Join Patreon for a bonus Q&A with Nina-Marie where we discuss antibiotics.

Panic is contagious, but so is calm.

In this episode, Nina-Marie is back to talk about what to do when your kid gets sick. Nina-Marie created Primary Care Parent, which I keep on hand for quick, at-home decisions.We tackle fear first, because kids track our nervous system. Then we dig into foundations like rest and hydration before anything fancy. Screens get dialed back so sleep signals can do their job. Food stays simple, and the extra sugar that dulls immune cells gets a hard pass. And you’ll see why small, consistent moves beat complicated protocols.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction
[02:49] Nina-Marie’s checklist before reaching for over-the-counter options
[03:15] Why rest and hydration come before supplements
[05:02] The real impact of screen time on healing and sleep
[11:29] The hidden immune cost of sugar during illness
[12:55] Whole foods that speed up recovery during illness
[20:53] Why your calm presence is the strongest medicine in the room
[24:58] The surprising truth Nina-Marie learned from pediatrician about kids’ fevers
[30:19] The natural medicine cabinet every parent needs
[40:57] The gentle ear infection remedies that actually work
[48:32] Natural sinus infection support

Find more from Dr. Nina-Marie:

Dr. Nina-Marie | Instagram
Dr. Nina-Marie | Website
Nerdy Notes with Nina-Marie | Substack
Holistic Healing for Busy Parents | Book

Find more from Amanda:

Hormone Healing RD | Instagram
Hormone Healing RD | Website
Hormone Healing RD | Facebook
Hormone Healing RD | YouTube
Hormone Healing RD | TikTok

Get your Paleovalley electrolytes here. (use code HORMONEHEALINGRD10)

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Welcome back to the podcast. Nina, thank you for being here with us again. I am so excited to be here. Thanks for having me back. And if you guys have not listened to the Minerals and Kids episode, you need to listen to it. It was a very popular episode. I got lots of great feedback from moms, um, that were kind of seeing a lot of the similarities that we discussed, like in their own children, and they’re very excited to do hair testing Now.

[00:00:22] Uh, today we are gonna be talking about what to do when your kid gets sick, so. I, I personally, like I have two little kids. Seeing my kids sick is so stressful. It’s like. One of the hardest things about being a parent, I really believe, and it can make you wanna panic, but you’re in a very fearful state where you’re making a lot of decisions from fear, and I think nothing good comes of that for the most part, typically.

[00:00:46] And I think, I think that’s a really great place to start in understanding illness for our children because our children respond to how we respond, and that’s not. So if we are coming from a place of panic or fear that [00:01:00] brings panic or fear to your child and that’s not gonna support their immune response at all.

[00:01:03] Yes. And that is something I had to learn to be very careful about, especially with my older daughter. Because she would get, she would have a lot of breathing problems, which we’ve talked about before. I’ve done a consult with Nina for her before and it, but that is a scary thing. And I grew up with asthma, so I’m like, ah, you know, immediately wanting to panic, do steroids, all the things.

[00:01:22] And then she would get very scared whenever she got sick. And so now I have taught her that. I’m like, your immune system is like, like I, I’m like, you’re getting an upgrade. You know, you’re, once you’re done being, that would, it doesn’t, it’s not fun to be sick, but we all do some resting and we get lots of time together, so she loves that.

[00:01:39] And then, um, I’m like, you’re gonna be even healthier after this and your body’s gonna be stronger. It’s like that has really made a big difference. Where my kids got sick a couple weeks ago. She got over it in two days, which her immune system has made huge strides. Like, thank God, thank God, and she didn’t.

[00:01:57] She was like, totally fine. And then she tried to be like, [00:02:00] I’m still sick. Can we do this, this, you know, and so it’s like, it’s, it’s much more positive now, but I, I totally understand how. Initially, especially if you’re depending on like what your history is like with your child, like it can be really scary and a lot of times moms that are following me, I’m assuming, wanna avoid a lot of the conventional approaches or have a more natural approach, but they’re not sure like, what do we have on hand?

[00:02:23] And it’s, it can be tricky to navigate. So that’s really the goal of this episode is to give you guys some tools, um, and hopefully some mindset shifts so that you can feel confident when one of your children gets sick. Let’s start with talking about the foundations. Uh, what do you think is the most helpful to focus on when an illness pops up?

[00:02:43] Like what’s, what are your, if, if it’s your kids, what in your home? Like, what are you guys doing? So this is, this is, these are all the free things right before you go and have to buy anything from the store. Um, when someone is ill in our home, we have a [00:03:00] sick day, literally, and we, like, we homeschool, so we stop homeschool that day.

[00:03:05] I might read to them as they’re laying in bed. Um, it’s, it’s a chill, calm day. We’re not, if there were any plans, we’re canceling them. We’re staying home, we’re resting. Rest is huge and vital to the immune system’s ability to combat whatever the problem is. So it’s a foundational recovery. Like it’s an active recovery, I should say, um, thing that you can do for your child because it’s going to directly impact immune function.

[00:03:33] It’s gonna accelerate healing during sleep and even restful periods, so it may not even be sleep. Your body is increasing its ability to fight infection to minimize stress, and all of this is essential when your kid is sick. One of the like things that I like to share with parents or remind parents of is your body can only make.

[00:03:51] So much energy, right? And your energy has to be diverted to different systems. One of them being the immune system. So when we are [00:04:00] ill, we wanna have as much energy as possible diverted there so that the immune system has the resources necessary to combat whatever needs to combat. So I don’t want my child, for the most part, like running around, jumping outside, doing the thing, even like school things that’s gonna require energy for the brain to be used up.

[00:04:19] I’d rather use that energy instead for the immune system. So think about like if I’ve got. 10 units, whatever, of energy for the day. I want as much of that going to healing. We’re gonna rest. So that these other things that my body would’ve used energy for is going straight to attacking what needs to be attacked.

[00:04:36] Um, and it also just like helps thinking about rest in general, your child to be able to be more resilient against infections or the common cold or whatever it is. Um, so. Rest is vital. It’s important again, not just leave. It could be quiet time, it could be naps, it could be calm activities like reading and something that could be a little [00:05:00] controversial.

