When kiddo is sick you’ll do anything to make them feel better. But do so-called “folk remedies” actually work?
A few years ago, San Diego mom Debbie Vigan posted her unusual cold cure on Facebook, namely, putting sliced potatoes in her son’s socks as he slept. After a night sleeping with potato socks, her son had stopped coughing and his runny nose dried up. While Vigan mentioned she “saw an article” touting the cough and cold home remedy, she didn’t include her source—but the idea isn’t entirely out of left field.
According to Healthline, putting onions in your socks is an old folk remedy for kicking the common cold or flu to the curb. While it might smell awful, the reasoning behind this trick comes from several different sources. In the 14th century, people believed onions could ward off the Black Plague.
But why stick onions or potatoes in your socks? According to Chinese reflexology—an ancient form of complementary medicine—the feet are covered in “access points” that connect to all other areas of your body, via your qi, or life force energy. Basically, treat the feet to treat the whole body.
Western medicine and science have shown that sulphuric compounds in onions have the ability to kill bacteria and viruses—but only when ingested, and in very limited studies. There isn’t data to back those results you apply those same onion compounds externally to your skin, as myth-busting website Snopes notes. When it comes down to it, there’s no solid scientific evidence that onions on your feet can cure a cold. Then again, there’s also no evidence that they don’t, either.
Ditto all of the above for potatoes.
Please note, we don’t advocate using this remedy in place of consulting a medical professional when your child is ill.
Reminding your kids to wash their hands or cough into their sleeve can be an endless battle. Turn your backs for a minute and they are wiping their nose with their hand or coughing in someone’s face. A preschool teacher has turned to Twitter, offering a tutorial you can share with your little ones and anyone else who may need an extra reminder during cold and flu season.
Laurie Goff writes, “Want to know how to cough? This is how I teach my preschool students. Hope it helps.”
In the video, which has garnered over one million views on Twitter, Goff explains that when you cough into your hands, “you have germs all over your hands and anything you touch will get your germs on it.” When that happens, you need to immediately wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds. As an alternative, she introduces us to the term “cough pocket.”
Goff demonstrates coughing and sneezing into her bent elbow. “You need to use your cough pocket,” she explains. “It’s simple, easy to use, it’s on your body, it’s free, it’s always with you.”
Are you tired of singing the birthday song when you wash your hands? Now you won’t be able to keep your kids away from the soap and water. PinkFong has released a new rendition of its hit song “Baby Shark” simply titled, “Wash Your Hands.”
The lyrics are simple and make hand washing a breeze. You can’t help but sing along, “grab some soap, doo doo doo doo doo” followed by “rub your hands, doo doo doo doo doo” and then, “rinse your hands, doo doo doo doo doo” and finally, “dry your hands, doo doo doo doo doo.” At the end, the cute shark family offers up a few other helpful tips to stay healthy these days, like “cover your sneeze, doo doo doo doo doo” and “cough into your elbow, doo doo doo doo doo.”
The video already has almost 1.5 million views and encourages fans to join the #BabySharkHAndWashChallenge.
Children are facing a time of uncertainty right now. They aren’t allowed to leave their homes, attend school or play with their friends. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, is offering a broad variety of free resources to help children and families during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Caring for Each Other initiative marks the beginning of a commitment to support families for the duration of this crisis, with brand new content featuring the Sesame Street Muppets sharing messages of love and kindness, playful learning activities and virtual play dates launching soon. Mindful that the adults who care for children need support too, the resources are intended to help caregivers as well as children.
Sesame Workshop is offering a broad variety of free resources designed to help parents provide comfort and manage anxiety, as well as help with creating routines, fostering playful learning at home, and staying physically and mentally healthy. Families can also find an expanded offering of free on-demand episodes of Sesame Street on PBS KIDS digital platform and over 110 free Sesame Street ebooks available on all major ebook platforms.
“Around the world, young children’s lives are being turned upside down, and parents and caregivers are looking for ways to give their children—and themselves—a sense of stability in this new normal,” said Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, Senior Vice President for Curriculum and Content, Sesame Workshop. “But there are things parents and caregivers can do to face each day with optimism. Sesame Street is here to provide the caring adults in children’s lives with the resources they need to help children, and foster their healthy development at home.”
