As a parent, you worry about your child 24/7. You do everything in your power to ensure your child eats healthy foods, gets enough exercise from play, and has enough rest. You also know how difficult it is to watch your child suffer, even if it’s from something minor such as a tummy ache, scrape, or bruise. 

Although most parents do their best to give their children the healthiest foods and provide a safe and clean environment, illness and issues can happen. To help you be as prepared as possible for whatever comes your child’s way, here are some common issues and ways to prepare for them. 

Common Health Concerns

Aches and Pains

You probably have a few items on hand for when your child is ill or hurt. But you can do more to prepare for a fall or other minor issue that doesn't require a trip to the doctor or hospital.

Occasionally, your child may experience belly aches, bruises, cuts, headaches, and swelling from falls or from bumping into objects as they play. It’s a good idea to have some self-made emergency kits around. You can keep the items in whatever you have on hand, such as gallon-sized zip lock bags, shoe boxes, or any other containers. 

TIP! Aches and pains emergency kit

Some items you can put in an aches and pains kit are: (1, 2, 3, 4)

• Epsom salts for a soothing bath to ease minor muscle aches and pains
• Essential oils of frankincense or peppermint (mix with massage oil to apply) to naturally cool and calm the body 
• Homeopathic arnica gel or cream and arnica pellets for bumps and bruises
• Ice pack for swelling and pain relief
• PureWave massage tool for pain and soreness relief
• Reusable microwavable rice sock, hot water bottle, or infrared heating pad for pain relief

Helpful hint ~ For any ailments mentioned, connect with a healthcare practitioner if symptoms don’t improve.

Allergies, Colds, and Congestion

Cough and cold season can sneak up on your child and make for a miserable few days. For congestion, coughing, sneezing, sore throats, and any aches that accompany colds and allergies, here are some remedies you can have on hand to be prepared. 

TIP! Allergies, colds, and congestion care

Here are some ideas on what you can do to prepare for allergies, colds, and congestion: 

• Bouncing on a rebounder can help move congestion from the sinus cavity to make breathing easier.
• For ear pain, an herbal mix in olive oil, often found in naturopathic ear drops, can help naturally soothe the ear and inhibit bacteria growth. (5)
• For a sore throat, you can apply geranium, lavender, lemon, melaleuca, or peppermint with a carrier oil for a natural option instead of throat lozenges. (6)
• Gua sha is a great way to reduce puffiness and congestion. Gua sha means to scrape, and a gua sha tool can increase the circulation of body fluids and ease congestion. To use a gua sha tool, gently scrape the area of congestion in one direction repeatedly for several seconds at a time to tolerance. (7)
• Lymphatic massage is a gentle way to reduce congestion. A licensed practitioner can provide relief to inflamed and congested areas, plus give you ideas on how to perform a gentle massage on your children at home. (8)
• Sterilizing the air with ozone or essential oils can help lower reactions (9)
• Taking baking soda or oatmeal baths can help ease itching from hives and rashes. (10)
• Using a hand-held nebulizer or Navage with distilled water for a saline rinse can help clear lungs and sinuses. (11)

Other helpful hints ~ Clean air conditioner filters, rid the house of strongly scented items (candles, sprays, perfumes), stay indoors when the pollen count is high, keep any pets clean and well-groomed.

Skin Reactions and Injuries 

Like most parents, you probably have some band-aids in your medicine cabinet. But if your kids ever come to you with bug bites, chafing, cuts, hives, poison ivy, rashes, scrapes, or sunburn, here are some suggestions for your skin-related arsenal.

TIP! Skin care necessities

• Cool mist humidifier — adds moisture to skin and sinuses (12)
• Colloidal oatmeal baths —  soothes bug bites, eczema, hives, inflamed skin, poison ivy, and rashes (13)
• Calendula, coconut oil, or lavender cream — calms chafing, scrapes, and sunburn (14)
• Binders — when applied to skin may help removes skin tags and warts, and has antimicrobial properties

Homeopathic Remedies Starter Kit

In addition to the suggestions above, you can keep some great homeopathic remedies for topical relief. Be sure not to apply essential oils directly to the skin, as many are too harsh and can cause a reaction. Always mix essential oils with a carrier oil, such as a hypoallergenic massage oil or olive oil.