[00:05:02] This isn’t always followed in my home, so know that I’m not coming from a holier than thou place, but like rest away from screens can be really helpful. I was gonna ask it. Go ahead. You go off. So the reason that I say this is because screen time. It’s going to suppress your melatonin production, okay? And that’s what the body needs to signal to fall asleep.

[00:05:27] Even passive screen time, like watching a show can delay bedtime and shorten your total sleep time, and that’s gonna be an issue for your child. So, you know, melatonin suppression that blue light from the device. That means that we may just have delayed sleep. You may have increased alertness. So like watching something that’s exciting raises your heart rate.

[00:05:49] You have psychological arousal that can make your sleep or your rest less restorative. Um, you may even like, you just wanna consider like, what are we doing to [00:06:00] promote rest and immune support screens ultimately can hinder that. So you wanna use that. Sparingly, if at all, in my opinion. Um, I, what we do on sick days often is watch Little House on the Prairie.

[00:06:16] Like that is, well not all of the episodes, some of the episodes are pretty wild, but like very calm episodes that are just chill. These kids are fak bread, they’re going to school, they’re playing right? Something. That is gonna be calm, not super alert, not a ton of colors and flashing lights and like screens are changing quickly.

[00:06:37] Like that can create alertness and we want the body and the mind to rest. Um, so that is something that can be, again, like I’m not coming from a holier than thou place my, well, sometimes my kids are like, I just wanna watch Harry Potter while laying on the couch. And I’m like, well, if that’s gonna get you to stay on the couch, then today we’re watching Harry Potter like.

[00:06:55] We’ll use it, but if I can sit here and read Harry Potter to you instead, that would be my [00:07:00] preference over watching the movie. Yeah, and I think one thing that for myself, and that it’s a good reminder with the screen question is to ask yourself, are you using the screen so that you are getting relief?

[00:07:12] And listen, there’s, it’s not that we can’t get relief as parents because we all need a break, but. It’s, it’s like, am I doing other things that don’t really need to be done? Like when I do the same thing when my kids are sick, it’s like we stop everything now. ’cause before I would be like, you know, I was so overwhelmed, I’m like, how am I I, if I take a break from this, I’m not gonna get, um, it’s gonna put me back like a week, whatever.

[00:07:33] But now, um, I really, really focus on like, how can we, for my kids are still very small. I mean, one of ’em is a baby, so with her it’s different. But even my 3-year-old, I try to be like with her. The whole day basically. And I’ll even like lots of like cuddling and touching and if I am, and even then, like we don’t even have time for screens ’cause my kids just like to, they like to read, they like to draw, do all the things and we’ll even [00:08:00] like, we’ll color on the couch.

[00:08:01] Coloring was a good one for her. That keeps her very busy. And she’s pretty chill while she’s doing it. But it’s like, are you using the shows and the screen? So that you can do other things instead of slowing down yourself. Because if they don’t see you slow down. Like you said, what you do affects them.

[00:08:18] And I really think I’ve seen night and day difference with when I truly slow down with them and how much faster they get better versus if I’m still trying to like plug along and get things done. To add to that, thinking through when you get sick. You slowing down and you resting that example for them to show like they also, that that will help confirm or affirm what you’re teaching them when they are ill as well.

[00:08:42] And so operating out of that example and letting your child know, like, okay, there’s this important bond between parent and child and so I’m gonna stop these other things because you are ill and you need my attention and your, your health is gonna be more [00:09:00] important than. 16 deadlines that I have or what, or the laundry load that needs to get done, or even dinner that needs to get cooked, like me sitting here and resting with you is going to position your body for faster recovery.

[00:09:15] I truly believe that because your central nervous system calms down and then your body can operate at its best to be able to combat whatever it needs to combat. For sure. Yes. Love that. So what are the other big areas other outside of like rest, being mindful with screens, slowing down, things like that.

[00:09:34] So hydration’s a big one and I, this is gonna be foundational because oftentimes. Depending on the illness, there could be vomiting, there could be diarrhea, there could be sweating. So we’re losing water, we’re losing electrolytes that we need, and every cell in the body, including your immune cells, um, are dependent on water.

[00:09:55] They rely on water and. Ensuring that we have adequate hydration [00:10:00] allows for toxin removal. So our immune cells are gonna go kill whatever needs killing and that thing becomes a waste product or a toxic that needs toxin, that needs to be removed. Ensuring adequate hydration is going to support that process.

[00:10:13] And like even pre illness, like mild dehydration can impair healing and worsen symptoms. So you wanna focus on hydration before an illness for sure. But definitely during um. Adequate hydration is important for your immune response, so it’s gonna help transport immune cells and remove those pathogens.

[00:10:32] It’s necessary for body temperature regulation, so extra water is needed to manage that fever with your sweat. With sweating and increased breathing, um, that can cause fluid loss. Um, your electrolytes, they are lost when there’s vomiting and diarrhea. They’re quickly depleted. So salt and potassium are really important there, and they’re gonna be helpful for that nervous system.

[00:10:54] Um, and they can, it can prevent complications because dehydration can lead to. Pretty serious [00:11:00] consequences, poor circulation, kidney problems, and even in some children seizures. So that’s something to consider with illness. Like you want to ensure adequate hydration and then like your fluid amounts might depend on your child’s age or weight.

[00:11:14] Just make sure they’re drinking. It could be water, it could be, you know, a homemade electrolyte drink. It could be bone broth, whatever it is, whatever soothing to them, even teas, that’s gonna help to ensure that they have adequate hydration. Um, I also wanna add here, you wanna avoid sugary drinks. Um, so. I love being able to give my child some cranberry juice or something like that.

[00:11:39] They’re, it’s wonderful, right? But when we have drinks that have excess sugar, which could be juice, it could be soda, anything like that, it’s gonna draw extra water into the intestine sometimes, and that can lead to looser Stewart stools, um, or diarrhea, making dehydration worse. Um, but we also know that sugar can suppress [00:12:00] the immune system, so excess sugar.

