Infant and Children's Remedies

Hi, I have found that if you always have a layer of vaseline around the mouth area the drooling etc from teething would not affect the skin. Especially at night it will help heal it if you put a thick layer of it around the chin and on lips mouth etc do it when the child is asleep it will be easier. During the day keep topping it up. Hope it helps.

Elaine,

Re infant who has had lots of antibiotics;

The discomfort he's experiencing could be from a fungal infection/or candida. Antibiotics in quantity will nearly always guarantee fungi.

Consider nystatin. That is a prescription drug so your MD must prescribe. If me, I'd also try Colloidal Silver. Read up on it's benefits. CS can kill fungi; I have so experienced. CS is positively charged as is beneficial bacteria which is why (one pro explained to me) ... which is why CS does no damage to the beneficial bacteria. But CS is draws to fungi and bad bacteria (negatively charged).

How much for a child? Don't know. But a full dose for me would be two tablespoons three times daily. If my child responded well in a few days using a dropper to administer, then I'd keep it up to see if in a week he was better. CS would have to be administered for months to finally kill a system wide infection.

Also child might have developed a reaction to hard to digest carbs, such as wheat based; and remember, sugar based foods (fruit juices) definitely feed the fungus. So he needs to be off such sugars... so no "sippy cups" filled with juices.

Dear Elaine,

Your grandson has had a bit of a rough start! Dave has good advice regarding the fungal possibility and solutions for it.

Some additional thoughts on dealing with whiny behaviour:

Daily outdoor play and sunshine daily are good for the mood and attitude, even toddlers.

A lot of screen time (tv and computer) can make little ones cranky. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under two.

One of my toddler mottos is: Feed them when they are hungry, put them to bed when they are tired. Being tired or hungry increases whining in mine and most.

Sometimes they get into a whiny habit. When this happens, I will answer a whine with, "Nice voice please." said with a smile in a very pleasant way. I wouldn't make a battle out of it, just nice reminders.

Sometimes children get a little fussier when they are going through changes (learning to walk, talk, etc.) Sometimes it is helpful for a parent to know, "This is going to pass." Teething also makes mine fussy. If the toddler is drooling a lot, this could be it.

Please let us know how it goes!

~Mama to Many~

What has seemed to help my children is Kombucha. Kombucha can be bought in many stores and also can be made at home as well. It is a probiotic and also has enzymes and B vitamins...4 out of 5 of my children really like this...what they like is how they feel after they drink it. They feel good. My young children know that kombucha is great for when they feel sick, but they also like the taste when it is flavored.

We also use colloidal silver often as well. Even if they are fighting off something, colloidal silver seems to help them feel better.

Turmeric is a hard one to like. It is sometimes mixed with liberal amounts of honey just to get kids to swallow the stuff. But, then again, the turmeric we use in India for medicinal purposes is always fresh, never powder, so I am not sure how the powder would mix with the honey. I have seen fresh turmeric in some shops in the US, but I am sure it will be difficult to track down.

I also have a 2 year old daughter. To get her to drink ACV, I measure a 1/2 teaspoon into her 8 ounce milk cup at the start of the day (more than that amount is noticed by her). Once all of the milk with ACV is drunk, then I serve her regular whole milk for the rest of the day. This was the only way I could get her to ingest it for her breathing and sinus ailments. When needed, I use the mixture 5 days on and 2 days off.

Hi, you could perhaps try adding a little bit of vinegar to some apple juice to disguise the taste ( I would try adding a little bit of baking soda to some ACV, allowing it to react for about 5 minutes and then adding it to some good quality apple juice, with no high-fructose syrup, etc), also you can add turmeric to your child's diet by using it in the foods you cook, for instance, you can add a little bit of turmeric to sauteed onions and then use the seasoned onions to make a soup or any other dish. Another thing would be adding a little bit of coconut oil to make fruit smoothies (just blend some milk with a banana and the oil), etc.

