A Problem with the Flu Vaccine
May 26, 2009 Green Health
In general I’m pro-vaccine, but with caution. Perhaps that’s why I’ve never gotten a flu vaccine or had any of my kids get one. This article on kids with the flu shot being 3 times more likely to be hospitalized with the flu really got my attention.
That’s a pretty amazing difference.
This is not a huge study or anything. 263 children with confirmed cases of influenza from 1996-2006. In other words, it’s not conclusive. But it is something to consider when you’re thinking about getting a flu shot for your kids next year.
Clearing Baby’s Stuffy Nose Without a Nasal Aspirator
May 20, 2009 Green Health
Baby Selene has been really stuffed up with a cold recently. We had 3 nearly sleepless nights because she kept waking up struggling to breathe due to congestion. Babies, if you don’t know, are considered to be obligate nasal breathers, which means they can only breathe through their noses. Heavy congestion is really uncomfortable for them.
We’d been doing as many parents do, dropping in a couple of saline drops
Finally, I took her to the doctor last Friday to make sure that the congestion was the only problem we were dealing with. Didn’t want to find out that there was something more going on over the weekend after all. He confirmed that it was indeed all just heavy congestion, and told me a kinder way to clear her nose.
It’s really simple too, so I thought I would share.
You still need the saline drops. In fact, you put in more of those than you would for using the aspirator, and you do both nostrils at once, as I understand it. This is uncomfortable for baby, but only lasts a moment.
As soon as all the drops are over, flip baby onto her tummy, and start gently wiggling her bottom. This will gently move the head too, and the saline and loosened mucus will start coming out on their own.
I advise doing this over a burp cloth or something else you can throw into the wash easily.
We don’t get gobs out this way or anything, but it is so much gentler than the aspirator and sometimes a decent amount of mucus does clear out. Far fewer screams and a much happier baby.
You can do it as often as necessary, as the saline solution is very safe. Just be sure you drop the saline in, not spray it, even though most can do both. The spray is too high a pressure for babies.
I figure this is not too different from using nasal irrigation on myself, which I swear by for colds. Somewhat odd feeling, but it really does the job. Makes sense to me that it helps babies too, even if you can’t go so far as to use a Neti pot
Tags: baby, nasal congestion, nasal irrigation, saline drops
Swine Flu Overrated? What a (Non)Surprise!
May 5, 2009 Green Health
Somehow I am just not surprised to be reading that swine flu doesn’t look to be any more dangerous than regular flu. Looks like this was more of a panic than a pandemic.
More and more it’s looking like this was only ever a minor issue. Tragic for those who died, but remember that the early reports were only about those who went to the hospital. You don’t go to the hospital for normal cases of flu, meaning that only the worst were being reported. That’s what made this look so bad early on.
Could it get worse? Sure! But it’s not the big issue right now that so many people were fearing.
I live near San Diego, so I’ve paid pretty good attention to the story. For that matter, I, my husband and my son are all getting over some bug or other. My one and only concern with it was that I didn’t want the baby to get it, because my poor son was so miserable coughing, and a 102.5 degree temperature is a problem for an infant. My oldest daughter has only had the lightest of symptoms.
Even in Mexico things are winding down. I truly hope this trend continues. Flu season itself is winding down too.
I know there’s talk that it may be worse next flu season, and if so, that’s the time to deal with it. Right now it’s a maybe. No need to panic about anything right now.
So what should you be doing?
Normal health precautions are perfectly reasonable. You know, wash your hands regularly, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, stay home when possible while sick. No masks, no disposable gloves, no magical cures. Don’t go running to the ER because you coughed, ate pork or just want more information. Eat healthy, take supplements if you like.
If it’s going to be a problem next flu season, there’s nothing you can do about it right now unless you’re in that industry.
Consider this a lesson in hype as well as a lesson in being prepared for a disaster. It doesn’t hurt to know what you would do if there really were a hideously deadly pandemic going on. At the same time, don’t fall for the media hype and panic when something’s yet a small issue.
Should You Avoid Food Additives and Coloring?
Apr 25, 2009 Green Health, Green Parenting, Home and Family
As a rule, I like to cook from scratch. Mostly because I enjoy it, but also because I like knowing what goes into the foods I feed my family. That’s not to say I don’t allow any packaged foods at all; my husband remains hooked on boxed mac n’ cheese, and so the kids love it too. We also enjoy boxed cereals. But I do what I can to avoid convenience foods and prepared foods.
Frankly, I find obvious food coloring to be pretty gross and unnecessary. We eat so many things that are a very different color from what they would be naturally and have been trained to think that that is how they are supposed to look. Kind of ridiculous when you think about it.
There’s a lot to be said for trying to get away from food coloring. There’s some evidence, after all, that getting certain types of food additives and coloring out of a child’s diet may help with ADHD. Not in all cases, but sometimes there appears to be a connection. If I had a child with ADHD, that is certainly one possibility I would test before using medications.
ADHD isn’t the only problem. As noted in Healthy Child Healthy World
I do notice that I feel better when I eat food I made from scratch, and I don’t think that’s just due to liking my own style of cooking. No doubt that’s a part of it, but I firmly believe that there is also something to do with the freshness of the ingredients and lack of preservatives, food colorings and other additives.
I don’t even like to use premade spice blends. Too many of those have too much salt or other ingredients I don’t want.
It doesn’t matter to me that my kids don’t have ADD or ADHD or any other conditions that might be made better by getting additives out of their diets. I don’t need most additives in my food. My kids don’t need them. Neither does my husband, but it doesn’t bother him like it does me. Can’t win all the battles, know what I mean?
Tags: additives, cooking, food, food coloring, healthy foods, junk food, organic foods
Figuring Out Personal Care Products
Mar 11, 2009 Environmentally Friendly, Green Health
I came across a very interesting article over on WebMD about the toxins in consumer products. Many people use products that have these in them every day.
Some are pointless at best, such as your typical antibacterial soaps. According to the article, the amount of antibacterial products in household soaps and such are not strong enough to kill the bacteria. Instead, they may only be helping create stronger bacteria.
Regular soaps do the job just as well in most cases. You’re better off avoiding products with triclosan in them. It’s really not helping you, and may be causing environmental damage.
Parabens and phthalates are also all too common. These two act like hormones in your body. Phthalates are hard to spot, as they hide under the name “fragrance”. Parabens are easier to spot as “paraben” will be a part of the word in the ingredient list.
When in doubt, the Skin Deep website is a huge help. It will help you to figure out which products are safer for you. You’ll be able to make more educated purchases for all sorts of personal care products for yourself and your family.
Tags: parabens, personal care products, phthalates, triclosan