[00:12:03] Can suppress your white blood cells from operating at their best for up to five hours after consumption. And so in an acute illness, we remove all like added sugars. We’re not do not even maple syrup, maybe some honey and a tea because Manuka honey is what we’re gonna wanna use there. It’s really great for the immune system, but that’s about it so that we can ensure that we’re not suppressing our white blood cells to be able to do the job that they need to do.

[00:12:32] So. Stick to teas, water, adding in your favorite electrolytes, whatever is gonna get your child hydrated bone broth and try to stay away from even like great sugar, great non-ad sugar juices as much as possible. Um, and then there is like focusing on Whole Foods. So. One of the main reasons that consuming Whole Foods in an acute [00:13:00] illness being important or crucial is because you’re giving the your body essential nutrients for immune function, for tissue repair, for recovery, and that’s gonna come with out added things that your body then has to like work through.

[00:13:13] So I mentioned you’ve got. X amount of units of energy in a day. I don’t wanna have to give my liver extra energy to deal with whatever, because I didn’t, because I used a, a prepackaged food now and then against prepackaged foods. We use prepackaged foods. I’m just saying this is probably the time to avoid them, uh, because your whole foods are gonna be naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, even fiber needed to optimize your body’s natural defenses.

[00:13:43] And to like reduce your, your, um, inflammation, reduce oxidative stress, all of which are gonna worsen any acute illness. So thinking through foods that are gonna be rich in vitamin C and zinc and magnesium and B vitamins, they are gonna drive your immune cell activity [00:14:00] and help moderate inflammation. You want, you want rich fats like I.

[00:14:06] Our family doesn’t stay away from butter. We do stay away from other dairy in illness. Um, but butter is like a wonderful saturated fat, and it can be converted into a pro-inflammatory prostaglandin. But you need inflammation in an illness. You want healthy inflammation in an illness, so I don’t wanna suppress that entirely.

[00:14:29] You want it to be controlled or managed. And so having good fats will assist that, as well as having good fats to bring in anti-inflammation if it gets too out of control. So a good balance between the fats that you’re consuming. I mentioned fiber being really important, that’s gonna help feed your gut microbiome.

[00:14:48] And we know that 70 to 80% of our body’s immune cells are in the gut. So if we want a healthy immune response. Focusing on gut health is gonna be a big part of that. Uh, protein is huge. It [00:15:00] gets broken down into amino acids. Amino acids are gonna be used to build different immune cells, and we want them to be functioning appropriately.

[00:15:07] And so avoiding excess processed foods, excess sugar during an illness is going to prevent your immunes. You’re, it’s going to prevent immune suppression and reduce toxic load, making healing a bit more effective. Do you have like a go-to, we make the same soup every time we get sick. Do you guys have like a routine like that?

[00:15:27] I call it poor man’s soup. It literally just like, I will cook them some chicken. Broth and that’s all it is. Like they just want broth and chicken. Uh, maybe sometimes my husband will ask for like a, an egg dropped in and cooked that way. That, that’s pretty much it. It’s just chicken and broth. That’s, we have, I make it, we call it slop.

[00:15:48] My husband calls it slop. I don’t know. He, he’s like obsessed with, he, he’s Puerto Rican, so he grew up with lots of like stews and stuff and like, like everything is basically slop. So he loves that kind of food. So do the [00:16:00] girls and I’ll make like, it’s just like chicken, some sort of bean, usually kale, like they only eat kale and soup.

[00:16:06] It’s so funny. Like if I put on their plate outside of soup, they would never have it. And then bone broth and like a little bit of adobo, like it’s nothing crazy and, but it, it does taste, I think it’s absolutely delicious. But that, like my older daughter was like, can we make slops? Like, can I have some slop?

[00:16:22] And they’ll, that’s like all, she ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and she didn’t eat a lot. And I don’t, I don’t know how you feel about this, but like, I don’t force eating when they’re sick. And I, I know that it’s very hard for my husband mentally. He’s like, they need to eat. They like, that’s not how he grew up.

[00:16:38] So he’s like, they need to, I’m like, we can’t force them to eat when they’re sick. We gotta let their bodies do their thing. You know, so I always, I always talk, um, there’s a friend of mine and I told her, I have come to the realization that I now understand why moms or grandmas are like, Hey, have you eaten?

[00:16:55] Because when you have a baby, like your mind switches and [00:17:00] all you think about is, did this child eat? Is the child eating enough? Like that’s like, that is, that is my brain all the time with my children all of the time. And so. I completely understand the, be like the urge of like, but you didn’t eat any food and I know that you need food and you need these nutrients to be able to combat all like that.

[00:17:18] I completely get, but there is a place for, you could call it fasting, if you wanna call it fasting or just like reduced appetite, whatever you wanna call it. Like there’s a place for that because it can be beneficial in acute illnesses. And I mean, we have research with like long-term fasting and chronic illnesses, so there’s a place for it.

[00:17:39] The body is also conserving energy for that immune activation. We’re now taking, we, we don’t have to expend some of our energy on digestion, which is a real, uh, energy expensive job, right? And so if the body is refusing, as long as we’re maintaining hydration, I, I’m comfortable with my child saying, I don’t want to eat [00:18:00] because the body’s likely starving that pathogen in order to get over it more quickly.

[00:18:06] I, and it’s just the biggest thing is keeping them hydra because I’ll say like, you don’t have to eat, or you don’t have to eat everything, but you have to drink. And it’s like, now she knows that. But I do think, you know, that’s something that people can have a hard time with too. But I’m like, even just think about your digestion when you’re sick.

[00:18:24] Like everything’s just a little sluggish and it’s like, would you wanna be force fed like all these meals? That’s where, you know, the bone broth and everything comes in ’cause it’s like, you know, I cook that for like a long time on the stove. It’s very easy to break down for the most part. So it’s, you know, it, I think it can make a difference.

[00:18:41] And I would add, like trying to force feed a child is counterproductive. Your, your child’s gonna be exhausted. You’re gonna be exhausted with it. It’s a battle that can only make things worse. Like now you and your child are stressed, that’s not gonna help their immune response either. So if they’re [00:19:00] refusing food, like I, I like, it’s a watch.

