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I just read an article about how the city of Cincinnati has filed a law suit against nine paint manufacturers asking that the companies be required to clean up all lead hazards in properties in the city, pay for a public awareness campaign about lead’s dangers and repay the city for years of testing and investigating lead hazards.

While I am not sure that this case is entirely fair to the paint companies I do believe that they should be putting a hefty percentage of their profits toward organizations that help homeowners deal with lead paint issues. It was their product after all that is causing so many problems and posing such a danger to us. But then again…the article does say that these companies knew of lead’s toxic nature as early as 1900 so maybe I need to rethink that.

Children with lead poisoning can suffer from:
Damage to the brain and nervous system
Behavior and learning problems (such as hyperactivity)
Slowed Growth
Hearing Problems
Headaches

Adults can suffer from:
Difficulties during pregnancy
Reproductive problems (both men & women)
High blood pressure
Digestive problems
Nerve disorders
Memory and concentration problems
Muscle and joint pain

This issue interests me especially since I have an older home in Ohio that needs some renovations and I am unsure about how to go about dealing with the layers of lead paint that house has inside and out. Scraping to repaint would be bad….but then again so is using vinyl siding. I have a problem on my hands for sure.

Here is the article.

Got a hankering for some warm weather activity? So do I! That is why I have been reading back issues of my surf magazines like crazy this week. I am seriously considering signing myself up for a week long surf camp in Costa Rica….well, I can dream can’t I?

Anyway, I featured one of my favorite natural health and beauty product lines on my surfing blog. It is called Salty Girls and I LOVE their products. You may want to check them out if you happen to live in an area where it is warm enough to surf still.

But be warned some of their products are pretty natural but others like the shampoo contain parabens. Thanks Erin for the heads up on that one!

This is part three of my All Better Naturally series.

If your child is already sick what can you do to ease their discomfort and soothe them naturally?

Quieting a Cough

Throw out that chemical cocktail called cough syrup. My kids hate the stuff anyway. If your child is older then six months then try some essential oils or herbal teas. Expectorant herbs like thyme, eucalyptus, mint, licorice, and anise will help bring up mucus in a productive cough. For non productive coughs use slippery elm, peppermint, or lemon balm.

Perhaps you could make them an herbal Popsicle by boiling the herbs in water, letting it cool, mixing with a bit of juice, and then freezing in Popsicle molds.

A drop or two of essential oils added to a half cup of massage oil will also make a great chest and back rub for your kiddos.

Getting Them to Rest

Aromatherapy - put a few drops of lavender or sweet orange essential oil on a handkerchief and tie it somewhere on their bed or use a diffuser.

Practice focused breathing before bedtime as a way to slow nervous energy.

Breathing Troubles - Do some yoga! Yoga really helps in teaching deep abdominal breathing. I recommend the YogaKids video series.

Other Symptoms? Try chamomile for upset stomach and crankiness, senna for constipation, slippery elm for a sore throat, ginger for nausea, and green tree in general for illness. Hope you feel better soon!

This is part two of my “All Better Naturally” series.

So how do you keep your kids from getting sick? Yesterday, we discussed building a good immune system. But is there more you can do? What if you feel an illness is already starting to take root? Here are a few ideas:

Just like mom used to say…wash your hands! I am not a big fan of using antibacterial soaps just because some experts say that too much hand-washing with antimicrobial soaps can create an environment that allows bacteria to flourish and spread by creating resistant bacteria. But using simple soap is a good way to go by washing germs off hands and helping to prevent the spread of illness.

Echinacea - If taken over a 3-5 day period this herb seems to shorten the duration of a cold and perhaps even stop it in its tracks. I swear by it. This is one herb that should be used as needed though and not used on a continual basis. Also don’t use it if your child is allergic to ragweed since this is in the same plant family.

Oscillococcinum - This is a homeopathic remedy used when a cold or flu is coming on. The history behind it is long and vast and its use is debated by many but if you like homeopathic remedies then you will certainly want to give this a try. Most Oscillococcinum products I saw on the Internet said that they should be used for kids over the age of two.

Okay, so what if your child has a full blown cold or flu bug? See my post tomorrow for some remedies for the common cold and flu symptoms.

I have been researching herbal remedies and alternative treatments for children lately. My six year old is exposed to a new illness every week at school it seems so taking care of him and my other kids in a natural way is of great concern to me. I will try and break up this information into segments…and start with information on maintaining a healthy immune system.