• Apis mellifica — for allergic reactions, bad sunburns, and bee stings (15)
• Arnica montana (gel or cream) — topical relief for bruising, swelling (do not use on broken skin as it will sting) (16)
• Arnica Montana (oral) — for trauma from an injury or accident; reduces bruising and swelling (17)
• Belladonna or pulsatilla — for fevers and headaches (18)
• Cell salts —  for constipation, dehydration, and digestive support (19)
• Chamomilla — for small children teething or with colic; to reduce inflammation and pain in gums (20)

Longer-Term Health Challenges

Glyphosate 

Besides common, everyday issues, there is even more to prepare for when protecting your kids’ health. You may not know what glyphosate is, but this toxin is likely on the very grass they roll around and play in. 

Glyphosate is the chemical found in weed killers. It is sprayed on crops, lawns, and sports fields to prevent weeds. The problem is that it can harm your children. 

Over time, glyphosate can affect your children in the following ways:

• Brain and nervous system issues — Glyphosate can interfere with a neurotransmitter called GABA, a chemical that produces a calming effect. Without enough GABA, your child can experience increased anxiety. (21)

• Gut issues — Glyphosate can kill off the good bacteria in children’s guts, giving them tummy trouble. Glyphosate can disrupt the balance of gut bacteria and lead to inflammation and stomach upset. (22)

• Heart and arteries — Glyphosate can cause electrical abnormalities leading to erratic heartbeat, known as arrhythmia. (23) 

• Impaired mitochondrial function — Mitochondria are vital to your child’s health and survival. They’re essential for producing energy, and they help fight infections. But glyphosate may interfere with these functions. Mitochondria generate energy in an assembly-line fashion. Each part of the system has to do its part; otherwise, energy production will drop. Glyphosate-based herbicides may inhibit part of the energy-making process. That means less energy for your child. (24)

• Impedes healthy development — Herbicides may also disrupt your hormones. These vital messengers tell your body’s cells what to do and when to do it, like traffic signals. But glyphosate herbicides can create “traffic glitches” in hormone signaling. That could disrupt the healthy development of babies and children.  (25) 

• Kidney damage — Glyphosate can damage kidneys by increasing heavy metal toxicity, reducing antioxidants, decreasing vitamin D activity, and interfering with your child’s kidneys’ ability to filter toxins out of the urine. (26) 

• Liver damage — The liver’s job is to filter toxins. However, glyphosate can interfere with its ability to do so by damaging liver enzymes. (27)

• Malignancy risk — Glyphosate can increase the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by 41%. It is also linked to others such as breast, intestinal, kidney, pancreas, skin, stomach, and thyroid. (28, 29)

• Mineral depletion — Glyphosate was known to bind minerals long before scientists discovered its weed-killing effects. The chemical can bind calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and other minerals in the soil. That could deprive crops and your child of these nutrients, interfering with growth and repair. (30, 31)

TIP! How to remove glyphosate

You can get at-home test kits for glyphosate via The Detox Project and Health Research Institute Laboratories. They can test for glyphosate in food, water, and human (hair or urine) samples.

Or you can just assume your children have some amount of glyphosate in their bodies — especially if they eat conventionally grown crops or play outside in sprayed grass. 

So, how do you limit its negative effects?

• Avoid glyphosate and other herbicides at home — Look for natural ways to care for your garden or yard. Removing sources of exposure is critical for long-term healing. (33)
• Bind glyphosate and replace minerals — There are natural ways to help remove glyphosate and provide additional support. Binders can help bind toxins like glyphosate and pull them out of your child’s body. (32)
• Change your child’s diet — One of the top ways to reduce your child’s exposure to glyphosate is by choosing organic foods. Organic foods aren’t grown with manufactured herbicides like glyphosate. (33)
• Consider distilled water — Switching to distilled water (by using a water distiller) or reverse osmosis water can help reduce glyphosate exposure, as well as exposure to other damaging chemicals like radioactive elements. (34)

Lyme Disease

Part of being a kid is running around and exploring new places. If your children play anywhere near tall grass or wooded areas, there is a chance of them getting tick bites and contracting Lyme disease. You may not even know they were bitten until they show symptoms, which may not be for months.