Sandra- Thank you for the tip. I can definately sneak the ACV into some apple juice. I completely forgot about VCO, I can mix that into her yogurt. I started applying ACV to the boils last night. They seemed a bit smaller this morning. Last night I encouraged (more like enforced) her to drink about 2 oz of ACV/baking soda in alkalized water. We shared the glass. I also use turmeric in my cooking, I just dont believe a teaspoon of turmeric in my meals will make a difference. I will remain hopeful and appreciate everyone's input.

Ruma- Thank you for your response. I give my daughter a babyspoonful of raw honey about two times a day (breakfast and bedtime). I could try mixing a little turmeric into it, however I'm afraid it might discourage her from taking it the next time. It's already somewhat of a struggle to get her to swallow it as is, she is getting better at it because it is our routine. I will definately give it a try.

I have a son that is 7 mo. old I recently took him to the doc for a staph infection on his thigh & he is almost done with his antibiotics. I would much rather treat his staph infections naturally. Is it safe for an infant to drink apple cider vinegar?? What other ways could I treat his staph that arent too difficult??? I have a hard enough time getting him to take his antibiotics.

Nikki as per the attached article:

One of the best things to have in your medicine cabinet is tea tree oil. In medical studies, tea tree oil has proven successful in wiping out staph bacteria quickly. Simply use a cotton ball or swab to apply tea tree oil to a skin infection, and cover with a clean bandage. Repeat two or three times per day until the infection is gone.

Another natural treatment is to make a paste of baking soda and apple cider vinegar, and apply to the infection with a cotton ball or swab. Cover with a clean bandage. Repeat several times a day

Mix 1 tbsp. Of honey with 1 tsp. Tea tree oil, and cover the infection with the sticky paste. Cover with a clean bandage, repeating several times per day.

Mix 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 3 tbsp. Honey and 1 cup hot water. Soak a clean cloth in the solution, and wring out. Use as a hot pack three times per day, using new solution and a clean cloth every time. Be sure and launder these cloths with bleach after use to keep the infection from spreading.

Read more: Natural Cures for a Staph Infection | eHow.com

Also because your baby has had antibiotics you need to buy some probiotics because the antibiotics will kill off the good bacteria in the baby's stomach and you need to repopulate the good bacteria. Doctors don't tell you this.

To Jacquie from Tacoma: Sounds like your little granddaughter might have MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) which she would have probably picked up in the nursery at the hospital. Whether she has it or not, anything that will kill MRSA will probably kill a lot of other things also. My line of thought is that external application of turmeric is safer than one round of antibiotics after another, and all their unwanted side effects. You might try mixing 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of turmeric in a couple ounces of distilled water and swabbing the areas involved 3 to 4 times a day to see if it improves. Using it this way should prevent getting any in her eyes, which is one place you don't want it. Another way of using it on a baby, might be to mix it with a little A & D ointment and applying it sparingly to the affected areas. Hang in there, Grandmother, because I also believe this little one is going to be cured.

Have you also looked at the baby wash and lotion products you are using? Unfortunately the FDA does not regulate our cosmetics and they are loaded with mineral oil and animal by products that our skin can not break down.

Mineral oil or petrolatum in products acts like plastic wrap and prevents our largest organ- our skin- from breathing. It then traps the bacteria and then you see the eczema and other skin conditions.

Look at the Arbonne baby products or other natural products - and google the ingedients - you will be amazed at the level of carcinogenic ingredients in our skin care.

Airborne has a lot of nasties in it, too. Many of their products contain parabens as well as other toxins.

Dear Nathan,

Is your toddler urinating more frequently than before? How often is "frequent" to you?

I know that dairy can affect children who have trouble wetting the bed. So I guess it could cause frequent urination.

It seems that my toddlers that age do pass urine very often. It is one reason I potty train very late. But this has not been an issue once they are potty trained.

Are there any signs of bladder infection? Odor, pain upon urination, etc?

~Mama to Many~

Sorry for the late reply Mama to Many!