[00:19:03] Be watchful for sure. But as long as we’re hydrating getting in some electrolytes, we’re not. Vomiting profusely. Can’t keep anything down dire, like things like that. Uh, like just watch is what I would say. And, and this is where I know like this reminds like my husband, when I’m trying to give instruction, when he wants to cook something, I’m the cook in at home.

[00:19:25] And so he’s like, how do I do this? And how much salt do I add? I’m like, uh, you know, enough is always my answer. Like, enough salt, enough pepper, not like I measure with my heart and that’s it. And so. This is where like with children like you just, you just your intuition, like trust it here. Like you will know if they’re not eating is an actual problem or not, and like tapping into that and not ignoring or even getting that back to some degree like you can trust.

[00:19:56] Your own instinct for your child and you’ll [00:20:00] know when something has gone awry. I like that a lot. And that’s kind of before we, ’cause we’re gonna get into like what can we do and kind of things we can keep on hand for different illnesses that come up. But before we get into that and who let me know, ’cause maybe we wanna cover this after we’ve talked about that.

[00:20:17] But just something that I want to be on people’s minds as they start to listen to this is. How do you help parents like know when to intervene even with the natural stuff? Because I think that that is something too, where do we need to immediately get them doing the nebulizer, getting all these herbs and stuff in?

[00:20:40] Or is there ever a time to like try to let the body run its course before even whether you’re intervening with more conventional stuff or natural interventions? So I think it depends on the parent. First, if, if a parent is like uncomfortable, first child, [00:21:00] maybe what didn’t grow up around children unsure about anything with illness, uh, didn’t grow up with a parent who used natural remedies, only knows conventional.

[00:21:11] I think that that parent is going to need. Something to like help them feel calm, which will be beneficial to everyone. So for that parent, I would probably say start with homeopathy, which is gonna be the least, maybe that’s not the right way to say it. I was gonna say like least intervention. Um, I think it’s the least aggressive.

[00:21:33] Give me one quick second. My son is trying to grab something.

[00:21:38] Can you go for it? Grab it, and then go? Close the door. Thank you. So funny. I don’t know where I left off. Um, okay, so we were, you were, you were talking about the parent. Yes. Homeopathy. Okay. So a homeopathic remedy will, like, [00:22:00] it is going to be the least form of intervention because you’re not administering a biological substance that is going to replace the body’s activity or action.

[00:22:11] Homeopathy is going to empower the body’s ability to work on its own. Um, whereas bringing in nutraceuticals, bringing in herbal supports, they, they’re like, gonna come help pull you along or do the job for you a little bit. Um, so for that parent who like needs to do something to feel comfortable, I would start there.

[00:22:30] Start with some homeopathic supports. Um, as you start to get comfortable using natural remedies, as you start to get comfortable as a mom or as a dad in parenting and a sick child, you start to know like what is a big deal and what isn’t. So that’s that. I think experience is gonna play a role. Like maybe you are a new parent and you only have one child hang out with a mom who has multiple kids.

[00:22:56] Um, she’ll let you know right off the bat, like, oh, don’t worry [00:23:00] about that. You’re gonna be fine. Kid’s gonna be fine, but like, let, let ’em work it out. Right. That I think is a also great, like, having that village mentality is going to benefit everyone. Um, gosh, I lost my train of thought. I’m just curious as like No, I, I think it’s really helpful.

[00:23:18] It’s funny ’cause I, I had a conversation with a doctor once and he was like. Because I had, my younger daughter was having a lot like diarrhea, like and fever, but I don’t really worry about fevers and I didn’t want to give her anything, but I wanted to get a stool sample done. ’cause she was like, it was a lot of di and I’m like, oh my gosh, what do I do?

[00:23:38] She had a little bit of blood in her stool, so I take her to the ER and they’re like. They’re like, oh, we’re gonna give her Tylenol. And I was like, no, no, I don’t wanna do Tylenol. Like her fever’s not even that high, you know? And um, one of the doctors gave me a really hard time and then the, this other guy comes in and he’s like, you know, I, a lot of this even started because I’m like, why is it so normalized now?

[00:23:59] Like, why is [00:24:00] it everywhere you go? It’s like the immediate thing is like, oh, give him Tylenol. And he was like, A lot of it’s just ’cause like parents. Feel like they need to do something. And so giving them something, even if maybe their fever can be beneficial, uh, it like gives the parent something to do and I’m like, that is such an interesting fact and just, you know, I could totally see that.

[00:24:21] I also think this is, this is where my line of like thinking what’s going, like parents need to learn what the signs of emergency actually are. And without having that kind of knowledge, you’re, you’re left in the dark. Everything is a gray area. Is this cough a bad cough? Is it not a bad cough? Is this diarrhea a problem?

[00:24:41] Is it not a like a problem? Is this fever a problem? Is this not a problem? You don’t know when you don’t have the signs of emergency, like you don’t know it or you don’t have a reference point for it. So. That is one thing that I think can be most beneficial to parents is understanding what are actual signs of an emergency.

[00:24:58] Like a seizure for [00:25:00] sure. Emergency. That’s obvious, right? You call 9 1 1, but I, I used to work at a clinic and there were tons of pediatricians and during lunch break I would sit in there and ask them questions all the time and I will never forget. I remember asking a pediatrician about fevers, and this is before I was a mom, and he was like, I have moms come in here all the time.

[00:25:20] With like a 99 or a 1 0 100 or a 101 and like they’re panicked and he’s like, if I’m completely honest with you, I will let my kid go up to 1 0 5, 1 0 6. As long as there’s like no problems, like the body’s doing its job and that feels uncomfortable. I’m sure to many people listening like 1 0 5 sounds absurd.

[00:25:42] Yes, but, but if your child like. If they’re not delirious, if they’re not vomit, like if you’re keeping them hydrated, if they just need to rest, I think it’s something that you can be confident in watching and, and making sure they’re okay. Now, like if you’re at 1 0 5, 1 0 6 for [00:26:00] seven days, that might be an issue.

[00:26:01] You wanna go and get checked out before you hit seven days. Right? Um, so there, there’s understanding that there are things you can do, but also trusting like the body has a wisdom that it was given. To be able to handle all of these things. And yes, there are times where intervention is necessary. Uh, but, but you can just trust that the body can do what it’s supposed to because humanity has gotten this far, even, even in times where like crazy sicknesses wiped out tens of thousands of people.

