Here are some tips for the flu that we learned when my daughter recently got sick. My daughter rarely gets sick, so when she started feeling ill last week we were stunned! It started with the room spinning from vertigo, and nausea. We had her drinking ginger tea, and water, and kept her meals very simple. Things seemed to be going well, and then the vomiting started! From that moment on, we were in full battle mode against the flu. Click here to watch the video version.
The next day we stopped all foods and just focused on keeping her hydrated. To our dismay, she couldn’t keep the ginger tea, water, or gatorade down either. Our medical system in Canada has not recovered from recent years, so our Doctor’s office doesn’t allow you to enter if you showing flu symptoms, especially vomiting. Our Emergency Department deals with a huge demographical area, so wait times can be 4 hours. That was not an option since she couldn’t sit up due to vertigo, and constant vomiting.
The next day.
Since you can last 3 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water, it was paramount to keep her hydrated. We don’t use pharmaceuticals very often after discovering what actually goes into them. We try to keep things as natural as possible, and allow our immune systems to do the work God designed them to do. On this occasion however, we ran to get Gravol and Gatorade.
The Gravol we purchased, even though is was the natural ginger variety, still had to be swallowed and absorbed through the stomach. The problem was, she could no longer keep anything down, so the Gravol came back up before it do any good. She was basically dry heaving now, so I taught her some breathing techniques to deal with the diaphragm’s out of control reflexes.
I then headed to Nutters for homeopathic Nux vomica pills, which could be absorbed under the tongue. This did the trick, and the vomiting slowed down almost completely. Now we needed to focus on keeping her hydrated.
Keeping her hydrated.
Drinking fluids was still too much for her stomach, so my daughter asked if she could have ice cubes instead. It was a brilliant idea, and I was kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner! I gave her an ice cube, and that stayed down. I then filled our silicone trays with water, Gatorade, and Ginger Tea. The silicone trays were perfect, as the cubes they produced were small enough to fit in her mouth. She rotated between the different flavours until her stomach was full. Now that she wasn’t vomiting every 20 minutes, she was able to get the sleep her body so desperately needed.
The next day we continued with the Nux vomica when the nausea increased, and continued with the various Ice cube flavours. Her skin was not showing signs of dehydration which was a great relief. Although she vomited first thing in the morning, she was able to keep the fluids down for the rest of the day. This made us feel confident we were on the right track.
Reintroducing foods
The following day she continued until noon with just the various kinds of ice cubes. Her doses of the Nux vomica were no longer needed and she was ready for food. I started her with Chicken broth, and when that stayed down gave her frozen grapes. The grapes were a great success, and as her energy picked up we knew she was on the other side of it.
The next day she was able to drink fluids as well as the ice cubes. She had chicken vegetable soup (with the chicken pieces removed) and blended rice pudding. Milk toast was also very helpful, as it was soft and tasty. From then on out, she was on her way!
Tips for the flu – quick list.
- Nux Vomica to stop the stomach’s need to vomit. It can also make them drowsy, which helps them get the sleep the body needs to heal itself.
- Ice Cubes, Gatorade (electrolyte drink) Cubes, Ginger Tea Cubes – this allows for electrolytes to get into the body and a variety of flavours to make things interesting.
- Sleep – Let them have as much sleep as they need. Waking them up to drink is not helpful.
- Reintroduce solid foods slowly so the stomach doesn’t get overwhelmed.
In Conclusion:
As scary as it is to see a loved one sick, you can help them recover naturally. The body is designed to heal itself with the right conditions. Stopping the urge to purge is the first thing to focus on. If they can’t keep Gravol down, the homeopathic Nux vomica can be absorbed under the tongue to stop the vomiting. Consuming Ice cubes helps with fluid absorption, as it doesn’t overwhelm the stomach making it want to purge itself again. Sleep is essential as this is when the body is able to heal itself.
Resist the urge to introduce food again too soon. You could end up starting the whole process all over again if the stomach isn’t ready for it. The best news is that you can do this, and you don’t need to run to the Emergency Room after all!
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