Flu Season hit early in Colorado and our family was compelled to take a break from life for the past few weeks and focus on getting well. We are not alone. Many, many people are suffering. The school called and said they were closing down two days early for thanksgiving break because so many are sick.

First some headlines:

DENVER – “When it comes to vaccinating children, Colorado is at the end of the list. Colorado is last in the country when it comes to vaccinating children for diseases like chicken pox, whooping cough and even the flu, according to state health officials.

"Currently, Colorado is last in the nation -- 50th out of 50 states for vaccinating 19-35 month olds fully," said Dr. Robert Brayden with Children's Hospital.”

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/2625601/detail.html

“The number of confirmed flu cases in Colorado continues to rise dramatically -- up more than 300 percent over last week. The state already has reported 693 cases, months before the flu season is expected to peak."

Doctors say it's because this year's flu vaccine does not exactly match the strain that's making people sick. Officials with the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention say the mismatch is serious and this flu season could be worse than usual. However, health experts are still recommending that people get flu shots because the vaccine can help SOME from getting sick J and avoid a potentially staggering flu season nationwide.” - and we wouldn’t want the pharmaceutical companies to lose any profits…..JMH. (Emphasis added by Jenny Hatch)
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/2645090/detail.html

If You Have The Flu...If you couldn't quite manage to prevent the flu bug, here are some steps to consider:

• Ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminopen can help with a fever and other aches and pains. Acetaminopen (Tylenol) does not upset the stomach like aspirin or ibuprofen can.
• Do not take antibiotics. They kill bacteria, but not the viruses that cause a cold or flu.
• Do not smoke. This will only make it worse.
• Use cough drops and gargle with warm salt water for a sore throat.
• Keep a humidifier in your bedroom and take hot showers to clear a stuffed up nose.
• For a red and raw nose, rub ointment on and around the area.

Additionally critics of the Flu Vaccine argue that the Flu vaccine might be irrelevant. These critics argue that the flu vaccine, for most healthy people, is (1) unnecessary; (2) ineffective; and (3) capable of causing serious neurological injuries. Most cases of so-called flu are not influenza at all, but rather cases involving rhinoviruses and other infections. Getting the flu, for most healthy individuals is not very serious.

Flu vaccines are admittedly viewed by many in the public health community as being a monetary vaccine, designed to reduce days lost from work.

The most serious indictment of flu vaccines, however, involves the fact that we are always receiving last year's virus to try to protect us from this year's flu. Flu viruses change each year, and sometimes the vaccines are prepared with viruses, which are not the same ones that we are trying to protect against. Despite such mismatches, manufacturers are always quick to sell their product, and recalls are unheard of. There is evidence that the manufacturers do not even conduct clinical trials for the vaccine each year, despite the fact that the components are changed.”

Click here for the full story

I am simply sharing what I have done to help my children heal from a terrible flu in the hopes that some of my suggestions may prove helpful to others.

few months ago I began stocking up on essential oils. I put in a supply of therapeutic grade oils anticipating the cold and flu season. It has been exciting the past two weeks to pull out the oils time and time again to help relieve the various symptoms that have presented. Even with the oils, I have been barfed on twice, and spent a whole night fearing that should my son puke again, he would goob me. While the oils don’t stop symptoms, they do encourage the body to work more effectively, and sometimes even strengthen the symptoms. For example, my son was nauseated and had dry heaves and was unable to sleep. I put some peppermint oil on his feet and massaged the arches of his feet. As I massaged I could feel his heaves settle down, then all of a sudden he vomited, then he looked at me and said, “I feel much better” and was able to sleep.

Symptoms are good!

The allopathic model of medicine teaches us that symptoms are bad and must be suppressed at all costs. Over the years, I have come to believe that symptoms serve a purpose, especially with infectious disease. Most symptoms of flu are the body’s attempt to cleanse itself, and so I take a different approach in the sense that when a fever or a rash appears, I encourage the symptoms for as long as is necessary. Hippocrates said, “give me a fever and I can cure any disease!” My nine-year-old son had a 103 degree fever for five days. During this time, I focused on keeping him well hydrated, comfortable, and clean. I gave him upwards of four baths a day and helped him vigorously scrub his skin with an essential oil soap and a stiff brush. I also had him brush his teeth several times a day and keep his tongue clean by vigorous scrubbing with an essential oil toothpaste. I massaged his feet over and over again with pure oregano and thyme oils diluted with olive oil. I kept him warm with a hot water bottle/blankets when he would start shivering with chills.