[00:26:36] Millions of people, right? Like the body can still overcome. Um, so being able to understand. Emergency signs, being able to have something that makes you confident and comfortable for your family on hand, and then being around parents who are ahead of you who can help you like discern. Is this a problem?

[00:26:55] Is it not? Yeah. I always ask my mom, but she’s not crunchy at all, [00:27:00] but. Like we, it was very, back then, it was like no one really intervened. Like they, I, it was like maybe we went to the doctor for being sick like once a year. You know, it’s like we got sick. It’s like sh She handled it at home and we didn’t really take much for fevers and unless we wouldn’t drink, that was when she would give us something.

[00:27:19] ’cause we were like so uncomfortable. Couldn’t drink or eat. But it’s funny ’cause I refer a lot to her and it’s, I feel like in this world, we go online to social media. To get information, and that’s when I would say. People in your life might surprise you. You know? And sometimes, like I personally like getting that kind of advice even though we, we’ve like, she raised us very differently than I’m raising my girls in a lot of ways.

[00:27:42] But I still learn a lot, especially when I’m like, should I be worried about this? Or is this like not a big deal? Like they had chicken pox and. They ba they were, I know. It was like literally a miracle. And I was like, how are they ever gonna get chickenpox? ’cause we used to do, my mom had a home daycare.

[00:27:59] We would have [00:28:00] chickenpox parties. Right. So just to get all my cousins to come over and stuff. It was like kind of chaos when I think about it. But, um, she was like, I like sent her pictures. She’s like, yep, those are chicken pox. They’re, they’re gonna be good. And I was like, okay, cool. Like it, there’s a lot you can learn and I know we hear like village and we think like people coming to our house and helping us, but I think more of like, who are you looking to to get advice from as well?

[00:28:22] And it may not be your family, but it could be people in your life like that you trust. And I’m like, we all need. People in our lives that are older than us, even if they’re not related to us, to like gain wisdom from, especially as parents. Absolutely. I still am reaching out to someone from back in Chicago when something comes up and I’m like, I don’t know.

[00:28:43] Hey Gabby, this is what’s going on. What do we do? It’s the best thing ever to have a connection to someone who is ahead of you. And like to give you some like gravitas to where you are, but also like tell you to chill out if you need to be told to chill out. Yes. Which, uh, [00:29:00] I’m always like, please tell me this is not a big deal.

[00:29:01] But okay. Let’s get into some of the common seasonal illnesses. When this comes out, it’ll be the thick of November, so I’m sure people will already have experienced some by then. So I’m thinking of like, what would we wanna have in. A natural medicine cabinet or maybe a mix. I’ve got some over the counter stuff in my medicine cabinet.

[00:29:21] Could be like a mix of it, um, with top staples for different things. Oh, okay. One.

[00:29:59] Yes, I’m [00:30:00] thinking. I’m thinking like cold and flu. We can talk about those first. ’cause I feel like they kind of go hand in hand. And then we gotta cover ear infection. Right? The worst nemesis of most moms. And I think cold flu sinus could probably have all go together and then we’ll do ears separate. But what, what would you keep in there for?

[00:30:19] Things to have on hand? And I’m sure mix of homeopathy and herbs. So I’m curious to hear. Absolutely. So for like colds, um, herbal remedies, elderberry syrup is wonderful, antiviral, immuno supportive. Um, echinacea is great. It’s gonna boost your immune cell activation early in illness, that’s something you start at the onset.

[00:30:39] Um, licorice root can help soothe sore throats. Um, and it’s really great for like respiratory mucosa, so like that coughing congestion. Marshmallow roots. Also really good there. It’s a, uh, an herb to help break up mucus. Um, you can even think about Mullin that’s gonna help with like, coughing up the mucus, clearing mucus from your lungs.

[00:30:59] Um, [00:31:00] homeopathic remedies. Aconites a big one now. Uh, something I wanna mention. Homeopathy you wanna pay attention to not just like a main symptom that’s happening, but all of the ancillary symptoms as well. So you can have a cough and someone who’s really thirsty and a cough, and someone who won’t take a lick of water, right?

[00:31:17] And those are gonna be two different remedies. Uh, so pay attention to what else is, uh, coming on with whatever you’re targeting. Um, so Aconites great with your early stages, sudden onset. For your cold and oftentimes like fear and anxiety come up. So that’s, that’s gonna help, you know, like this is the one to go for.

[00:31:37] Um, Bella, Donna is when you’ve got the cold with a high fever and it’s oftentimes like, you can feel the heat on the body. There’s redness in the face, um, pulsatilla thick, yellow, green mucus. Your child is like clingy. Just wants you to hold them the whole time. That’s my go-to for that one. Um, and then there’s like nutraceutical.

[00:31:58] So thinking through things like [00:32:00] zinc, that’s gonna help for, with immune function, it can even help with reducing your illness duration. Vitamin C, great immune defense, reduce inflammation. Um, NAC is wonderful for thinning, mucus and protecting the lungs, tissues, magnesium, to like just support relaxation and sleep so that their body can do what it needs to do.

[00:32:19] Um, non supplemental supports cold wet socks. So you want cotton socks. Put ’em in cold water. Put ’em in ice water. Ring them out, put ’em on your child’s foot, and then put wool socks over that. That’s gonna stimulate immune circulation. So we’ve got this sudden onset of cold at our feet. The body is gonna rush blood.

[00:32:39] To help warm that, and because that rushing is happening, you’re happening, your immune cells are circulating everywhere, so that’s gonna be beneficial. I love cold blood socks, especially for fevers. That’s like the only one in your book that I haven’t done. It is, it’s my favorite. It’s literally my favorite.

[00:32:55] Isn’t it? Like you, do you have to be careful? Is it, it’s like at the beginning, right? Like or [00:33:00] you can use it anytime. I I will do it each day. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah, any day. Um, and then, you know, you can do hydration support. Um, steam inhalation or chest rubs are really great. I do coconut oil with like peppermint essential oil mixed in.