In the coming weeks, Sesame Workshop is also creating brand new content on topics like hand washing, how to cough or sneeze properly and how taking good care of yourself means taking good care of others.
Well, kids…it has been an interesting time to be alive. That is. for. dang. sure. When COVID-19 first made the news I wasn’t too worried. I thought it was only a few cases and far away! In China! I was glad that we weren’t still living in Shanghai, but I thought it was contained and not very worrisome. And then it started popping up in the United States. I grew worried.
I went last week to Miami where I met with my surgeon. She looked over the labs that I get every other month and noticed that my Vitamin A, E, D & Iron were low. This was frustrating because I thought that all of my levels were normal but she found some labs that were not included in my online database. Because I have short-bowel syndrome my body has a hard time absorbing nutrients from a diet a person with all of their small intestine would have. I probably only get about 1/2 the nutrients you get. My food digests in my system in about 12 hours whereas the normal person takes 24-72 hours. Don’t tell me how I know this, but it involves corn and I’ll just leave it at that.
So why do I tell you this? Due to my condition, my immune system is compromised. In the past two years, I have been hospitalized 19 times and have had about 15 surgeries/procedures. I have had pneumonia three times and various infections due to my body having a low level of resistance to viruses and bacteria.
At my appointment, I told the receptionist that I had a lingering cough. No fever and no body aches just a cough. They led me to a small tent outside of the entrance where they monitored me for 20 minutes taking my blood pressure and temperature frequently. I was surprised but it was also reassuring that they were doing what they could to prevent the spread of the virus.
I asked my Doctor how she felt about the virus and if I should be worried. She looked at me and nonchalantly said, “Well for you, this would kill you.” She’s a peach, let me tell you. She really gives you the warm and fuzzies.
In the news, you have read that the people that are most at-risk are people that are old and those who have underlying health conditions. This is me. I am that person. I am the one that would get this virus and I would not be able to fight it. I have been in that hospital, I have been on that ventilator. I have had a 106.7 fever and I have been so depleted I could not find a reason to live. BUT through countless prayers, fasts and therapy sessions I have found that reason. My family. They are what is the most important and I want to be here on earth to see Samantha finally learn how to tie her shoes, I want to see Preston using complete sentences. I want to be there for my kids for every break-up, wedding and school dance they go to.
I am the reason that you are staying at home. I am the reason why you are homeschooling your children. I am the reason why you are now forced to work on a laptop while sitting on a bed. I am the reason that you have been forced to play Candy Land for the 986th time today. You are isolating yourself because you want to save me, and I adore you for it. I have been able to see many beautiful things during this isolation period. A neighbor posted on the Facebook page that she would run errands for those who are compromised. Beautiful. A sunset that I enjoyed because I had to go outside to get fresh air. Beautiful. The nurses and doctors who show up to work not knowing if they will come into contact with the virus but to save people on a daily basis. Beautiful. A man in Spain was leading a rooftop jazzercise class that people could join in by looking out their windows and following along. Beautiful. People are sharing their talents by providing kids online resources for free. Beautiful. Celebrities are taping themselves reading children’s books and posting them online. Beautiful. In Paris, people open their windows and applaud medical professionals for keeping them safe. Beautiful. My neighborhood is having everyone draw sidewalk chalk masterpieces so that children can go on a scavenger hunt on their walk. Beautiful. This morning I sat and played LEGOS with my kids because we didn’t have anywhere to be. Beautiful.
If this isolation has taught me anything it has taught me to be still. To be present with my children. To prioritize and assess the needs of my family. I encourage us to spend this time to relax. The world is becoming increasingly distracted and busy. Be still. Have a diet coke. Take a nap. Watch too much Netflix. Play that board game you haven’t opened since getting it at Christmas. Bake the cake. Read the book. Do these things because you care and you want to help. And wash your hands while you’re at it!
So please, I beg you, stay home. Protect me. Protect Grandma Sally. Protect Shannon who is fighting cancer. Protect Danny who has type 2 diabetes. Protect Gina who has a heart defect. Do it for us. Old Navy can wait.
Hi, i'm Cat! We live in Orlando, Florida where my husband works for Mickey Mouse (no, really). We have two kids, Samantha (5) & Preston (2). I suffer from a chronic illness called Short Bowel Syndrome. My ramblings are dedicated to travel adventures, nap time confessions and my medical journey. Cheers!
