In Sickness and In Health

I haven't posted in a few weeks because I've had quite a month of sickness. It seems like every other week for the past 2 months I've had some ailment! Even as I type I am again nursing a cold. I believe it started when I got a severe stomach virus that put me out for several days; I think it really wrecked my immune system. Compile that with the never ending exhaustion of playing with a toddler all day and being pregnant and I set myself up for disaster. I have been thoroughly humbled by my own limitations and learned a few things about self-care that I want to share. Sometimes the simple things are easy to forget. Just a reminder, I am not a medical professional, this is just my experience. I hope it helps you in times of sickness or keeps you in a time of health. This post contains affiliate links which help support my family and are of no extra cost to you. Enjoy!

Rest

I know it's a timeless remedy but it is so hard to follow. Even though I don't keep the grind schedule of most people I still have a habit of running myself ragged. After a few weeks of being sick I wised up and laid down. Now I say rest here and not sleep because I usually get 8-10 hours of sleep but run around crazy during the days. Instead of taking my son to every playdate and keeping the house tidy, I let him watch a lot of TV and watched from the couch as the house melted into disarray. I leaned on my spouse a little bit, and yes some nights we ordered pizza. I wake up a lot when I'm sick (because I can't breath) and usually find I'm nauseous (because I'm pregnant), which in turn makes it harder to fall back asleep. My husband came up with the genius/sweet idea of running our essential oil diffuser with peppermint oil at night. The scent of peppermint does wonders for my nausea and we add a little rosemary oil to help purify the air, which is apparently germy in our house!

This is the diffuser we use; we've had it for about a year and use it almost everyday. We like that it doesn't use any heat and automatically shuts off.

   

Herbal Teas

What does the doctor tell you besides rest? Drink fluids. I do genuienly enjoy water, but even when I'm not sick I find it hard to drink enough. Herbal tea's are to the rescue. I just love them and have no problem having several cups thorough the day. I love mint to open me up or quell nausea, and my husband likes it as a replacement to his morning coffee. Chamomile is great to promote relaxation and ease stomach issues. Chamomile is a natural remedy for colicky babies, which I kind of feel like these days. I usually do about a tablespoon of dry herbs per 6-8 ounces of hot water. I let them brew for about 5 minutes before straining. Always read about herbs or talk to someone knowledgable before using them as some interact with prescription drugs and some people are allergic.

I buy this brand in bulk from my local co-op.

        

Stop it before it starts

The most important thing I've learned is to recognize when I have something coming on and go ahead and start taking preventative steps. That usually means heading to bed with a cup of chamomile tea but I've also started hitting the vitamin C hard and taking homemade elderberry syrup. I have to say I've noticed a big different with the Vitamin C, follow the link to read more about supplementing with it.

This is the brand I use. There area certainly a lot of options out there and this one is a good price and reputable company.




What do you do to support yourself during illness?