Oils of Gladness!

At one point, when I perceived he was the sickest, I gave him a Raindrop Therapy massage treatment. This is a powerful massage technique that can be used by anyone in the home. I purchased the kit –which comes with an instructional video – from Young Living Essential Oils. www.youngliving.org or 800-371-2928 - $101.00 (If you would like to buy this fabulous kit just use my sponsor number #29526 to become a preferred customer.)

After the Raindrop, I observed that my children slept better and were not in as much pain. I gave three of the children this massage.

My son Jeff, who was the sickest of them all, asked for and received a priesthood blessing from his Father and another elder from our church.

I kept a bed made up on the floor of our living room for whoever was sickest that day to lie down on. This made things easier for me, as I was able to tend to them while I worked in the kitchen and did laundry. Our bathrooms are all on the second floor and so once in a while I had to help a sick child up the stairs to go potty, or help with a bath. During the worst of the fevers, I noticed them becoming noise sensitive (A sign of magnesium deficiency), and I would have them sleep in my bedroom, and I encouraged the other children to speak quietly. I also fed them shakes that contained a liquid calcium/magnesium supplement to help with the noise sensitivity.
To help with hydration, I gave all of the children home made juice Popsicles and echinacea tea mixed with grape juice. I also served garlic soup every day. Here is my own recipe for this powerhouse of a soup.

GARLIC SOUP
In a soup pot sauté one chopped onion with five cloves of crushed garlic in three tablespoons of olive oil. Add in 1 tsp sea salt. Peel and chop five potatoes, five carrots, three large chopped celery stalks, and one bunch of chopped fennel. Add the vegetables to the onion and garlic when the onions are translucent. Cover the vegetables with water and bring to a boil. Then simmer while you make the Stock water and brown rice.

POTASSIUM/CALCIUM BROTH/VEGETABLE STOCK

Hard boil two quarts of water with:

• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp flax seed
• ½ C. Oat Straw Tea
• ½ C. Oatmeal
• The potato and carrot peelings
• 10 additional cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 thumb size piece of diced fresh ginger

Hard boil for twenty minutes, then strain and add to the vegetable soup pot.

BROWN BASMATI RICE

In a third saucepan, cook up one cup of brown basmati rice in three cups of water. In a third saucepan, cook up one cup of brown basmati rice in three cups of water.

GARLIC TOAST

Serve the soup with garlic toast. Sliced whole wheat bread brushed with Garlic butter. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter with one clove of crushed garlic, brush on toast, then broil for a minute or two. Serve with the soup. If you can get your child to eat it, you can also add one drop of thyme and one drop of oregano oil to the garlic butter and brush that on the toast. Whenever I did this, my children refused to eat it. However, I read about a woman who used this essential oil toast to treat whooping cough with great success!

I made this soup three times in the past week. With leftovers, my children had plenty of anti-viral food to eat when they were hungry. If they were not eating, I simply served them the potassium/calcium broth. Each child had a few days of natural fasting when they just weren’t hungry. This was generally during the worst of the fever. I trust this symptom in children especially. But carefully watch for signs of dehydration while they forego food. Dehydration shows up with a sunken look to the face, pinched skin, and lack of urination. The child may also complain of bladder pain from lack of liquid moving through the urinary tract. On the worst days most of the children were happy to eat a few pieces of fruit or suck on a Popsicle and I was constantly offering them water.