TIP! Your child got a tick bite — what to do next

Despite everything you do to prevent it, there's always the potential for a tick bite. If you or a family member is bitten, you should take quick action. Follow these recommended steps: (35)

• Step 1 — Remove the tick correctly
• Step 2 — Save the tick for testing if desired
• Step 3 — Use natural topical support
• Step 4 — Look to boost your immune system and increase energy
• Step 5 — Turn to natural herbs for support against Lyme and other bacteria

Ticks and the diseases they carry can cause a wide variety of health conditions and complications. It's important to protect yourself and your loved ones. Through a multifaceted approach, you can fight off ticks before they hijack your health. 

Mold Toxicity

Those musty smells in your basement could point to a hidden culprit behind your child’s chronic health problems: mold and mycotoxins, which are poisonous chemicals produced by mold. (36)

If your child displays symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, brain fog, extreme fatigue, memory loss, flu-like symptoms, or muscle pain, it could be because of mold toxicity. 

TIP! Ways to help mold toxicity

• An excellent way to bind mycotoxins is with binders. They tightly bind toxins to help remove them from your body via your stools. 
• Mycotoxins can wreak havoc with your child’s mitochondria and their oxygen levels. They decrease your child’s ability to fight mold illness. Look for natural ways to support their mitochondria and oxygen levels. (37, 38)

Parasites

Unfortunately, it’s not difficult to pick up parasites, especially for children, since they often put things in their mouths. A child can pick up parasites from fecal matter, dirt, insects, pets, raw or undercooked food, or unclean drinking water.

Some common symptoms of parasite infection include: (40)

• Abdominal pain
• Digestive disorders
• Fatigue
• Food cravings
• Insatiable hunger
• Insomnia
• Joint and muscle pain
• Memory problems
• Skin issues such as eczema, rashes, itching
• Swollen lymph nodes or flu-like symptoms

TIP! What can help?

• Cinnamon — A common spice can both prevent and expel parasites. (41) 
• Vitamin C — This supplement boosts immunity and helps keep the intestines moving. Plus, research has shown vitamins are essential in parasite prevention and expulsion. (42) 

How to Handle Die-off Reactions of Detox

While helping your child detox from any of the above longer-term concerns, it is equally important to prepare for any die-off symptoms. When parasites, for example, die inside the body, the toxins they carry can cause some unpleasant symptoms as they make their way through and out via stools. (42, 43)

Be aware of these possible die-off symptoms of detox.

• Aches and pains
• Anxiety and depression
• Cravings
• Fatigue
• Flu-like symptoms
• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Skin problems
• Stuffy nose

If your child experiences die-off symptoms, there are several things you can do to ease him or her through it:

• Epsom salt baths help pull toxins from the skin and replenish the magnesium in your child’s body, one of the first areas burned through during stress. (44)
• Certain herbs and botanicals can be calming to your child’s digestive system. If they’re struggling with diarrhea, binders can also help provide additional support. (45)
• Get them out in the sunshine and soak up some Vitamin D. Not only is this a great mood booster, but it’s also a wonderful way to boost children’s immune systems and help their bodies detox. (46)
• Peppermint tea (or any herbal tea) can help fight sugar cravings. Adding more healthy fat, like avocado or coconut oil, can also help your child’s body feel satiated. (47, 48) 
• Sleep is vital, not only for fighting fatigue but also for giving the body the time and space it needs for healing. Be sure your child gets a minimum of 8–10 hours of sleep if possible in this essential developmental stage.
• Using a saline rinse in a Netipot or Navage system is a great method to irrigate the sinuses and battle the stuffiness that occurs with die-off. (49)

At the end of the day, kids will be kids. They will roll around in fields, pick up some scrapes, and put random objects in their mouth. While you do your best to make sure your children are happy and healthy, you can’t protect them from everything. By having some emergency kits at your disposal for those unforeseen illnesses and issues, you’ll be better equipped and ready to tackle each problem head-on.