We all know that we’re not supposed to eat raw cookie dough, but sometimes it’s just too tempting not to grab a spoonful. Now, we can enjoy the creamy taste without the worry. Betty Crocker has just released a no-bake mix that lets you make safe-to-eat cookie dough bites.
Each box comes with one mix pouch and one topping pouch. Simply put the mix in a bowl and stir in cream cheese and butter. Form 1-inch balls and place them on a cookie sheet or plate. Microwave the topping in a bowl and drizzle over the cookie dough bites. Pop them in the refrigerator to set and then before you know it, they are ready to eat.
There are six delicious flavors to choose from:
Chocolate Chip: chocolate chip cookie dough with chocolatey drizzle
Birthday Cake: birthday cake cookie dough with vanilla-flavored drizzle
Peanut Butter: peanut butter-flavored cookie dough with chocolatey drizzle
Cookies & Cream: cookies & cream cookie dough with vanilla-flavored drizzle
Chocolate Brownie: chocolatey brownie cough dough with chocolatey drizzle
Lemon: lemon-flavored cookie dough with vanilla-flavored drizzle
Betty Crocker No Bake Cookie Bites are available at many retailers including Walmart for $2.98.
With all the media coverage around the spread of the Coronavirus, it’s very probable that your kids have seen the headlines or heard about the virus at school. Children may be worried about how the virus could affect not only them, but also their family and friends. To help minimize their fears, it is important that we not avoid the topic and provide them with facts and reassurance in a calm manner.
Andrea Barbalich, parenting expert and newly appointed Editor in Chief of The Week Junior, has some advice for parents when talking with your kids about the Coronavirus.
Keep your kids informed. Barbalich said, “It can be scary for children when they pick up pieces of information from various sources and do not have all the facts. Help them form a complete picture of what the coronavirus is by explaining it to them in a simple way and letting them ask as many questions as they like.”
Let them know what plans the government and health organizations have in place. Reassure your child that there is a team of experts focused on fighting the virus. Explaining treatments and quarantines will show them what is being done to help prevent the spread of the virus.
If your child is worried about contracting the virus, you can assure them that chances are very low and that it tends to impact older individuals and people with health complications and weaker immune systems. Researchers have also stated that children are particularly resilient at fighting off the virus.
Most importantly, teach your children the importance of good hygiene. Washing hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap is the best way to minimize the spread of the virus. Children should also be taught to cough and sneeze into their elbow and avoid touching their faces.
Barbalich advises parents to be mindful of their own actions. She said, “Kids learn a great deal through osmosis and can read the sentiment in a room well. If you are discussing coronavirus within earshot of your child, remain calm and avoid evoking a sense of panic that they could pick up on.”
If taking care of kids is hard work, then taking care of sick kids is indentured servitude.
It starts out innocently enough. Your poor baby has a fever and the look on his tired, pale little face is enough to send you running for his every heart’s desire. You cook, clean, launder, check temperatures, buy bulk Ibuprofen and Tylenol and administer it around the clock. You change sheets, empty wastebaskets filled with tissues, call the doctor, take him to appointments, follow up appointments and end-result appointments. You play board games and craft, you puzzle, read and watch movies. You lay next to him until he falls asleep and check the fan and humidifier before leaving the room.
You fall into a deep slumber the moment your head hits the pillow knowing you must wake up every three hours during the night to check his temperature in the dark. You stumble blindly, half asleep down the hall with your iPhone light as your guide and silently try to stick the thermometer in his ear. In the dark, you squint as you try to make sense of the numbers blinking on the thermometer and then try to remember if you gave Ibuprofen or Tylenol as his last dose. You may have to stumble back down the hall to check the list you made with every temp taken along with medicine dispensed at any given time throughout the day. Once the correct medicine is determined you wake your fever-induced, groggy child and ask them to guzzle 10 ML of a syrupy, cherry-flavored liquid that will hopefully secure him and you a few more hours of desperately needed shut-eye.
Now imagine that you have not one but two little boys, both equally sick with the flu. Take everything I’ve said and multiply it times two. I know…its not a pretty picture. The truth is that as hard as it is to manage two sick kids….that’s not the hardest part. Oh no, the real fun begins when one of them begins to feel better. Not, go back to school better, but well enough to be out of bed. The homemade chicken broth you so lovingly tried to spoon into their mouths is now turned away for “real food.”
