Pediatrics - Flu Prevention
We are in the midst of flu season and there are many things that we can do to prevent illness or to get healthy again after illness. This is mostly a guideline for children but is also very useful for adults.
Pediatrics and Oriental Medicine:
Pediatrics has long been recognized as a specialized subject in oriental medicine. Children are not just miniature adults. They are more susceptible to external influences because their little bodys' internal organ systems are not yet fully developed. Also they are more sensitive and respond quickly to gentle stimuli.
Since children have an immature organ system, it is important to support and strengthen their bodies through nutrition, herbs, massage, and oriental medicine treatments. Additionally, it is equally important that we don't give them foods or medicines that will weaken their system more.
Because children are very yang and energetic in nature they respond very quickly to energetic medicine. Treatments for children tend to be shorter and with less stimulation, than adults.
Pediatric meridians are a little different than adults because they are immature, as well. By treating these special meridian lines in children, we can greatly strengthen their immune and organ systems.
Oriental medicine views the body from a holistic approach. It is important to look at the whole body's system, emotions, nutrition, lifestyle and outside/environment elements when considering healthcare.
There are a variety of gentle modalities that can be used in treating children with oriental medicine. With these gentle techniques, one can treat a variety of common childhood condition and treat preventatively to keep the child strong, healthy and illness free. Additionally, many children show a marked improvement in all areas of their daily lives. It has been observed that a child's general behavior, spirit, energy and happiness come into a more balanced state, and they often become calmer, more at ease, and able to deal with the many transitions they are going through as their bodies develop and grow.
Maintaining a Healthy Immune system:
We are in the midst of flu season, therefore, right now it is very important to be working on building the immune system. When dealing with our kids immune systems, there are many daily practices we can do as well as very early signs we can watch for if they are starting to get sick, the earlier you manage an illness the better the results.
Healthy Diet: One of the first and foremost things to consider is a healthy Diet, designed for the fall and winter seasons.
- The foods that we ingest need to be warmed up by our body to about 100° F, like a soup, before digestion can actually take place. Then the food is transformed and transported to the needed areas of the body - to provide energy, boost the immune function, make blood and feed the organ system.
- Since childrens' digestive systems are immature, it takes more effort to breakdown food and there are certain foods that they can't handle as well. The best way to support their digestion to become strong, is to give children certain foods that are easy to process, so they can get adequate nutrients for their body to grow, their digestive system to get strong and to build their immune function.
- Foods that are good to eat are warm, cooked, bland/mild foods. For example: rice, whole grains, cooked vegetables, proteins (ideally lean animal protein, but there are other options if vegetarian), and a small amount of whole fruits (not juice). You want them to have a well balanced meal, that is warm, gentle in flavoring/spices and that is easy to digest. Soups, squash, and other root vegetables are very nourishing for this time of year.
- It is very important to avoid or at least keep to a minimum: Refined and processed sugars and flours, sugary foods, raw foods, cold/chilled foods, fruit juices, too much dairy, ice cream, too much wheat, too much peanut butter, and greasy fried foods. All of these foods produce phlegm and mucus in the body. Besides weakening the digestive and immune systems, they can create a lot of phlegm in the body and make is either easy to get sick or difficult to get rid of a being sick; like a phlegmy cough, or nasal congestion.
- The key is everything in moderation (only occasionally eat foods on avoid list) and even from the good foods list, it is important to keep a balanced diet and not eat too much of one particular food or category of foods.
- It is also very important that the amount of food eaten is balanced as well. If a child eats too much food, it can slow down their metabolism creating stagnation of food, and can also weaken the digestive system.
- When we are eating the right foods, and our digestive system is strong, then the rest of our body gets the nutrients needed to stay strong. This keeps our immune system strong and can prevent us from getting sick.
Regular massage: by creating a regular, even if it is short, massage practice for your children (and for adults), you can greatly impact their immune system and general health. Here are a couple simple techniques that you can do at home:
- Spinal Pinch Pull technique - (strengthens all viscera and bowels and stimulates the central nervous system and the defense system) - Do this once/day everyday on infants and toddlers. On either side of the spine starting at the bottom of their backs, gently pinch the skin and roll upward on either side of the spine, to the top of their spine. Repeat 3-5 times each treatment (not more).
