Natural Methods of Nursing Children Back to Health

If your child is diagnosed as having chickenpox, mumps, or measles, it may indicate that s/he requires an immunity boost. Most children who have gone through these common childhood illnesses have greatly benefited from them; they are stronger afterward and even have a growth spurt, either physically or emotionally, or both. Most natural health practitioners see a normal childhood illness as a good opportunity to develop immunity. By nursing a child with natural methods, you can help him to become healthier and more resistant to disease in the long run.

When children become ill with any of these illnesses, the main advice is to encourage their own healing powers. This is first accomplished by letting them get as much rest as possible. Take them out of school, the nursery, etc. and nurse them at home. Drugs such as liquid paracetamol only suppress the body’s healing response and lead to many more “unrelated” physical and emotional problems in the future. For a child, the period of illness is often a way to receive additional caring attention from his parents. He may get many extra cuddles, meals in bed, and stories at bedtime, etc. Of course, there may be parents who feel that their child’s illness is very inconvenient and show their frustration by being harsh and abrupt with them. Sick children need and deserve special treatment and reassurance, especially when they are frightened or anxious.

A sick child should not be excited or stimulated by exposure to too much radio, television, or even visitors. Quiet activities such as reading to them, drawing, and board games help them to avoid dwelling on their illness too much. Make sure that they get extra sleep with early bedtimes, and daytime naps if they feel tired. Sick children need to drink plenty of liquid to help remove toxins from the system. Warm water is the best drink for them and should be the first option; herb teas and freshly pressed, diluted fruit juices (except citrus fruit juices if your child has mumps) can also be taken. Avoid giving your child anything cold, such as cold beverages, ice cream, sugar, or sugar-containing foods; milk, yoghurt or other dairy products; meat, chicken, fish or any other form of protein food. As the child’s digestive power is weakened during the illness, such foods will only putrefy and acidify the digestive system and further irritate the mucus lining.

Sick children, like sick animals, generally do not want or need food. Fasting, while drinking only water, is the best way to encourage the body’s healing response. When your child feels hungry, give him freshly cooked vegetable purées, soups, hot cereals like porridge with a little maple syrup, or with good quality honey (which should only be added after the food has cooled down to less than 45 degrees C (115F) but more than body temperature. Children need to know what is happening to them during an illness and that it is going to pass soon. They also want reassurance that you are going to be there for them all the way.

If your child develops a fever, it is a sign of a healthy immune response. A raised temperature shows that the body has taken active charge of the situation and is fighting off an infection. Parents should remember that a high temperature does not necessarily mean that their child is very ill. As has been discovered recently, even a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius, or 106 degrees Fahrenheit, and slightly above is still not considered life-endangering. In 1983, when I lay ill with malaria in India, I refused to take fever-reducing tablets for a temperature of 41.5 degrees Celsius (106.7 Fahrenheit) and after the fever broke at the end of the third attack, I recovered very quickly and have had no relapse of malaria since. The most important thing to remember is that children and babies aged less than six months who are afflicted with fever need to drink plenty of water, as they tend to dehydrate quickly.

Sponging them down with tepid water helps to keep the body more comfortable during this phase of healing. Expose and sponge only one part of the body at a time until it feels cool, then move on to the next one. Sponging the child’s face and forehead also brings relief.

Another basic rule is to keep a chilly, feverish child warm and covered. This will make him sweat, particularly at night, and help to break the fever, which indicates that the body’s “fight” is nearly over. Hot, feverish children should be kept cool and occasionally be immersed in a bath of tepid water. If your child has accompanying symptoms such as itchy rashes, painful swollen glands, a cough or sore, sticky eyes, he is most likely to recover without any complications. In case he has any unusual symptoms, you may consult a natural practitioner of Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Chinese Medicine, etc., for home treatment remedies.

It is better not to give aspirin to children during or after an illness as this can interfere with the body’s own healing response. If your doctor insists on giving antibiotics to your child when he has one of the above illnesses or symptoms, try to find another doctor to give you a second opinion. In most cases, there is no need for drugs. In one large study published in 1987 in the British Medical Journal, 18,000 children received a homeopathic remedy against meningitis. None of the children got infected and not a single adverse effect developed from the treatment. Elderberry has been used as a folk remedy for flu, colds, and coughs since the time of Hippocrates.

And recently, an Israeli scientist discovered exactly why it works so well. In a controlled study that had flu sufferers recovering in record time, she found that elderberry literally “disarms” viruses. The viruses simply were unable to penetrate the walls of the patients’ cells.

As a general precaution, don’t take your child to daycare centers or nurseries too early. This can protect him from many childhood diseases. Daycare facilities increase the risk of Hib meningitis, for example, by 24 times. Many of the commercially run centers are frequently “visited” by all sorts of bugs. The safest environment for a child in the first years of his life is his home.

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This is an excerpt from my book TIMELESS SECRETS OF HEALTH & REJUVENATION