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Reduce fever, cough or pain:
3 natural, holistic remedies

by Diana

Time to read: 1.5 minutes. Fact: Herbs like chamomile aren’t just  good for tea.  Chamomile can be an effective pain reducer and promote healing too.  If you’re looking for an alternative way to treat illness or pain read on.  I’m providing 3 fast tips on how to use safe, effective natural remedies to create better health — often faster than over-the-counter medications.   It’s back to basics time!

Fever, cough, stuffy head, sore throat or diarrhea?  Natural remedies are an effective alternative to synthetic pills and prescription medications.  Dr. Andrea Rentea recently tipped me off on 3 simple tips.  She was presenting to the Holistic Moms Network/Chicago.  Here are her amazingly useful and effective tips with you.   Ready?

Natural fever-reducing remedy

A lemon compress works well for fevers.  Seriously!  What’s a compress?  Essentially, it’s a cloth soaked in the natural remedy or remedies.  In this case you place lemon (available at most Asian markets) in pot of warm water to extract its beneficial qualities.  You simply soak a cloth in this water.  Then place the compress wherever the child is hot — whether it be the forehead or the feet.  This allows the lemon “to go to work.”

Where do you get the cloths?  Just about anywhere.  You can use anything — old bed sheets, tee-shirts, PJ’s or cotton.  If you’ve got medical gauze even better.  Cut the cloths in different lengths — long enough to cover things like legs, arms, your child’s head… all the different body parts.  This way you’re ready-to-go when the challenge present itself.

For best results, you’ll also need the same shapes and lengths of wool (or a thicker, absorbent wool-like) material that can be placed on the top of the cotton or cloths.  But these are small details.

Natural ear ache / infection remedy

First chop 1/4 onion into very small pieces.  Than warm the onion pieces on the stove in a dry pan for no more than a minute (you just want them warm not cooked).  Take a piece of non-furry gauze (or cloth) and place the onion pieces in it and tie it up nice and secure.   Use a safety pin.  Bingo.  Compress.

Place the onion compress around the child’s ear so it frames the ear.  Do not place the onion compress directly on the ear.   The idea is to let the warm, moist air move into the ear.  Closing off the ear won’t work.  Be sure to leave the compress around the ear for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Natural sinus infection remedy

Here’s one that I tried out on my husband who suffers sinus infections fairly frequently.  It worked!  First peel a ginger root and grate off about half a tablespoon. Wrap the contents in your cloth or gauze.  Secure the compress with a safety pin.  You can place the compress under your child’s eyes or near the cheeks.  Do it for about five to seven minutes.

You can do the same thing with about a teaspoon of shavings from a horseradish root.  But only leave the compress on your child’s skin for no more than two to three minutes.   Always stay with your child.

Your natural remedies survival kit

Be prepared.  Right?  In the spirit of doing so I’m sharing Dr. Renea’s home care essentials.  They include:

• Horseradish root
• Organic lemons
• Ginger root
• Onions
• Organic chamomile tea (or flowers/leaves)
• Olbas oil
• Two rubber water bottles
• A hand grater
• Enamel pot
• A sifter
• Collection of about 20 cloths to use as a compress

Holistic, natural remedies are safe and effective

Dr. Rentea is giving tips on holistic remedies for treating fever and many other common symptoms of cold, flus and typical ails.  What’s cool about Dr. Rentea is how she’s using her knowledge as a physician BUT she’s heavily incorporating  anthroposophical medicine.

Anthroposophical is a fancy word for a holistic approach to medicine focusing on natural healing, the psyche and the spirit.

So next time when your child is suffering from one of these symptoms stop.  Don’t rush to the closest drug store or your doctor office.  Try the holistic approach first.   It really can save you money and a sleepless night… for you and your little one.