- Rubbing abdomen: small circles within large circles, flat fingers, clockwise on abdomen - small circles to right promotes movement of the bowels, small circles to left strengthens the spleen and stops diarrhea. You can rub the abdomen several times each session, once/day. You can do this on infants and toddlers to strengthen the digestive system and bowel functions.
- There are some good books on pediatric tui na and chinese medicine that show pictures and detailed explanations of how to do these techniques. It is also good to take some pediatric massage classes for your children. Additionally seeing a chinese medicine practitioner can be very helpful, so they can give you the correct massage practices for your child's individual patterns.
Adequate rest and Exercise: The right balance of rest and exercise and keep the circulation of qi/energy and blood moving and allow the body to build stronger and grow. This is a crucial step to a healthy immune system.
Fresh Air: Now days with many energy efficient homes, there can be a lack of new and fresh air circulating through the house, and pollutants can build. It is important that we all get enough fresh air from outside for our body to circulate new and clean oxygen. However, it is also important as we get into more winter weather that we bundle appropriately. It is important for both adults and children to cover vulnerable areas like the back of the neck and head so we don't get too much exposure to wind and cold. On the other hand it is also important that we don't over bundle as well (a small amount of exposure keeps us strong). The most important weather to watch out for that can make us more prone to getting sick is very windy weather.
Avoidance of overuse or incorrect use of antibiotics - In chinese medicine antibiotics are considered to be very cold in nature, that is why it is so effective in killing bacteria. However, it also kills of our good bacteria and flora and therefore it weakens the immune and digestive system and can lead yeast/fungal overgrowth, which in turn can create more problems. Additionally, because there is so much overuse in antibiotics many people are building a resistance to the antibiotics and then they don't work. There are times when antibiotics are appropriate, but they are also often overused, it is good to make sure with your doctor that they are truly necessary and that there are no other alternatives that you can try first. You want to use antibiotics only as a last resort.
Vitamins/supplements: Besides making sure to eat the right foods that are nutrient rich, it is also important make sure that our children are getting an adequate amount of probiotics, vitamins, minerals and omegas. Many times, even with healthy foods, they are lacking enough of these and therefore it is good to add some supplements.
Chinese Herbs and Homeopathic remedies: There are many wonderful chinese herbal formulas that are safe for children and very effective for either building our immune systems or helping us to get better faster after getting sick. Additionally, homeopathy is another very safe option, even for infants, that can be very helpful in prevention and treatment of the flu (some examples are: influenzinum, oscilloccocinum). It is a good idea to consult a homeopath and/or a chinese medical practitioner so they can guide you through this process.
Managing Sickness:
One of the keys to maintaining our health is to be very observant and act fast if we or our children start to get sick. It is important to know how to look for the beginning signs of getting sick and then to treat the symptoms early.
Beginning stages of Flu/Cold:
Observe stools: our stools can tell us a lot about the state of our health. If your child's stools become really loose, it shows that their digestive system has become a little weak, and therefore their immune system is also likely to be compromised. Too much of the foods from the "to avoid" list can weaken the digestion, create loose stools, then can lead to phlegm in the body causing coughs, colds, flu, etc. This is a stage where prevention of symptoms worsening is very easy.
Treating early - if you notice your child starts to have loose stools, this is the time to make changes in the diet. You want to completely remove any sugars, dairy, refined foods and any other foods from the avoid list (at least until they are better again). This is also a good time to use chinese herbs, homeopathics and to get oriental medicine treatments, so that you can prevent the invasion from going deeper and turning into a full blown cold or flu. Warm soups with green onions, ginger, chicken and vegetables are very good at this time, as well as supplementing with sufficient vitamins and minerals. This is also a time to make sure you are practicing your spinal roll massage.
The next level of invasion of a cold: The next stage usually manifests as increased mucus and a runny nose. Take all of the above steps.
These beginning stages are also the time to keep your child home from school or daycare. They need adequate rest, frequent fluids, healthy foods, vitamins, herbs and or homeopathic remedies. It is also a good time to and see a practitioner for treatment.
