Keeping Your Kids Healthy in the New Year

2011 was a challenging year in my home when it came to illness. My poor little girl was plagued with colds that always led to ear infections. In fact, in June she had tubes placed in her ears. The surgery is supposed to cut down on ear infections, and most people who I speak to never have a problem with ear infections once the tubes are in place. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience. Since getting tubes, my daughter has had three colds—all of which have resulted in ear infections. The thought of her getting more ear infections breaks my heart. I need to keep this kid healthy!

One of the best ways to prevent illness is to keep surfaces clean, thereby minimizing the transference of germs and bacteria. Recently I found a great product line—Clean Well. Their products are made from “rapidly renewably botanical resources,” and are non-toxic. The product line includes hand sanitizers—from biodegradable wipes to sprays and foaming sanitizers; hand soaps; and my favorite—disinfectants to-go. Since none of us live in a bubble, the disinfectants to-go are great for wiping shopping cart handles, door knobs or any other surface you may come into contact with where germs from multiple people will be prevalent. You can buy Clean Well products at a number of stores including Target and Whole Foods. For a full list of stores, you can visit the Clean Well website.

Did you and your Children Get a Flu Vaccine? I recognize that vaccines are a constant point of debate in the parenting community, and I find it difficult to set my own views aside. However, that said, if you are truly concerned about the safety of vaccinating your children, then I recommend requesting the thimerosal-free flu vaccine. For those who may not know, thimerosal is a preservative used in vaccines derived from mercury. I have found that the doctors in my area reserve the thimerosal-free versions for children under 2 and for pregnant women. Also, when considering whether to vaccinate, it’s important to remember that according to the CDC, “more than 200,000 people are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year.” In addition, in the 30 years from 1976 to 2006, the number of people who died annually as a result of the flu fluctuated between 3,000 and 49,000! Getting a flu vaccine is an easy way to prevent members from getting the flu. Everyone in my family gets a flu shot every year.

Colds seem to be a necessary evil of the colder months. I’ve made it no secret, that my family relies heavily on the Homeostasis Labs Cough and Cold products to alleviate our cold symptoms. My family has had wonderful results with this product—diminishing our cold symptoms to a point where we don’t even notice them. Unfortunately, even though our colds are seemingly non-existent, my daughter is still getting ear infections at the end of her would-be colds. On the bright side, she’s only experiencing the discomfort of an ear infection instead of both a cold and an ear infection. I find this product alleviates my cold symptoms without side effects much more effectively than the pharmaceutical-type products currently on the market. In addition, this is really one of the only options for children, since the “traditional” children’s cough and cold products have all been removed from the market due to safety issues. I buy my Homeostasis Labs products on , but you can also check the Homeostasis Labs website for a store near you that carries the products.

Healthy children are happy children. Keeping them healthy should be our first goal, but the reality is that children will get sick. When they do become ill, it’s important that we know ways to get them feeling good again quickly. I would love to hear what remedies work for everyone else’s children!