“Mom, what I’d really like is a burger from the Habit”, my 7-year-old told me on one such afternoon. “How about a turkey sandwich?” I countered, hoping it might sound equally as appetizing. But alas, after four days of little to no food, nothing was going to go down as smoothly as a burger from the Habit. I looked down at the same sweatpants I’d been wearing for four days and figured wearing slippers wasn’t going to be my worst crime and climbed into the car.
Now most people might have told their sick child no, but after four days of being inside, the short ride felt like freedom. I rolled down the windows, turned up the music and sped off into the warm day. Once I returned home and the meal had been consumed, my son wanted to know what we were going to do. As though neither of us had been doing anything for the last several days. I suggested puzzles, coloring, past due homework, games, reading. Any independent activity that I could think of. But none seemed to appease him. What he really wanted was for me to come up with something amazing that we could do together. The problem was that nothing I suggested was hitting the mark. As fun as this game was, I sill had another sicker child that needed my attention, so I parked my younger son in front of our electronic babysitter and hightailed it upstairs to attend to his every need.
The entertaining and nurse-maiding went on for another two days until suddenly, one fine morning, my older son announced he too was ready to leave the land of his bedroom. Now suddenly, I had two half-well kids who both wanted me to entertain them at the same time and were suddenly well enough to fight about every single menial thing throughout the day. One wanted grilled cheese and the other pasta. One wanted to play Xbox and the other wanted the tv. And where they didn’t align, an argument would erupt. Arguing between two sick children sounds something like this “I (cough cough cough) am telling (blow nose) mom (cough, blow, repeat). You’re (hack up a lung) the worst (sniffle, sniffle, suck up snot) brother ever (dissolve into a fit of tears from the energy expended during the argument).”
When four people have been stuck inside together for six days the chance to leave is a coveted prize. My husband had to fly out for work on the 6th day and couldn’t contain his excitement over leaving. He hopped into that chauffeured sedan with barely a backward glace and drove off into a land where people get to go not only outside, but outside of the country. As we head into day seven, I am losing my ability to cope. I can no longer keep track of the Tamiflu doses and the fever reducers. My lists are tossed carelessly aside, jumbled up in the wastebasket with the used tissues. The soup now comes from a packet I mixed with some lukewarm water. The only thing holding me together is the hope that they will be well enough on Monday to go to school.
I am the proud mom of 2 energetic little boys, an 11 year old dog and sometimes my husband! Life moves pretty fast, if you dont look around once in a while...then you can pretend you dont see the piled up dirty laundry, dishes and never ending trails of toys!
Once you start to plan out your “home for the holidays” travel, yo might forget to think about how you and your baby might be exposed to germs and viruses during air travel or visiting your family and their kiddos.
The risk of a cold or flu to both mom and baby can be serious—with things like reduced milk production and a host of other issues—but there are many precautions that you can take so that you can travel and still feel safe and protected.
Here are some general tips to keep you and baby healthy during the contagious holiday travel months.
Make Hand Washing a Priority: Make sure your toddlers or school age children wash their hands with soap and water when they arrive home. Get into the habit of washing your hands thoroughly and using hand sanitizer before touching the baby.
Ask Your Sick Relatives to Wait Until They Are Better: It’s not rude to ask people to make sure they are healthy before they visit. For anyone that’s been recently sick, two weeks of symptom-free health before they get anywhere near you or your little one should be standard.
Reduce Exposure: Young or school age children pose the highest risk exposure to viruses and bacteria. Change school-age kid’s clothes once they get home, and have them use a small amount of hand sanitizer before touching a newborn.
Avoid Stuffy Places: Mamas and infants should avoid stuffy, poorly ventilated places where other at-risk individuals gather. Pathogens are equally passed through airborne and touch, and no ventilation keeps the little buggers stuck in stuffy spaces
Consider a Flu Shot as Prevention: Often flu shots are covered by insurance. If you’ve had a good experience with flu shots in the past, consider it before the flu season starts.
Look for these early signs of fever or head cold symptoms:
Nasal drainage
Cough
Difficulty feeding
Low urine output
If you or your baby have any of these above symptoms, head straight to your doctor to try and catch a sickness early while it can still be treated.
