Struggling For Breath Sickness

Typically when my children start exhibiting any signs of a cold the first thing I do is put them in a tub of warm water to which I have added Eucalyptus Radiata mixed in with dead sea salt for a 15 minute soak. This gets the congestion flowing, helps aid in their breathing and draws toxins out of the body.

The Monday before Thanksgiving this past year my 18 mos old woke up feverish and with visible signs that she was congested and it was affecting the way she was breathing. Sunday night we put her to bed she was just fine, Monday morning instantly sick.  No biggie we've tackled congestion before, in the tub we go. However after the 15 minute soak nothing changed, she was still congested, struggling raspy breaths and she was unhappy. She enjoyed her soak in the tub but now out of it she was uncomfortable and having obvious troubles. She meagerly picked at breakfast preferring fresh fruit to the oatmeal. And wanted to be held for about 30 minutes before she was begging to go down for a nap.  So I rubbed my usual chest congestion mix on her (10 drops each Lavender, Tea Tree, and Eucalyptus Radiata diluted in a 4 oz bottle of carrier oil)  and a few drops of Ravensara neat on her chest for good measure. I also turned on the diffuser by her bed with the same three oils in it (4 drops of each). Her breathing seemed to ease a bit and she was immediately asleep. So I headed down to the kitchen to do some dishes, and let her nap.  However forty-five minutes later she woke up screaming, and it was clear that she was worse. I could hear her congestion, I could see she was struggling for breath, she wouldn't cough at all, just down right refused, and when I laid her down to change her diaper she instantly behaved as if she was in pain and couldn't breathe at all.

I called my husband and said, this is different, 7 years of battling colds this one is different. She can barely breathe and things just seem to be getting worse. This is what I have done and this is what I am going to do. Just letting you know.  My ever wonderful husband said he was on his way home to give her a priesthood blessing.

Thankfully I had recently taken the Family Herbalist Course through The School of Natural Healing  and had a friend whose daughter was going through walking pneumonia, that caused me to do some extra research. So grateful that I had been prepared by God for this experience.  

Armed with the knowledge I had I rolled up my sleeves even higher and got to work. I spread out a towel stripped my girl down to her waist rubbed on olive oil and opened the bottle of Sen Sei Menthol Rub created by Dr. Christopher, and rubbed this ointment on her chest ontop of the olive oil. The olive oil works as a protectant to the skin so that the Sen Sei rub does not feel hot on the skin. I pulled a shirt that I didn't care about that buttoned up the front onto my daughter and then craddled her in my arms. Her breathing improved some, but still not back to better.

I went to the stove to make onion honey cough syrup. God has not yet blessed me with a double boiler so I created a double boiler system with a stainless steel pot and a stainless steel bowl on top.

To make the onion honey:

 Fill the pot below 1/2 full with water.    In the bowl on top place diced onion and enough honey to cover, and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. While simmering stir the onions around a bit with a spoon trying to crush the liquid out of the onion. After the 30 minutes, strain the mixture, and press the onions to be sure to extract all the goodness.

This onion honey I gave to her, and still give to anyone sick with a cough at a dosage of 1 tsp. 3 times a day or as often as needed.  Looking back I now know that I could easily add elderberries, cloves, and diced ginger to the mix while simmering to make an even more potent onion honey.

I quickly learned how to make an onion poultice and was applying an onion poultice to her chest about an hour after the Sen Sei Menthol Rub.

To make an Onion Poultice you will need:


Chopped Onion
Oil to saute the onion, such as coconut oil
Flour
Square piece of natural material that will breathe (bandana, cut up bed linen, old shirt)
Strip of PUL fabric or Plastic Wrap
Olive oil

Lightly saute onions in coconut oil on medium heat until the onions became slightly translucent. How much onion you'll need depends on the size of person you are making if for. Probably half onion for small person whole onion for an adult. Then mix in just enough flour to create a goey paste.  The point of mixing in the flour is to keep it all together.
Once you have made the paste, place the paste at the center of your square cloth and fold the sides in to cover, so that none of the paste can leak out. When you can comfortable touch the paste pouch to the inside of your wrist skin when it is still very warm but not painfully hot  you rub olive oil on the persons chest and place the onion pouch  on their chest. Then wrap your PUL Fabric, or Ceran Wrap around the persons chest like a binding keeping the onion pouch in place. Pull a tight shirt over and leave the Onion Poultice on for 20-30 minutes.
Note: When I remove the poultice I throw recycle the onion paste in my compost and do a quick rinse and scrub with a drop of dish soap on the square cloth and hang it up to dry. The PUL fabric if it gets anything on it merely gets wiped down with a wash cloth and set out to dry.

