When Children Fall Sick

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It is often very hard to watch your child being ill, more so when it is an infant who has a congested nose. The feeling of helplessness certainly frustrates me. But I have learnt over the years – and 5 children later – that there are certain things that can help. Besides continuous prayers over and for the child!I must however state upfront that we do not rush to see a doctor at the slightest sniffle. This has been the result of having parented and lived through many coughs and colds. Plus the fact that I personally do not like seeing doctors, as my dh will attest to!

This is strictly our experience and I am sharing what has worked for us. Please do not take this as medical advice! Pray and ask the Lord what you should do. Just do not let fear rule your mind.

For infants – strictly breastfeeding has been a wonderful lifesaver. No, it is not a magical cure-all nor am I implying that breastfed bbs do not fall ill. They do and not only that, when they are not the 1st born, they tend to catch more germs from their older sibling/s and at a younger age! But they do recover faster and the duration of their coughs and colds tend to run its course faster even without medication.

The only problem is that when they have a congested nose, they can’t nurse comfortably because they need to breathe through their noses. So a mild antihistamine or nose drops administered shortly before their nursing session helps. Nursing them in a slightly more upright position also helps.

But a fever is something not to be trifled with, especially, for infants below 3mths. While we need not panic over every small illness our baby catches, we need the Lord’s wisdom and discernment to know when we should see a doctor without any delay. A high fever is something that needs immediate attention, especially when it occurs after vaccination.

For toddlers and older children, we tend to panic even less As long as the child is still active and coherent, we tend to let the illness run its natural course. We may or may not medicate to treat the symptoms, but a trip to the doctor’s is usually unnecessary.

What we do do is give an increased dosage of chewable Vitamin C. For my older children who are more cooperative I will also give them garlic pills/liquid drops. You need them to be cooperative coz the smell is quite off-putting! Lol! I, myself, will increase my dosage of Vitamin C and garlic for my breastfed baby as these will pass through to the baby via breastmilk.

Diet wise, we will eliminate all milk and dairy products when they have lots of phlegm/mucous as I believe milk and diary increases mucous production. This of course does not refer to breastmilk. As a breastfeeding mama, I will abstain from milk and dairy products from my diet. Cutting out sugary stuff also helps to boost everyone’s immune system.

I personally believe that drugging our bodies with medication over common illnesses does not benefit our bodies in the long run. On the contrary, building our immune system up is beneficial in the long run. We now hear of too many diseases that are becoming resistant to the drugs that used to work. And many new-fangled diseases have no cure! Doctors are only able to treat the symptoms and hope that the body is able to fight the infection on its own. But how can it do that unless we 1st look after it?

As mothers we do have much responsibility to make sure our children are eating properly as much as we are able to. By this I mean that while we need to strive to provide proper nutrition as much as it is possible, taking into consideration our finances, family dynamics and food availability. But there is no need not be held hostage by guilt if we are not able to provide hormone-free, organically grown food.

Remember, God is still in control. He can turn anything we eat healthy! But we mustn’t use this as an excuse to feed our children junk food every day. Let us not worry unnecessarily but to keep praying for our family’s health.

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