Healthy Immune System

The first thing to consider is that they need a healthy immune system in order to fight off anything that they get exposed to. The basics in keeping an immune system healthy would be to make sure that your kids are eating a healthy diet with lots of the important vitamins, getting adequate exercise, and good sleep. But beyond that many health officials are telling us we should also use supplements like fish oil and probiotics.

Fish oils are rich in essential fatty acids, including omega-3s, so they provide a powerful immunity boost. I know that there are many moms that disagree with using this source of omega-3s, vegans included, but other sources such as flax seed may not be an acceptable alternative. Flax seeds contain the omega-3 fatty acid ALA that must be converted to DHA by an enzyme so that the body can incorporate it into cells. Children make this enzyme only in small amounts, if at all. If they do not have the enzyme they will not benefit from the omega-3 fat in flax seeds. Newborns are completely unable to convert ALA to DHA. Even adults struggle with this conversion. Hence, Flax seeds are not an adequate source of DHA.

So that brings us back to fish oil, which has been touted for years for its health benefits. Just make sure that any fish oil you buy is labeled mercury free. Look for products that say pharmaceutical grade or distilled, to make sure no mercury, other metals, PCBs, or dioxins are contained in it.

You may also want to consider probiotics. Probiotics are healthy bacteria such as acidophilus or lactobacillus, found in yogurt. We should have healthy bacteria in our bodies but this can be undermined by things like stress, an inadequate diet, and the use of antibiotics. Taking daily probiotics reintroduces these healthy bacteria, which can help with gastrointestinal viruses, eczema, food allergies, and asthma.

Make sure to read up on both of these healthy options for a super immunity boost for you and for your children.

I am super excited today. Why? Well, I made the decision that if my PET scan (scheduled for sometime after Christmas) goes well and no cancer is found…I am going to quit Chemo. I have really just had enough and more than anything I just want a normal life back! Of course I seem super resolved about that now but I am sure my Doctor will have more then a few words to share on the matter. Some of my family members would not be supportive either. I hope I can stick to my guns.

If the test comes back with results that are not so good…well then I guess I will have to start over with the Chemo. If there is cancer in my lungs the Chemo cocktail will be even harsher and I would likely have to radiation as well. Please everyone pray that it comes back clean!

But back to being hopeful. The thing I am most excited about is the fact that I have arranged a barter in the hope that everything works the way I want it to. I would be bartering for an all expenses paid membership to my favorite ladies gym and day spa. So that means I could go back to water aerobics, belly dancing, and pilates 3-4 times a week and onsite daycare for my three kids would be included.

I am so excited I can barley stand it. I am excited and nervous. I hope I am not just setting myself up for disappointment but I can’t help the fact that I want my life back…I need this cancer chapter of my life to be over…let’s just hope it is.

I was tagged by Carrie so I interupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you five things you may not know about me. Fun!

1. Just like Carrie, I was homeschooled after the 8th grade. I finished highschool in 2 years and started college at 16 years old.

2. I used to play steel drums in an orchestra.

3. I named my first son after a mummie and I named my daughter after a witch.

4. I used to manage a large movie theatre so I got to see free movies for many years…I went about every other day and saw thousands of movies.

5. I used to ride a motorcycle - a neon green Ninja, but gave it up when I became pregnant with my first child.

Now it is someone else’s turn! I tag the following:

My Mother, Barb, Micaela, Kimberly

I know this feeling all to well. It is the same feeling I used to get postpartum. I would feel depressed because things in my life had drastically changed and I would go through a few days of sadness and uncertainty. Don’t get me wrong I was ecstatic about all three of my birth experiences but even so there was a feeling of loss because things were irreversibly different now. Life would go on as usual for everyone but me and that made me a bit sad. I am not sure quite how to explain it.

I felt the same way after my colon surgery. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks and when I got out, I knew things would never again be the same and I was sad. I was nearly hysterical when my Dad, who flew out to be with me during my recovery, left to go back home.

Now I am feeling those familiar feelings again. I am not sure if it is related to my recent surgery at all. I am VERY upset that my husband (who is a truck driver) left last night to go back on the road. He will be gone about 4-5 weeks. I have been crying quite often and it doesn’t help that 2 of my 3 kids are sick and vomiting and I don’t have him here to help. I lay awake for hours last night just thinking how much I need him and want him here full time. Of course then I felt even worse that I had sent him on his way with me in tears. I am not a person that cries very often so he knew just how upset I was. This morning I happened to see he had dug through boxes last night to find a photo album of the two of us over the years…can you say crying jag?

Ohhhh, I hope I get out of this funk soon!