Friday, October 28, 2016

Exploring alternatives and natural solutions for respiratory condition

Hi folks!

Sometime back, I mentioned about visiting TCM after the bouts of reoccurring cough, croup, wheezing, and lastly eczema happened to ZS.

It was very heartbreaking and also worrisome for me. After staying with him for 4 days in the hospital, seeing how the nurse used a tube attached to a machine to suck out his phlegm was such terrifying experience for me.

From then on, I vow I will take any measure to stop or at least prevent this from reoccur. Prevention is better than cure.

I start researching, bringing him to diagnose with our family TCM, with osteopath, with few Pediatrician whom we trust and also looking into his diet and environment condition.
And we learnt few important points to note for kids to avoid such respiratory issues.

Things I learnt from my visits to these medical/health practitioner and my exploration & experiments:


  1. Whenever possible, have a natural birth rather than c-section. (I have all my 3 kids via c-section and they are all more prone to allergens and sinus problems, but of course we have to weigh with safety issues..and main thing is mom and baby are safe)
  2. We tend to pick up the children by "scooping" them up from the underarm, which actually compress their diaphragm and make the airflow not as smooth as it is. So remember to pick up your kids with both arms(one at their buttock and one lightly at their chest), lift them up from low, rather than scooping them up from above them.
  3. When we /our sleep sleep with their neck twisted, it will affect the airflow. Thus try to sleep in the right position. As frequent bad posture will cause long-term damage.
  4. Dairy, nuts and eggs are common allergens, thus when ZS suffered from bouts of reoccurring respiratory conditions and eczema, We added these in our home air sterilizer, diffuser+therapeutic-grade essential oils, robot vacuum and changed the pillow case to enclosed and zipped type.
  5. Chemicals everywhere are also harsh to our little ones' respiration and also on their skin. 
When ZS suffered from eczema for months, we visited many Ped and skin specialist, tried many different steroid and non-steroid cream, lotions, bath shampoo, etc. 

Besides diet, the environment they are exposed to are also affecting their health daily. 

We started using chemical free laundry soup, separate the laundry for schooling kids(as their school uniforms are exposed to dirts and sweat, and they usually sits on cement floor during their assembly) and my toddler.

I started using Thieves Household cleaner for laundry, wiping surfaces, spraying on the garbage bins, mopping and general cleaning in the house after my friend whose child suffured from respiratory condition frequently told me the goodness of it.

One 428ml bottle can usually last for minimum 3 months for me as I would dilute it.

There was once I mopped the floor with Thieves Household Cleaner and left home for 3 days. When I got home after 3days, the moment I stepped into the house, I can smell a very fresh, clean and nice aroma unlike those synthetic fragrances smell we usually get from those "lemon"/"lavender"-flavoring floor cleaner.

And after using it for our family laundry for sometime, I just got used to how laundry can just simply smell clean without the extra strong detergent/fragrance smells.

If I were to compared against those organic laundry detergent I used to buy for ZS(small bottle with no dilution), this bottle comes far cheaper in the long run as I can use it for many purposes. Plus, I usually wouldn't use the organic detergent for any other washing besides toddler clothes, but now I would use the Thieves Household cleaner for all family members clothing as well as the curtain and bedsheets as that is what we are so closely exposed with. Imagine sleeping daily on a chemical-treated/washes bedsheets ..

Of course, there might be other natural cleaning agents that I have yet to explore fully like baking soda, vinegar,lemon juice etc..if you all have any tried and tested formulas do share with me :)

It has been a long post here. I shall continue in another post about my visits and experience with a TCM next. If you like to try out healthier alternatives, you can check up and even sign up as member yourself to enjoy a healthier lifestyle and also enjoy the member price for Young Living products. Of course you can also drop me a message if you wish to learn or share more if your experiences or experience with using healthier alternatives products for yourself and family.

Cheers and have a lovely weekend folks!