asked…
“What do you need?”
And I responded, “I have no idea.”
When I wasn’t feeling well, I didn’t have the energy to get all the remedies myself and I was too tired/sick/brain foggy to be able to explain it all to my husband.
To my husband’s credit, he figured out where to find the remedies and did pretty good with giving them to me on a schedule. With those and lots of herbal tea and bone broth, I recovered quickly, so my first priority was creating a checklist that he (or anyone) could use if I was ever sick or not at home when a child was sick and needed natural remedies.
My Natural Remedies Checklist
If you are the one responsible for providing care when someone in your family gets sick, I’d recommend making a checklist like this for your home so that if you are the one to get sick, you can get the benefit of all the remedies you give to your family.
To make mine, I started by making a list of all of the remedies I had on hand and their purpose, dosage and location. I made this into a checklist spreadsheet of sorts for easy reference. Not only did this make it more convenient for me to use these remedies, it was something I could easily hand off to my husband if I got sick.
When my husband and I were out of town for a conference and our kids were with grandparents, this checklist was helpful for them as well. One of the children had a stomach ache as a reaction to food, and the checklist made it easy for grandparents to find and administer remedies.
Below is the checklist I keep on hand (with links to how to make the remedies) and…
Click here to print my checklist of remedies and dosage.
Remedies Checklist for Common Cold, Flu, or Stomach Bug
- Give herbal teas (iced or hot) as much as possible for hydration and relief of illness symptoms. Peppermint, Chamomile and Nettle are a good combination for most illnesses. Can add fresh lemon juice and honey if desired for children over 1 year. (Here are recipes for all the teas I keep on hand)
- Give elderberry syrup (1 tsp for kids, 1 tbsp for adults) ever 2-3 hours until illness subsides. (How to make it)
- Raw Garlic: For adults, 1 clove of raw, organic garlic minced every few hours. (If pregnant, no more than 1 clove per day)
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Up to 1 teaspoon in a glass of water every few hours during illness.
- Vitamin C powder mixed into water every few hours as needed. Up to 1 teaspoon. (this is the one I use)
- If respiratory: Cough syrup as needed. Make a face steam by boiling 1 inch of water in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon each of rosemary, basil, oregano and thyme. Cover head with towel and breathe in steam to loosen congestion or calm a cough. Diffuse Lavender and Eucalyptus as needed.
- If digestive: Use digestive tincture as needed (up to 30 drops) for relief of nausea, stomach pain or other digestive problems. Diffuse peppermint (for adults and older kids) as needed. Give activated charcoal in capsules or mixed into water as needed.
- If skin problem: Clean well and use herbal salve as needed until better. (Suspect hand, foot, and mouth disease? See this post.)
- Magnesium Bath: Warm/hot bath for body aches, fever and relaxation. Add 1 cup magnesium flakes or epsom salts to bath and soak as long as desired.
- Hot Pack: Use hot rice pack to help with chills, aches or other problems as needed.
What natural remedies do you keep on hand for cold and flu season?
Thank you so much I was looking for a print off like this!!
Hey, Robyn. No, I didn’t think it was allowed and didn’t want to come across like a salesman. 🙂 I do love it though. If you google Nixall, you can find it, but I’ll give you some better search terms so that the info you get isn’t brand related, but research related. “anolyte water” and a byproduct of anolyte water is “hypochlorus acid”. It kills viruses, bacteria, mold, and fungus. And, your body makes it to fight its own infections. It’s more powerful than bleach and safe enough to spray on the hands of a baby. …See what I mean by salesman? I’ll stop there, but look it up. It’s crazy.
I always have homemade elderberry syrup on hand as soon as school starts. I have four kids and when one of us gets any kind of congestion, I boil some water, add 1 TBS of Pink Himalayan salt and 3-5 drops of Organic Tea Tree oil, and have them sit under a towel breathing that in for five minutes. Then I send them to the bathroom to cough up whatever they can. I’ve done it for myself when I had sinus pressure and it was really soothing and provided relief. After that, we use a Thieves inspired salve on their chests and in the diffuser, and sprtiz Nixall (it’s stabilized anolyte water –> check it out, it’s amazing) around us to keep the air/surfaces clean.
I’m loving your site, by the way. 🙂
did you mean to provide a link to the water?
How long does the elderberry syrup last once it’s been made and stored in the refrigerator?
Thanks
is there something else other than vodka and rum to use as base for digestive tincture??
Love love love this idea. Thank you for sharing! If I may I would love to add ginger infused water. I gave this to my 16 month old when he needed an antibiotic for the third time in a 8weeks time….. Long story… However, it worked wonders. It was gentle enough for his little tummy and cleared him up in a few days and alowed his body build up some imunity too.
what about sore throat? general heady heaviness?
Gargle with salt water frequently.
For sinus infections, use a neti pot 1-2 X per day. Also hepar sulph homeopathics works wonders too 🙂
Ecchinacia is good for immunity, right? I have a plant but am not sure what to do with it. A tincture or tea? What part of the plant? Thank you for all the good you do!!
Thank you so much for these useful tips!!
I simply love your newsletter!
Wonderful list, thank you for sharing!
Do you use homeopathy?