[00:33:16] Um, hypochlorous acid spray. You can even use that on sore throats if that’s all you’ve got around. A lot of people think about it for like eczema. It’s great for like cuts and scrapes and things like that. Um, so those are probably the things that I would say are. Really beneficial, top tier, top supports to have on hand.

[00:33:35] And they’re very similar for the ones for flu like elderberry, syrup is great. Um, vitamin C, zinc, echinacea, all of those are great. But then for homeopathy and the flu. Um, PHEM Phos is really helpful when it’s like early on, mild ish symptoms. Um, gelsemium when you’ve got the flu is like fatigue and aches and pains or like feverish [00:34:00] exhaustion.

[00:34:00] Um, so there’s different homeopathic supports that you could bring in for that one honey and lemon cough syrup, and that’s gonna be for someone over 1-year-old. Um. You can even consider a thing again, the warm socks are gonna be great there. Herbal teas are gonna be great there too. You wanna promote sweating and promote comfort during that time.

[00:34:20] I love Epsom salt baths, man, when they’re sick. I love putting Epsom salt. I feel like it makes such a big difference with how much faster they get better. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s some magnesium, but, and obviously it supports your liver too, but yeah, it’s like those are like one of my, other than like.

[00:34:37] You know, I do homeopathy now, I, I finally feel confident. ’cause I have, and the book I referred to is, Nina has a book called Primary Care Parent. It’s a program too, but you can also purchase the book. And I wanted to have the book on hand just ’cause it’s so, it’s like I hate having to look through my phone.

[00:34:53] I, you know, it’s like I just have the book and you have everything listed in there. ’cause I was like. I had never [00:35:00] really seen success with homeopathy before because I wasn’t having, looking at all the other ancillary symptoms. And it just is, I’m like, I feel like I had to have 80 different things on hand in order to find the right one.

[00:35:12] Where when I used the primary care parent book and I was like, okay, so it’s mostly like colds, coughs, sinus, like that’s the things that come up the most in our home, I would say. And so I’m like, I’m just gonna get a bunch of these. For that. And now I like have them on hand. I know like when to use them. I know when they’re working, when they’re not.

[00:35:29] So, um, that has been incredibly helpful for me. So if you’re listening to this and I, I think homeopathy is a little intimidating, personally. I don’t know why, but I just, ’cause I didn’t see it work. And also the blends, I’m like, do the blends really work? I feel like the single ones are so much better. You know, when you see like the chest ease or the cold ones.

[00:35:49] I feel like when you find that single. One, that’s the right one. It’s so much more effective. So. I have found homeopathy, quote unquote, doesn’t [00:36:00] work when we treat it like conventional medicine. Like aconite is for a cough no matter who you are. If it’s a cough, this is what you use. Where when you understand the, like there’s a whole component and homeopathy, you’re looking at the whole person and all of the symptoms.

[00:36:15] And sometimes it’s not just physical, like what are the emotional things? What happened yesterday? Like all of that is going to be, um. Part of the like symptom picture, so to speak. So when we understand that there’s more than just the cough and the fever that’s happening, we can choose the right remedy.

[00:36:33] And that’s where it feels like it’s, it’s magic. Like how did I just give you these two little pellets or these two little drops and you’re different in 15 minutes? Like it’s unbelievable. So when you’re able to. Case take well when you see more than just the one thing that’s bothering your child or bothering you.

[00:36:51] ’cause I can’t stand a cough that’s been meandering for like five weeks. Um, when you get beyond just that one thing and seeing [00:37:00] the background, that’s also like propping that up so to speak, then, then it’s easier to choose the right remedy when it comes to the like combination remedies. They’re supportive, but you don’t have that like magic response.

[00:37:16] And I think it’s because there’s so many things the body’s gonna try to work through when you have that blend. Now there are homeopaths where like. Your body’s just not gonna use the one part of that remedy that it doesn’t need. And that’s why the blends are helpful because you just, you just threw the kitchen sink at ’em.

[00:37:33] And if it doesn’t need kin, I, but it only needs the Bella donna and they’re, you still gave them Bella, Donna. It’s fine. I, I just think that I like the singles more than blends, but I have used blends, like the Chest Stole one, I think is one that I keep on hand for me. No matter what. That has helped me, but it doesn’t with my children.

[00:37:52] It just doesn’t. Yeah, that it did not help at all. And I was like, oh, this is perfect. But then when I really, it’s like inside the book you can [00:38:00] see like all the different symptoms. It’s all grouped. It’s right there. I’m not googling anything, you know, so it keeps me off the Google rabbit hole, but it’s really helpful and that is what kind of gave, I’m like, okay, I can actually use this.

[00:38:12] Also being patient. You know, that’s the other thing I’m like, because we all wanna put a timer on it, right? Yes. You want to wait 15 minutes and see, but I like kind of had to like, relax more of like, okay, is there really a shift or am I just kind of like being crazy and trying to control everything and, and again, am I using this so that I don’t have to like slow down?

[00:38:37] Chill and see what’s going on, and I’m trying to control and make her better quicker so I can like, get on with my day or am I really like leaning into like, it’s a sick day, we’re all gonna hang out, um, that sort of thing. So I, I just think it’s like having the right mindset no matter what. Remedy you’re choosing to use is, it’s like we can’t forget that.

[00:38:56] ’cause I think it’s, again, it could be just like that conventional approach of like, [00:39:00] well, her fever’s not all the way better. It’s like, okay, but it came down and it’s improved and she’s more comfortable and she’s drinking. So then we like it is working. It’s not gonna be like. One or the other. Yes. So that is a great, like example you may have the fever, the anxiety, the unwillingness to eat, gave the remedy, but now they’re like, actually, I would like to have something to drink.

[00:39:21] I would like to eat. Like that’s an improvement. We know we’ve, we’re on the right track with our remedy. Um, I always let parents know like. If you’ve dosed this three times and you’re really truly seeing no changes, then you’ve got the wrong remedy. We try something different. There’s, there’s nothing wrong.