COLON HYDRATION
I never felt the need to do this, but was prepared to if necessary. I had read that before the advent of the IV, our ancestors used to use the colon to re-hydrate a sick person. They would gently implant water into the colon using a piece of tubing to help the body to be better hydrated and to flush debris from the colon. I am grateful I never felt the need to do this procedure with my kids, but I would have done that first over going to the emergency room for help with re-hydration. (I do think it is appropriate to seek medical aid for hydration issues, especially with pregnant women and babies) but again, I would first try the colon hydration before exposing myself, or my children, to the germs in the hospital while they were in a weakened condition. To do this, simply purchase a child size enema bulb and fill it with warm water and carefully squeeze the bottle of water into the rectum. It is ideal to do this in the bathtub.

At no time in the past days did I administer any prescription or over the counter flu or cold medicines. (OK, my husband did take some Nyquil one night to help him sleep when he had not slept in three days). But we gave no drugs to the children.

Through quiet, diligent effort we have weathered this horrible, painful, disease. I am confident that all five children have now been effectively immunized naturally from the real current flu virus that is making everyone sick. This is natural immunity at its best! It is nothing to be frightened of. Common sense measures and simple effective cleansing techniques will restore health! And it is way more comforting to me than having them shot up with a synthetic, preserved, cultured, mercury laden flu “virus” that the scientists GUESSED would be the correct strain for the year, and then still have them get the live virus that is running around town, perhaps with their immune systems hindered in the ability to effectively deal with that live virus because they had the flu shot! I believe the public has truly been propagandized into believing the lies from the pharmaceutical companies when it comes to infectious disease. Hopefully with consumer awareness, the Center for Disease Control and the national, state, and local health departments will at some point be held accountable and the truth exposed in this whole vaccine scam. Do thousands of people need to die of a flu virus once again this year before the whole flu shot scandal is exposed? Money mongering at the expense of the health and well being of citizens should be a crime. And the doctors, hospitals, news agencies, and health community should be ashamed of itself for shoving these toxic chemicals on the innocent. As John Robbins has stated, “the medical profession will get off its pedestal, when we get off our knees!” Have some confidence and take care of yourself and your family!

A few final tips
(These are a ton of additional work, but very important!)

Several times in the past days I have changed all of the bedding, especially the pillowcases, and washed them well in hot water and then sprinkled all of the bedding with essential oils. I also bundled the children up and took them outside for fresh air and sunshine for a few minutes most days. (Some days I could not get certain kids out the door because they were too dizzy). While we were outside, I opened all of the doors and windows and aired out the house. With all of the coughing, sweaty fevers, and mucous flowing, I believe these steps are very important in speeding healing.

I served lots of fresh fruit; Watermelon, Honeydew melon, red seedless grapes, apple and pear slices. The children tended to eat the fresh fruit more than any other food I served. This helps with cleansing the bowel and hydration issues.

I kept the sickest children close to me during the night. This helped me to tune in to them quickly when they were overcome with fever, nausea, or diarrhea. I could quickly get them into the bathroom, and I believe averted a few messes, by helping them to the toilet instead of having to clean up toxic messy beds.

I also deep cleaned the bathrooms more than usual during the worst of the illness. Using Shaklee’s Basic G, which is powerful enough to kill the aids virus, helped me to feel confident that we were keeping up with the germs. I had my daughters help to wipe down all surfaces in our home with an essential oil spray called Thieves, which is antiviral.

When my 13-month-old son was at his worst with glassy eyed fever, lethargic, (scary in a baby!) I went to extremes to try to get him to laugh. I took his hand and had him touch my nose – then I exploded with loud sounds, hiccupping and sneezing and laughing whenever he touched my nose. At first he just smiled at silly Mom, but soon he was laughing really hard as I continued to burst each time he touched my nose. Pretty soon, he was completely changed in his demeanor, and I could tell that flooding his system with happy endorphins really helped.

When my children started fighting and complaining, I knew we were getting better. The first time my eleven year old daughter punched her brother and told me if I made her eat one more bowl of soup she was going to scream, I knew we had beat this flu.

I don’t claim that this list is complete, and I trust that you will be guided to know what is best for your family, even if that includes traditional medical care. But I hope and pray that you can weather this storm of a nasty cold and flu season and come out of it happy, healthy, and truly immunized from getting the same virus again!