Why Prevention is the Best Medicine for Your Baby

Prevention is simply the best medicine. Unfortunately, more often than not people first seek medical attention once they are already sick. As adults we have often played too hard, worked too hard, not slept enough, and eaten too much junk food. Our lifestyles have often allowed the layers of aches and pains, funky digestion, and other chronic ailments to set in and take hold. But with babies, it's different....

Aaaaaaaaah babies. They are like little clean slates, like a do over for our family histories of allergies, asthma, eczema, digestion problems, or immune dysfunction issues. Not to say that most babies aren't sick when I first see them. Because that is normally how it happens. But with kids, the layers upon layers of misuse and abuse aren't there yet. Once I treat a child and they heal the original complaint, all that's left is prevention.

The problem is our western minds think "all done," and I don't see them until the next cold or bout of symptoms takes hold. I've decided it's about time I change my tune, and make sure I am educating as much I can on the all too important practice of prevention.

When it comes to babies the general rule is they get sick quickly, and they heal quickly too. This means that when a child gets sick - they get sick fast. A child that had nothing, suddenly has a 103 fever, and is crying inconsolably. It usually comes in the middle of the night and unless you have your remedies and herbal formulas ready, it moves inward fast. For those in my practice who learned what remedies to have at home and what defenses are actually possible at this hour of the night (that don't include Tylenol or Motrin), they also know that kids heal quickly too. A child that at once was not eating, was burning up, and crying, is now running around the house in a whirlwind, like nothing was ever wrong.

What does this mean to me? It means kids' bodies, with proper treatment and care, and without symptom suppression, have so many chances to get better. Their bodies change so quickly, their energy is accessible and available to work with. So we can deal with symptoms, make them better, and use this large amount of available energy to help build healthy immune function and stop family patterns in their tracks.

Here are some things to do at home to give your children the best start possible:

1. Breastfeed as long as is feasible. Breast milk is the best immune builder there is. Do it solely for a minimum of 6 months and you will reduce the chances of your baby ever getting food allergies 3-fold. Do it for longer and you continue to build immune function, regulate your babies hormones, and provide comfort and connection for your baby.

2. Adopt good nutritional values for you while breastfeeding, and your baby once solids are introduced. This seems obvious, I know. Eat organic when possible, avoid processed foods (especially trans fats and corn-syrups), eat grass-fed meats, and make sure everyone is getting good fats. For more information on fats- you'll have to wait for future blogs or do your own research. A good article on the subject with tons of links and resources is here Know Your Fats. A great website on nutrition for children comes from the Nourishing Our Children Campaign. They offer sound advice with solid traditional principles for wellness.

3. Fevers are good. Let's all stop being afraid of fevers. Fevers are the body's own natural defense against infection. The body heats up to kill viruses and bacteria. When we synthetically reduce those fevers with over the counter fever reducers, we are lessening our body's ability to fight off infection. This gives the virus or bacteria a way in, allowing for the beginnings of chronic illness. It also sends the body a message not to work so hard next time, because...well, why bother? If your child has a fever and you are unsure of how high is too high- don't ever hesitate to call your primary health care provider. And when I receive that phone call in the middle of the night, the biggest concern I hear from parents is regarding the comfort of their child as well as for the rest of the family, who sleep and own wellness can be disturbed. This is a valid concern and leads us to #4.

4. Find yourself a good holistic practitioner for when your child falls sick. Western medicine is great. I do not adhere to all or nothing thinking in terms of our different medicines. I believe in integrative care. Let's utilize what different medicines do best and we will truly have integration. In my opinion, western medicine is great at diagnosis. They are amazing at life saving measures such as emergency medicine and surgery. But let's be honest, they are truly lacking when someone has a cold, an infection, digestive problems, diabetes, etc. They have no real treatment. They have symptom suppression, and that can make people feel better. But that will never give true healing or get to the root or cause of the disease or illness. Alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and homeopathy has actual treatment. Get real treatment for your child when she is sick and she will grow to be a healthier adult. Treat an illness so that it doesn't slip deeper into the body by suppressing the symptoms, and you will have not only successfully treated a cold, but you will have made a stronger body for it.

5. Tune ups. In between illness, don't forget to see your holistic health practitioner. This can be hard in our busy western lifestyles. But just schedule it, make it part of your monthly life. Your doing all you can for your babies wellness through diet and nutrition, don't forget there are gentle and yet totally effective practices that can help a child's digestion, sleep, & immune function even when life gets busy and everyone is already healthy. For babies once a month health maintenance is standard in Chinese Medicine. Sho Ni Shin is a Japanese technique used just for this. It is a painless, often comforting, light scratching of the acupuncture meridians and points used for nourishing children's energy. Find an acupuncturist in your area that practices on children and go. Your child will thank you for it for years to come.

These are just a handful of ideas that parents can do at home to help prevent illness. As simple as I may think they are, I realize that some of these ideas can seem a bit overwhelming at first, especially if it's the first time someone's hearing them. How do we allow our children to fever at 104 degrees without a sense of fear or hesitation, if we have never thought this way before? This is a real concern, and one that should not take be taken lightly. Find yourself a trusted holistic practitioner to include in your arsenal of people and tools that you already have for your child. Talk to this person. Talk to people who are already doing it, look online, find like minded parents (there are lots of them), and slowly one can ease into a new way of thinking about their child's health. Good luck!