When all of the above steps are taken, most of the time you can prevent it from even getting to a cold or flu stage. In the long run less school and work is missed. Additionally, with the amount of flus/colds going around this year and the swine flu, it is especially important to treat early and stay home early on to prevent the spreading of any germs.
Deeper levels of flu and cold
Sometimes, even when we have taken all preventative measures, we still get sick. When colds and flus reach a deeper level there are some things that are very important to do:
Fluids and nutrition are very important here. It is crucial to make sure that your child is getting adequate fluids: soups, broths, water with lemon/lime, electrolytes, herbal teas etc (however drinks with sugar are not good here). Usually the appetite is reduced but it is important that they are getting enough nutrients to get better. Vegetable and Chicken soups and broths are very good, as well as other bland easy to digest foods. It is very important to be strict about avoiding sugars, cold foods, dairy, wheat and greasy foods.
Children usually respond very quickly to treatments and frequency. Herbs, homeopathics and oriental medicine treatments are key here. Chinese herbs usually need to be taken every couple of hours, very consistently. Homeopathics are usually taken every 15 min for the first two hours and then every 1 to 2 hours after that. The frequency is very important here. Also they can receive chinese medical treatments anywhere from once a week to every other day.
It is really important to treat as much as possible with natural and alternative methods first before trying antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, unless absolutely needed.
If the use of antibiotics is necessary, then is very important to get treatments and herbs to rebuild the immune system and clear out pathogens that stay stuck in the body from being suppressed by antibiotics. These pathogens staying in the body can often lead to chronic conditions like chronic ear infections.
Chronic Illnesses:
Many children deal with chronic illness such as coughs, ear infections, sore throats etc. Sometimes this is because they have weaker immune systems and sometimes it is because they were never able to fully process out a pathogen from a previous time of being sick, and therefore it continues to return.
In the cases of chronic illness, weekly Oriental medicine treatments can be very beneficial. Once under control, then monthly treatments can be very effective and maintaining a healthy immune system.
Oriental Medicine; Types of Treatments and Diagnosis process:
We diagnose by looking at facial complexion/coloring/veins etc, Listening and smelling, feeling/palpation: of the abdomen, back, skin texture, and questioning about symptoms and health history.
Types of treatments may include one or a combination of: Shoni Shin (japanese tools used on surface of skin), Acutonics (vibrational tuning forks), Moxabustion (warmth applied to points), Tui Na/massage, Nutrition/dietary recommendations, herbal treatments, and when necessary acupuncture needles (used minimally for children).
What to expect in a Pediatric TCM treatment session: The first visit takes around 30mins. After discussing the goals for the treatment and reviewing intake forms, the practitioner takes some time to assess the child's pattern and diagnosis through observation, pulse, tongue, and palpation. Then the practitioner will perform a treatment of one or more of the listed modalities. Even the youngest child responds well to this. The treatment is done while the child sits on a parent's lap or while playing with toys. The child does not have to sit still since the modalities are designed around them. Subsequent treatments last between 15-30 min per child and are usually about once a week. The number of treatments that will be necessary vary depending on the severity and duration of the condition, as well as the strength and constitution of your child.
Monthly Preventative Treatments are very effective in maintaining the health and immune system of a child and can help keep them from getting sick.
At Sensorielle Spa - We offer Pediatric Oriental Medicine treatments ($54.00 + cost of herbs) as well as pediatric Massage (30min $54.00). Call us for more information or to book a treatment: (303)247-9932.
Book recommendations: There are many wonderful books that are great for parents to keep at home for a reference. There are helpful tips for if your child is sick, as well as to give you guidance about when to take your child to the doctor. Much of the above information is referenced from these sources, as well.
Keeping Your Child Healthy With Chinese Medicine: a parents guide to the care and prevention of common childhood diseases by Bob Flaws (Blue Poppy Press - www.bluepoppy.com)
Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child; a practical A-Z reference to Natural and conventional treatments for Infants and Children By Janet Zand, L.Ac, N.D, Robert Rountree, M.D, and Rachel Walton, MSN, CRNP.
Website - www.cure-guide.com, Randall Neustaedter OMD, LAc, CCH - lots of information and articles on the treatment of pediatrics with Oriental Medicine and Classical Homeopathy.
Find out more about Amelia here.
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