My kid does not drink water that much. He's more into milk and fruit juice. He urinate at least 10x a day. It usually happens when he cries and he cries a lot: when he wants something; when we stop him from doing things he like, etc. He cannot talk yet so we thought that crying is his way of communicating.

We did not notice any odor on his urine so far and he does not complain of pain in urinating. In fact, we're trying to potty train him right now as well as coax him to drink milk from a sippy cup instead of milk bottle but we have not succeeded.

If you could give advice about the latter it would be appreciated.

Dear Nathan,

10x a day for a 15 month old to urinate seems within the normal range - at least it has been for my toddlers.

I agree with you that crying is his way of communicating. I once had a child that age who screamed for everything. I got a DVD (video back then! ) of sign language for babies and taught him just a few signs. It helped him and us so much. He learned them so fast and he was able to communicate and it made our home more peaceful. You may be able to find this information online or at your library if you want to try and teach him some signs.

Most of my children were three before they were potty trained. Then it usually takes a day or two or less. :) I admire those who potty train early. It just never worked for me. I found the frequency that smaller toddlers needed to be taken potty, the frequency of accidents, etc to be frustrating to me and my little ones. When I realize that my child is dry through the night often, I figure they are about ready. I take them to the potty first thing in the morning and we go from there. (Though I had a child who was potty trained at 3 but not dry at night until 9 or so. Bed wetters need lots of patience and it just needs to be no big deal. I am grateful for pull ups for older children! )

Anyway, that is a bit of my philosophy and experience on potty training.

Potty training and weaning from the bottle at the same time may be too much at once. Both can be stressful and are changes. Toddlers love routines and it might be best to change one thing at a time. And toddlers often still need to suck, at least for comfort. If he does not suck his thumb or take a pacifier, he may need to hang on to the bottle a bit longer. You could try setting some limits on it. (Like, the bottle is for at home only. Or for daytime only. Etc.)

I hope these thoughts will help a little. Toddlers a are a lot of work. Try to find some fun every day and enjoy this stage. After 20 years of having at least one toddler, I have none in my house and I miss them! They are always saying and doing such funny and cute things.

~Mama to Many~

Hi Mama to Many! Just want to update you on the progress of my toddler.

He does not pee that much anymore. He does not wear diaper during the day as he now go to the bathroom to pee. We still have him wear diaper when he goes to bed at night. But it's been more than a month already that his diaper stayed dry until morning. Like you did with your kids, we will no longer put him on diapers starting tonight. Hope he will not wet the bed until tomorrow morning.

However, he still not want to poo in the potty or the toilet. Thus, we still make him wear it until he was able to poo then, he stayed nappy-free until he went to bed.

The good thing is that he's already weaned off the bottle and drinks his milk from the cup, not the sippy cup. But we have to force-feed him because he refuse to drink milk on his own since we started weaning him from the bottle.

He still does not speak though but he understands us when we tell him to pick up his toys, etc. I wish he has the patience to utter words that we can understand because he keeps on talking to us in the language that he only knows - unintelligible words that sounds like Korean/Chinese/minions. It's funny I know but that's how he sounds when he talks very fast.

How do you deal with your kids when they were on this stage?

Dear Nathan,

Glad to hear of your successes with potty training!

There are many things you can do to help maximize your child's language development.

1. Read to him every day. Dr. Seuss Books, Margaret Wise Brown books. ABC books.

2. Continue talking with him. Name things as you do things together. Ball. Oatmeal. Spoon. It will give him good speech to imitate.

3. Limit TV time. As much talking happens on television, it does not seem to help much with language development.

4. Sing with him. Play music that has nursery rhymes for children or other children's songs. Even if he isn't singing the songs, it will give him something else that is good to imitate when he begins to speak. And singing uses a different part of the brain than speaking.

Did you ever try doing some sign language with him? Learning some basic signs can help both parent and child experience less frustration with this stage before he is speaking well.

Do you have a pediatrician that you take him to? While for some children, it is normal to not be speaking at the age of two, there can sometimes be physical causes that would make it hard for a child to learn to speak properly. (Short Frenulum, hearing loss (even temporary from colds or mild ear infections), etc.) It is a good idea to rule these things out, at least.