[00:39:36] You did nothing wrong. You’re not gonna hurt them by using the wrong remedy. It’s just not what they needed. Um, and that’s what I also love about homeopathy is like, you’re not, you are not inducing anything unless a child isn’t sick and you’re trying to make them sick kind of thing. Like you can have those kinds of responses, but that’s not what we’re using homeopathy for.

[00:39:54] So. It’s, it’s an EAs in my opinion. It’s like it’s an easy place to begin [00:40:00] as long as we know at the onset you’re not just looking at one thing. When you’ve got the bullet point of things to like consider, it’s so easy to choose a remedy and then watch. And again, the slowing down is so important. Like this is where I truly think like sickness and parenting, at least as a mother.

[00:40:16] Like this makes me really like settle in to be a mom and nothing else like. Yes. This is an inconvenience to me that you are ill, it is true, but I don’t, I don’t wanna treat you like an inconvenience. I, I wanna care for you and I wanna care for you. Well, and so the, these are opportunities that I think expand us and expand our mothering in a good way.

[00:40:39] Yeah, I, I love that and I’m glad, I’m glad that you pointed that out. Okay, the next one, ear infections is this, for me, in my life with our clients, with people like friends, family members, I would say ear infections are probably. Urine sinus are probably the number one reasons that I see kids taking antibiotics.

[00:40:57] And I’m like you, and like if you, [00:41:00] with one of my nephews, I’m like, we, you gotta figure out that your infection thing. I’m like, here’s some stuff that you can try and, ’cause I, my younger daughter, like she had a bunch of them, but we never, we did antibiotics, one dose and she had like a huge immune reaction.

[00:41:13] It was terrible. And I was like, well, guess that’s not an option, so I gotta figure this out. But it was good. It was like good for me to be like, no. Again, I was scared. I was making a decision for fear. I was really nervous ’cause it had been going on for a few days and if I had. It forced me to figure out like what works for her.

[00:41:30] And everyone’s gonna be different, every child. Like in what exactly works is gonna be different. But what are some things that you’re like, would, if you, if that is a concern for you at your infections, maybe that comes up a lot for your child, what do you, what would you have someone keep on hand? Okay. So I wanna say this, like, there’s a lot of fear around this one, right?

[00:41:53] Hearing is so important and I, and then, and it’s sensitive. Um. I’ve had the like spectrum of [00:42:00] experience, experiences as a mom with a child that we did like, literally like nothing. We just watched see how your body handled and one where we’re like, no, we need an antibiotic. So I’ve got the spectrum here. I just wanna like encourage parents again.

[00:42:14] Well, this actually the first thing I would say have on hand on Amazon. You can get, what is it called, doctor Mom Professional Otoscope. Otoscope Auto scope. Yep. I ha I got that from your book. And I was like, life changing. It’s the best thing ever. It is. So that little, it’s the thing that your doctor uses to look in the ears.

[00:42:32] And on the case that it comes in, it gives you reference pictures of like what you are looking at, what you want to see, what you don’t want to see. There it is. Yes. That’s the one. They’re on YouTube. Here it is. It shows you right on there. Mm-hmm. Like what you wanna be looking for. Mm-hmm. And it’s gonna look, each kid’s ear is gonna look a little different.

[00:42:51] Both of my kids’ years, their non-infected years look slightly different, but it’s like you want that curly. White eardrum, and I was like, oh, this is [00:43:00] so helpful to know it. It’s, and the reason that I’d say this is where you wanna start to have this on hand is because when an ear infection comes, you wanna make sure that that eardrum has not been perforated, because you don’t wanna put, I like eardrops in there if it has.

[00:43:16] And so going in blind is not gonna be beneficial to you as a parent or as a, for your child. So just put stuff in there and hope that it’s gonna help if, if it’s too late to do those kinds of things. So that is the number one thing that I would say have on hand with a small child that you can make sure that your next step is the right one.

[00:43:36] So if we don’t have a perforated eardrum, then we’ve got some options that we could bring in. So there’s the Mulli, garlic, Mullin Eardrops, um, herb Farm, I think makes them. I’ve used that. You can do internal supports as well, so you can give that orally. Um, St. John’s wart is really great. Um, garlic is really great.

[00:43:59] Um, and [00:44:00] ear onion, pulis, I do that all the time. When they’ve got ear pain, it really does, like, feel better. And so all you’re doing is baking half an onion and then put a cloth over it and hold that up to the ear, like you don’t want it burning hot, so it maybe you let it cool a little bit, but like. Just all you’re doing is holding a cooked onion to the ear and it helps to reduce pain and inflammation.

[00:44:20] Um, you can do gentle lymphatic drainage massages around the ear, down the neck to promote the fluid drainage out, warm compresses over the ear that’s gonna help with pain. Um. I would avoid dairy and any mucus producing foods here because mucus is gonna thicken, which can worsen blockage there. Hydration is important there.

[00:44:42] Um, but you wanna pay attention. Like if you see the perforated eardrum, that might be worth going in. Checking in with your doctor, making sure that. Not go moving forward with an antibiotic is still okay. Um, if there’s high fever with that ear pain for a prolonged amount of time, if there’s [00:45:00] drainage or discharge coming out, if you’re seeing neck stiffness, if you’re seeing confusion.

[00:45:05] If your child is under six months, those are gonna be some of those emergency signs you wanna pay attention to. But at home, like reusing homeopathy, Camilla is a big one. Pulsatilla is a big one. He herself is a big one. Aconite, Bella, Donna. All of those can be great homeopathic supports to have on hand.

[00:45:24] To start right away at the onset of any ear pain. Yeah, I have found the, especially for the pain, I feel like the homeopathy is really important. And then I mean those, the garlic mole, eardrops and the internal, when I use both, it’s like it’ll be gone. It, I don’t, I’ve never done onions. My older daughter hates onions and she is like freak out.

[00:45:44] I know, I know. I haven’t cooked with an onion in years. Um, I was joking to my husband the other day. I was like, I’m gonna try to bring onions back soon. She’s been eating. Like basically everything. So I’m like, I think we’re past the picky stage, but probably not. [00:46:00] So, but those, that’s like my go-to and just making sure she doesn’t get too congested, like the humidifier in the room.

