5 Naturopathic Treatment Tips for Kids’ Cough & Cold Symptoms
Are you a parent that cringes everytime your child gets another cold or sore throat? Many children get 5-10 or more colds each year. There is much that natural medicine has to offer, see my five tips below.
1. Honey – using honey often works better for coughs than over the counter medications. It is safe to use in children over one year of age: 1/2 teaspoon for those 1-5 years of age, and 1 teaspoon for those six and above. Stir the honey in a bit of warm water, adding a squeeze of lemon can help break up mucus.
2. Fever help. A cold cloth to the forehead and a neutral temperature sponge bath are standard naturopathic suggestions. Herbs such as Boneset herb can be given as a tea to reduce the fever, body aches, and indigestion. Many parents use and are recommended to give acetaminophen to their children, however, studies have shown that parents tend to overmedicate; if you are unsure, speak to your child’s pediatrician or pharmacist. Consult with your naturopath for more options to help with fever.
3. Captain zinc to the rescue! The mineral zinc has been shown to help resolve cough and cold symptoms quickly. It can even help prevent middle ear infections. Besides frequent colds and infections, other signs of zinc deficiency include poor appetite, and poor growth and development. It’s a good idea to get your child tested for their level of zinc if they are showing these signs of deficiency.
4. Homeopathy. During the 2009-2010 flu season, French doctors were surveyed to see what treatment patients were more
satisfied with. The patients treated with homeopathy were most satisfied, compared to those who were given standard allopathic medications. In homeopathy, for those unfamiliar with it, a unique homeopathic medicine is prescribed to match the specific and unique symptoms presented by each patient, whether it be for a persistent cough, lingering sore throat, or many other ailments. It is a very effective way to treat children and is one of the treatments we offer at the office and through Skype consultation.
5. Cold sock treatment. An old yet effective naturopathic method to draw away congestion and to reduce coughs is to place cold water strained cotton socks on your child’s feet, and then a dry wool pair of socks over the cold cotton socks. Immediately put them under covers in bed. In most cases the night goes much more smoothly, and there is an improvement in the morning.