I also would not force feed a child his food or drink. It is important for meal time to be pleasant.

~Mama to Many~

For a toddler, I would go with cranberry juice cocktail. She will love the taste and the cranberry will start alevating her pain quickly. She can drink a 1/2 cup or more, 3 times a day and I would keep it up for a minimum of 3 days, probably up to a week.

You can help a lot by having her sitting in a bowl of water with couples drops of Lugol's solution and baking soda (4 Tb spoons per gallon of water) as long as she can stand, 15 minutes would be ideal. It is very safe and does the work. You can read a book for her while she is sitting and no sugars in the diet until it goes into remission.

Dear Holisticmom624,

Yes, frequent breastfeeding is great for preventing and helping jaundice.

Sunlight is also good for mild jaundice. Pediatrician Dr. Sears says to "put your skin-exposed baby next to a closed window and let the rays of sunlight shine on him for around fifteen minutes, four times a day. Sunlight dissolves the bilirubin in the skin so that it can be excreted in your baby's urine."

All of my babies have had the Vitamin K shot, though, I like you, prefer to avoid any "extras! " Only the first one (of nine) had any hint of jaundice. And he was a very poor nurser in the beginning. All of the rest of my babies nursed seemingly constantly in the first days after birth. So, if you have to get the Vitamin K shot, I would encourage you to nurse as much as baby is willing in those early days. My milk would come in in 36 hours when I did this; perhaps that is how they avoided jaundice. My milk did take 3 days to come in with my first baby.

I hope that all goes well with you and you can avoid the jaundice if not the Vitamin K shot. It can be pretty frustrating. I remember one time getting the "consent" form for the PKU test to sign in the hospital. So, I checked "decline." There was a box for it. The nurses came back and told me it was "mandatory." Well. So, I wasn't really giving permission, I guess, was I.

~Mama to Many~

Yes, MtM, sunlight is very good for baby's "yellow", and that's why they put them under a "bili light". But there's another trick to add: when the mother drinks (plenty of) lemon juice, it lowers the numbers too.

Dear Mmsg,

That is great to know about the lemon juice. Thanks!

~Mama to Many~

Lucena: Nutrients work in concert like a symphony. Isolates lack the dozens of nutrients and hundreds of cofactors in properly prepared whole foods. Park rangers examined the stomach of a dead herbivore and discovered he had eaten 400 plants. Take 5g daily Hawaiian spirulina. This has k1, k2, and 100 more nutrients. They are transferred to the lovely baby through the milk. Watch raw food and super food videos.

Lucena: I will agree w/ Mike on the Spirulina. Suffering from an environmental illness for a few yrs led to a Vit-K deficiency in myself until I started taking Spirulina tablets. Beneficial bacteria in the gut manufactures the K, but I think that infants cannot complete this processes so that's why the injections are sometimes warranted.

As for decisionmaking, it's always best to try the natural route first. If the spirulina doesn't raise the K levels, then I.m. injection may be necessary.

Dear Janeysilva,

The first thing this made me think of was my own sixteen year old son. He has a head full of thick, thick dark brown hair. He has one patch of white on the back. It is maybe a 2 inch square patch. I am pretty sure it is a birth mark. He had very blond hair as a toddler, but it darkened over the years, except for the white patch, which I think is very cute. It may even be considered gray hair. His hair is a bit longer now and I don't notice it unless his hair is pretty short.

So, it could be something like that. Or it could just be a random white hair.

If you are concerned, though, a simple thing to try would be a half teaspoon of blackstrap molasses for him each day. If it is cause by a nutritional deficiency, that may help. I think of Blackstrap off a spoon as a natural vitamin.

Is your child under stress? If so, reduce if you are able. Chamomile tea is a good tea for all ages for its calming effect. My six year old loves Sleepytime tea, which has a lot of chamomile in it.

~Mama to Many~