My 18 month old stayed in my arms for rest of the day and night, with a diffuser blowing on her face the entire time. When she was awake I encouraged her to drink fluids. We made the fluids count, orange juice, red raspberry leaf tea, bone broth, water. Thinking back coconut water would have been a good idea also.  That night she stirred every 10-15 minutes. She was in a critical state for about 36 hours, from Monday morning till Tuesday at lunch time.  To be honest it was a tense 36 hours, but everything we did brought her the capability of breathing easier for a time, If it ever got to the point where what we did didn't help then I was ready to take her to the hospital, but whatever we did helped so we stayed home. After 36 hours she was able to breathe un-restricted, and had more of an appetite, at this point she sounded like she had a normal chest cold. She was capable of coughing, and did so plenty.

On Tuesday I ran down to the local herb shop for a few more reinforcements. While there the woman passed on a wonderful tip. At night before putting my 18 mos. old to sleep we would put her in a tub of water as hot as she could handle and let her soak for a bit, somewhere between 10-15 minutes. We found she could handle it hotter if we put her in the tub and then filled it with water slowly increasing the temperature. Kind of the boiling the frog theory.  Soaking in a hot tub before bed helped to kick up her body temperature, to fight off more of the infection, open her airways, allow mucus to flow. Then we would instantly pull her out of the water dry her, off , rub oils on her chest, bundle her up and tuck her into bed. And she slept more peacefully that night. Not 100% better, but better.

After two days of normal chest cold status, her nasal passages started to drain, and oh how they did. I think that child went through 2 boxes a Kleenex in one day.

Other things we did-
Lots and lots of prayers
Monday night I did a complete Foot Zoning session on her and noticed her ability to breathe increase
We gave her the Dr. Christopher Lung and Bronchial Formula  to her 3-5 times a day at a 1/3 of the dosage on the outside of the bottle.
We gave her the Dr. Christopher Super Garlic Immune Formula once a day
We also ate meals with more fresh crushed garlic in them
Rubbed a drop of  Ravensara oil on each of her feet in the morning and at night.

Some of the things that were recommended for my friend baby with the walking pneumonia that we didn't do but are still great suggestion were to: 
Rub Mullein oil on her chest front and back
Rub Garlic oil on her chest


To this day I honestly don't know what the doctors would have called what she had, could have been a pneumonia, could have been croup. I am not a medical doctor so I couldn't tell you, nor did we go into a doctor. What I do know was that what she had was serious and had we done nothing she would not have survived the night.  For those thinking that I am 100% against stepping into the doctors office, that is not true. If I ever come against something that I can not solve between God and I, then I will head to the doctor. But in the mean time I will do all in my power to keep from having to step into an already packed germ-filled doctors office to ask an over worked doctor to figure out what I can not.

Essential Oils In The Bath

There is nothing more relaxing than soaking in a tub that has essential oils added to it. However most people just add their oil drops in as is and call it good. Which is the incorrect way of doing it.  When you just add your drops of essential oil to the water the drops float on top and do not disperse through out the water evenly. No matter how much you stir the water the oils will always return to the surface. And then evaporate off of the surface. If you climb into the tub while all of those oils are on the surface your vaginal area will get hit with a high dosage of oils, not so good, and especially tingly if your oil of choice was peppermint. However by mixing your drops of essential oil in with a bit of non-iodized bath salt first you  will cause the oils to cling to the salt and disperse evenly through out the bath water as the salt dissolves in the water. 

When I make a bath with essential oils I typically place 1/4 cup of salt  into a small bowl and then I  finger mix my drops of essential oil into the salt. Then when I turn the bath water on I dump the salt into the bath. Rinse the bowl out with the bath water, using the bowl to stir the water and salt together while the salt dissolves.  Once the water level is where I like it I climb in.

Just a note: It is best to have the bathroom door closed when doing an essential oil bath. Not only does it keep the room warmer, it also keeps the essential oil atmosphere contained to where you want it. Especially if you are doing a medicinal bath. You can't inhale those good oils if they have all left the room.

My Favorite Cooking Oils

This is a quick guide to the healthy oils I use in my kitchen. 

Grape Seed Oil-
I use this in place of any called for vegetable oil in a recipe. Flavorless, beautiful green color. I use in pancakes, quick breads and dressings. 


Extra Virgin Coconut Oil-
I add this to smoothies, nut-milk, and spread on toast in place of butter. And of course enjoying it straight.  


Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil-
This oil covers any of my on the stove-top frying and sauteing needs. It has a very high burning point, which makes it so I don't have to worry about bruising the oil. It is delicious on stove popped popcorn. Adds a fabulous flavor to mashed potatoes. I also rub it on my rectangular bakers and square pans before making baked goods. 


Palm Shortening-
I love this for making biscuits and as a substitute for butter in cookie recipes. I also rub it on my rectangular bakers and square pans before making baked goods.

Olive Oil-
Call me old-fashioned this is the oil I season my cast iron pans with. Mostly because I saw my mom season her pans this way.  I also love a robust olive oil for frying up chopped chicken meat, adds a delicoius flavor. I use this oil in making dressings, adding to smoothies.


Doubling It Up-
I also use my expeller-pressed coconut oil for Foot Zoning, my grape seed oil for making Essential oil mixes, and my olive oil for a thick barrier between sensitive skin and spicy ointments.