Rather than feel a little stressed about the possibility of getting sick or arriving with a sick baby on your hip, you can feel a little better knowing that there are many things you can do during these weeks leading up to the festivities, to make sure your holidays are healthy and happy for everyone. You can also check out our in-house nurse Kelly’s useful tips on traveling with your baby and keeping both of you safe and comfortable.
Linda M. Hanna, RNC, MSN/Ed., IBCLC, and co-founder of Mahmee, has been a registered nurse since 1978. She pioneered the Great Starts program at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills, which was so successful it was adopted by Kaiser locations throughout the US. She also developed Cedars-Sinai's Lactation Education program.
My mother is disabled. She has been paralyzed since she was 42 when her light-blue VW bus was struck by another vehicle while stopped at an intersection. Her body flew through the front windshield, and she was declared dead at the scene. She wasn’t. She had seven children all under 14 and we needed her. I was three.
I don’t remember much from that time, just a string of well-meaning neighbors and relatives and a lot of frozen lasagna. I do remember visiting her in the hospital on her birthday later that summer. My father had to sneak me in because no children were allowed in the ICU, and I hid under his trench coat so that no one would see me. When I saw her, she was immobilized in a hospital bed and was dressed from head to toe in pale green hospital apparel. She looked shockingly weak. I remember her smiling at me. I was afraid that she would never come home.
After months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, she did come home. The accident caused her to permanently lose the use of her right arm, left leg, diaphragm and neck mobility. Breathing was difficult, and she often became out of breath just from trying to read out loud to me. She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t cough. She couldn’t write. She couldn’t kneel. She couldn’t carry things. She couldn’t do many of the many activities that had comprised her life. And she had seven children, did I mention that?
Against all odds, as time passed, she started walking. I am not sure how it was possible, but my understanding is that she retrained different muscles in her body to compensate for those that could no longer work. At first, the walks were short, but they got progressively longer until eventually, she could poke along for several blocks. She learned to write left-handed. She learned to knit with one hand and has created countless beautiful pieces. She relearned to drive with a special knob on the steering wheel. She relearned to swim by holding on to little floaties. She is a fantastic cook and learned to utilize all manner of cool, one-handed contraptions to help her navigate her way in the kitchen. She seemed to refuse to give anything up. But all this was lost on me because I couldn’t remember her any different.
By the time I was six, I had become well-versed in pushing her wheelchair, and I would torment her by pushing her over grates that opened to the subway far below and laugh and laugh as she would shriek in fear. Sounds mean, right? But, to me, there was nothing wrong with her. I was just teasing, and she seemed to be playing along. Her disability was as normal as any mother’s slightly annoying, but endearing habit. As I got older I would push that wheelchair down bumpy, forested paths up and over all manner of tree roots and gravel. She would groan good naturedly and hold on tight with her good hand. She has been launched from that thing several times and is always trying to find a wheelchair more suitable for all-terrain travel. Just last year I pushed her through a jungle in Mexico so that we could see Mayan ruins. It can’t be comfortable, all that jostling and jarring, but she always wants to go.
I cut her no slack. She cuts herself no slack. Today she is 87.
I only have one memory of my mother before her accident. I am sitting on a metal folding seat, attached to the back of my mother’s black, clunky Schwinn. The seat is covered with a blue-plaid vinyl. It has little metal armrests and a small backrest. Not at all safe by today’s standards. My legs dangle freely below. I kick them forward and back. My mother’s legs are pedaling up and down, and her butt is in my face. It swishes a little, side to side. I don’t mind. Her efforts are creating a nice breeze, and the landscape whizzes by. Green grass, suburban lawns, huge maple trees. She is talking and laughing with my father who is on a matching bike.
I know there must be some connection between my mother’s internal drive and my quest to remain physical and engaged with life. She could have given up so many times, but she didn’t. She still doesn’t. She is hauling herself up to an island in Maine from Philadelphia for a visit again this summer. The trip involves a lot of logistics and not everything is handicapped-accessible in the little cottages she rents. Her mobility is decreasing and little tasks are getting more difficult, but she’ll be damned if she is going to stay home and sit around. She doesn’t want to miss out!
Beginning in August 2019, my son Oakley and I will cycle across America over the course of three months. Oakley is a spirited 15-year-old boy who has always struggled to fit into the confines of mainstream culture. I am Leah, his mother—and we are ready for adventure.
