When kids get a COLD....

Photo Credits to David Castillo Dominici

First of all, we have to understand that kids do get colds, which is especially common in Fall time and Winter. It affects the nose, throat and the sinuses. It's not a new disease that every time our kids get a cold we have to rush them to the hospital right away because they got... a cold. Actually, it's normal to have a cold. In fact, experts say that kids can get as many as 8 to 10 colds a year. When kids get a cold they get immune to that germ that caused them to be sick. That means their immune system strengthens as they get older by bits and pieces of getting cold once in a while.

Doctors will tell us that when we get a cold, we just have to let it run its course. No cold medicines, no antibiotics, nothing can treat it. We just have to deal with the symptoms that goes with it. If we can't treat them how can we prevent them. Proper Hygiene!!

 see Handwashing 101

As a mom I always get stressed every time my kid has a cold. Any parent will agree to me that cold can be so much difficult for both the child and the parents. It can be hell! I was often advised not to give cold medicines since it doesn't really help and it's a real pain making our child take it, anyone agrees on that?

So, I have to find natural ways on how to help my child get through this.. keep reading...

1. For younger children with a congested nose, bring them inside the bathroom with you. You can put a chair somewhere in the bathroom so you can sit there with your child  then turn the hot shower and just let it flow. I did this when my son was a baby and it worked. The steam coming out from the hot shower helped him breathe.

2. Don't underestimate the power of Vicks. This has been my powerful tool ever since BUT studies say that this is not safe for kids under two.  For older kids, I find it very helpful. Aside from the soothing effect that it brings, it also creates a bonding moment between you and your child.

3.Chicken Soup - my son always ask me to cook this for him every time he gets sick. He said it makes him feel better.

4. My magic surprise, the Lemonade - my son doesn't like lemonade at all. But I certainly believe that the Vitamin C coming from the Lemonade can make him feel better. So I made my own Lemonade recipe.

What you need: 

                Lemons
                Oranges
                Orange Slices
                Water
                Honey to taste

How to make it: 

Extract the juice from the lemons and the oranges, put some water, add some honey to taste, then just put the orange slices to make it more attractive to the eyes. Voila, that's the magic surprise. He loved it though!

5. On cold weather, the heating makes the air dry. When the air is dry, it's harder to sleep with cough and cold. To help them sleep, one word... Humidifier. A Humidifier is an appliance that humidifies (moistens) the air in the entire house or even just in your room. Just make sure that you don't forget to change the water in the humidifier.

6. Snacks anyone? Slices of apple with honey on the side is always a hit. Vitamin C from apples and the therapeutic effect of honey have always been a good combination.

The following are websites that offer advises on how to take care of our kids whenever they get sick

Caring for kids

Kids Health

Stay healthy!

Handwashing 101 for kids

Photo credits by wendy007

We have to teach our kids to practice proper hygiene at an early age especially at this point that different types of viruses are popping out. As a parent, part of our responsibility is to stress the importance of a good hand washing ...

I got this song from this website, I find it so cute! Sing this in the tune of Row, Row, Row your boat

Wash, wash, wash your hands,
Get them very clean,
Do the rub, do the scrub,
Germs are very mean.

Wash, wash, wash your hands,
We should sing this twice,
Do the rub, do the scrub,
Being clean is nice!

If there's no water available, use a hand sanitizer. I always have this in my purse. You never know when you need it! 

Happy Feet

Photo credits to Simon Howden

Ever since I was young I have an extreme fascination of keeping my feet smooth and clean. Because for me, no matter how you claim to be the neatest person on earth, if you have a dirty, cracked feet, I'm sorry but you got to work harder. It's not attractive at all! I've seen people wear those open heel sexy stilettos with ankle straps but 'lo and behold' if you look closer you'll see black cracks  a.k.a callouses, starting in there like a dirty lake. Keeping our feet smooth is a must to both men and women.

When the weather changes, I always notice that my heels start to get drier. Let's face it, water and soap alone are not really enough to keep our heels soft and smooth enough to show them off. Most of the time, dry heels  look dirty even if you just stepped off the shower.

My mom used to tell me to put petroleum jelly then cover the feet with socks overnight to take off the dry skin. Believe it or not, it didn't work for me. That's why I got to find something else.

I used to be a fan of the foot rasp until I've learned about Ped- egg from those Infomercials on TV. It just happened that Ped egg is available in Walmart near my place that's why I got to chance to actually try it. I did try it and it worked! The design is so simple. I find it very ergonomic and it's very gentle to my very sensitive skin.

Ped egg

I usually buy those softening creams, foot scrubs, foot lotions to finish off my foot regime. These are few of the products that I really believe in.. for me, they work so well and they smell great too.

Barefoot foot lotion by Freema

Yves rocher Foot Repair Balm

Yves rocher Polishing Foot Scrub

Then finish it off with a nicely colored toenails and you're off to go... very Zen like!

 Keep a Happy Feet, all for the love of hygiene!

Eczema alert

It's fall time once again! aside from the messy dry leaves that I have to clean up in my backyard, what's dreading me the most at this time of the year is the cold weather. Cold weather means you have to put up your heating. Cold weather plus the dry air coming from the heat pump makes my skin go crazy. I have a very sensitive skin.It cracks when the cold weather sets in. It breaks out on simple irritations. And I didn't just mean zits, but all those scaly red itchy stuff that grows bigger when you scratch it.

For somebody who has a skin like me, life can be so miserable in times like this. There are a lot of things  that you have to follow so your skin won't feel helpless. Nobody wants to talk or even look to somebody with a flaky skin.  

"Beware of the flakes.. not the snow flakes.. but the flakes of the skin you're in!"

1. Drink plenty of water to keep you hydrated

2. Use corticosteroid creams to relieve the breakouts, follow your dermatologists prescriptions

3. Just stick to cottons. Avoid silk, satin and polyester fabrics for the moment since they are really not good to your skin. Cotton can be nice looking too!

4. Do love the unscented ones. This is one of the rules that I usually fail to follow. I am fascinated with those scented lotions, soaps and body wash from Bath and Body works, Victoria Secret, Crabtree and Evelyn and Lush.But my dermatologist recommended these kinds of soaps and lotions to prevent any eczema breakout, mind you they're not cheap! Just 2 keywords "water based" and "unscented" and you'll be fine. 

The following are highly recommended by my dermatologist

Spectro jel

Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser

 

Cetaphil Restoraderm body wash and moisturizer

The petroleum based vaseline cream lotion

5. Stay away from Hot water. Hot water makes your skin really dry. Dryness worsens a person's eczema.

6. Latex gloves are not our friend. For disposable glove users like me, we must switch to Nitrile or any non-latex gloves. You'll feel the difference.

7. Cotton gloves are suggested to be worn on regular housework. When my dermatologist told me this, I was like "Whuuutttt?" But he was serious though...

These are suggestions that I try to religiously follow as much as possible (I try!) because if I don't I have to deal with the scratchy, painful, itchy, cracking and excessive dry skin for the next 4 months.