Oct. 2, 2009 - Fear Mongering and Reality
Reality is our media and government like to keep us in a state of panic. When did wisdom become an afterthought? God created us to be reasonable thinking beings.
That being said, we can look at our situations, evaluate them and make rational decisions. As every year, we have entered into flu season. Look around your home and evaluate what you end up using every year and just be prepared to have it on hand. Here are a few ideas to help aleviate chaos.
1. Make sure you have a working and clean thermometer. I cannot tell you how many times over the past 17 years I have had to send my husband out to a 24 hr store in the middle of the night because I wasn't prepared with a working thermometer. Now I have both an old fashioned one and a battery powered one.
2. Tylenol, motrin and ibuprofen on hand only makes sense. if you have children make sure these medicines are not expired. Tylenol and motrin can be used one after the other to help with stubborn fevers. (one is a four hour the other is an 8 hour) I would use the motrin at bedtime and chase it 8 hours later with a tylenol.
3. Start preparing your body now. Buy vitamin D-3 (I like the chewables) Something else I have done over the course of 2 years is stopped using antibacterial soaps. My family and I use regular hand soap and make sure we wash them for at least 30 seconds each time we use the bathroom. This way we have been building up an immunity to the agents around us. Let me remind you, when you get an injection like the polio injection or the chicken pox injection, are they not giving you a small dose of the LIVE germ...to build your immunity to it? If I clean myself of all germs known to man and I come in contact with that germ, I'm gonna be sicker than I would had if I had built up an immunity to it.
4. Have the necessary cough and cold medicines available. Popcycles are nice to have on hand for the kids if they end up with a fever and it feels good on the throat and they are cheap.
5. I have read good things about Oscillococcinum so I have purchased a couple boxes for my husband and I and a couple boxes for my children. I will tell you that Wal-Mart is cheaper than Walgreens by a mile. Learn from my mistake. This is supposed to be most effective when taken when you feel the flu coming on. Not as a last resort.
6. You should have cough drops, mentholatum, lip balm, and the pink stuff on hand.
7. Diluted sports drinks for older children and adults for dehydration and pedialyte or similar fluid for younger children.
8. Have your dr's phone number on hand and know the procedure for the proper way to bring down a fever. They now suggest you not use alcohol. When I had pnemonia when I was a young girl they rushed me to the ER and threw ice cold wet towels all over me...I surely didn't enjoy it and they also don't recommend that any longer either...thank the Good Lord. A tepid, luke warm bath will slowly bring down a fever, you don't want them to get the chills.
9. Soups. Make up some soups you can freeze and have ready when you aren't feeling up to snuff. Create a few casseroles you can store in the freezer. When you don't feel like cooking, your family can take care of themselves.
Some would suggest you have a few gallons of water on hand, face masks and the likes. That's fine, we already have those in our arsonal and not a bad idea incase we are instructed to use them.