[00:46:06] As soon as one of them is sick, it’s like it’s gone in the room. It at night, it, it makes, for us, it’s made a huge difference. And then it, because it’s that congestion it gets, especially when they’re little, I feel like it gets to the ears so fast. So yes. The part the, I remember reading about this NA year or so though a child’s immune system, especially under age two, super immature.

[00:46:31] And so you have different parts of the immune system. Ur innate immune system is like this barrier. It’s gonna just try to block things or make you cough it out sneezing. That’s that part of immune system. The is one of ate and hold something for a in.

[00:46:51] This is why a lot of kids are often prone to that because the immune system hasn’t matured enough to do something else. And so it’s just, it’s [00:47:00] trying to hold it and hold it somewhere, and we don’t have the proper drainage function under the age of two. And so just, it just gets helped there. And so again, helping with like.

[00:47:12] Drainage supports lymphatic, like all of that is going to be key. And this is just part and parcel with the fact that you have a tiny human living in your home. Like they’re just not developmentally there where there’s gonna be great drainage. Yeah. That, and I think that’s an important one to know, especially when they’re teeny tiny of like.

[00:47:29] Because a lot of moms are like, I know I didn’t plan to use antibiotics. I really wanna delay it as long as possible. And especially like under two, that specific timeframe. And I’m like, I, you just, you have to have the knowledge and have the tools on hand, otherwise. What’s your gut? And like, you, you think you’re, I’m gonna bring him to the, not that I’m saying the doctor’s bad.

[00:47:49] We had an amazing pediatrician in North Carolina. We just moved to Florida and I’m like, I, I’m, I’ve been looking for one here, and I’m like, oh my gosh, it’s just probably not gonna be the same. He was not [00:48:00] functional or holistic, but he was more holistic minded. And he was like, oh yeah, no, we’re just gonna wait and watch.

[00:48:05] You know? I mean, I have the auto scope and I haven’t brought my kids for ear stuff ever since then because I’ve been able to resolve it at home, but only because I’m checking. So I know like that’s the other thing. You have to like get tools like this so that you can know is this the right thing?

[00:48:21] Otherwise you’re just gonna be stressing about it the whole time of like. Should I bring them? Should I not? Should we do an antibiotic, should we not? So I think that’s where having the knowledge and the tools comes in. Um, so that’s huge. And we already kind of covered fevers, uh, but I’m curious, anything with sinus infection that you’ve seen be especially helpful?

[00:48:41] Yeah, so some herbal supports, um, I think it’s earthly that has sinus saver. Um, a wise one in herbals has sinus cleaner and that’s gonna just help. Congestion, it’s gonna help lymphatic drainage, a neti pot, a saline spray. Those are gonna be great for clearing mucus. [00:49:00] Um, I also like to, you can place like peppermint oil on your upper lip.

[00:49:05] Um, vitamin C, zinc, elderberry, echinacea. So you, you’re gonna hear a lot of the same things coming up over and over. This is like a clue. Those are the things you want in your cabinet because they’re so versatile. Um. For homeopathy. It def definitely wanna look at like the symptom picture. Um, our nicum is a good one.

[00:49:25] That’s when you’ve got like burning, watery discharge and your kid’s just restless. You might have nooks vomit for sinus congestion with a headache. Um, there’s another one, Callie by. Chromic. I think that’s how we pronounce it. Thick, stringy, nasal discharge. So you’re paying attention to the color of the discharge if they’re able to get it out.

[00:49:49] Is there a fever? Is there anything else? Warm compresses are great. Head elevation sometimes can be really helpful. Um, and then just avoiding [00:50:00] inhalants irritants. So maybe we don’t go to grandma’s house. Who has plugins when we have a nasal sinus issue? Right. Anything like that. Um, and then just like my favorite kinds of nasal sprays, so you’ve got saline, you’ve got rinses, you can do x clear.

[00:50:16] Any of those are gonna be helpful to clear out what’s going on in the nose. Um. And then like stay on top of it. Like this is something you have to keep doing regularly to try to manage without any conventional supports. And that is one, I think you recommended that beekeeper’s natural one for Eliana.

[00:50:35] Back when she had that, my older daughter shoot was like a literally a year ago, and she had. Sinus congestion, then it went to her eyes and I was like, oh my God, Nina, what do I do? And you’re like, try this one. ’cause we thought it was viral and everything and it, it worked. So I had, and it’s funny ’cause like each kid has things that work better for them.

[00:50:55] Do you find that? Yes. I get the same kind of symptoms whenever they’re sick. Like [00:51:00] Eliana, I know like certain homeo, homeopathy blends. Homeopathy types work for her. The the nasal spray always works. And I know that you’re stuff that works, but Amaya’s like a little bit, she’s just a little bit different.

[00:51:11] It’s funny, my, my children, when they all get a cold, one of them, I just want herbal tea. Like I just, can, you just make me tea? And it’s just like some honey and squeeze of the lemon. That’s all he wants. And he’s good. Like rarely am I like, no, we also need to give you x, y, z. My daughter, she’s, she’s dramatic when she’s sick.

[00:51:32] She is, she’s the clingy one that I’m pulling out like clingy, homeopathic supports for. And then my other son like tries to push his boundaries, like he doesn’t wanna rest. I’m like, you need to sit down. You need to, so that’s the one where I’m like, if you watching Harry Potter is gonna keep, keep you on this couch.

[00:51:47] That’s more important than not having a screen on. So definitely different things. For different children. I know. It’s, and like that, I think that’s the thing that builds your confidence. So let’s, let’s wrap up with, or I’m like, I [00:52:00] might save antibiotics for Patreon just ’cause we’re getting close to an hour.

[00:52:04] So we’re gonna wrap up here. But thank you so much for being on. If you guys wanna hear the rest. I’m gonna, we’re gonna talk about like. I don’t know when you should actually use antibiotics and other options. And then I have a, uh, all my Patreon members submitted some questions based on illness stuff. We have a few questions on RSV, um, strep, things like that.[00:52:23] So if you want to hear Nina’s answers for all those, you can join us over patreon.com/hormone healing rd. But thank you so much and let’s hop on over to Patreon. Thank you.