Natural Ways to Avoid Mosquito Bites

The news about the rising number of dengue cases in the country is definitely alarming.  Personally, I am extra cautious in going outdoors and, sad to say, even preventing my children from staying outside the house, too, nowadays that the dengue outbreak is in its height.  Unfortunately, medications to neither specifically treat a dengue infection is yet to be discovered nor a vaccine available to prevent a person from being infected.  Thus, the only way to avoid mosquito bites is prevention.

The Department of Health promotes its awareness campaign and urges the public to remember its 4S strategy to counter dengue, and these are:

1.  Search and Destroy

2.  Seek early consultation

3.  Self-protective measures

4.  Say “no” to indiscriminate fogging

I will not delve now on all these 4S’s as I think the Department of Health, together with media partners, is already doing a great job in making the public aware of these strategies.  There are also a number of resources in the internet to help us know more about the dengue disease and how to “search and destroy” or prevent mosquitoes from lurking in our households.  There are some very interesting “self-protective measures” (one of the 4S), on the other hand, that I discovered which I would like to share to you.

Gluten-free, Vegetarian and Hypoallergenic Children’s Multi-vitamins

A friend of mine recently asked me what vitamins I give to my children because she noticed that my daughter is looking “healthier” these days.  My little girl has indeed gained more weight (and height, too) and that’s primarily because both of my children have not been getting sick for a long time already.  In fact, their last visit to their Pediatrician prior to their recent annual well child check-up before school started was almost a year ago.  And in their well child check-up, I was glad that the results for both children were good - that their weight is within average (not over or under weight) and their height is in the upper percentile.  My daughter is quite a picky eater; therefore, she needs nutritional support for health and overall well-being.  My children are no longer taking any synthetic vitamins and supplements but instead I give them multi-vitamins and mineral supplement from whole food concentrates.

For Moms #1 - Prevention and Natural Remedy for Stretch Marks

For this whole month of May, I am dedicating all my health and wellness-related posts to all the mommies out there reading my blog by writing about topics or common problems and concerns typically faced by mothers like me.  As a believer of going “natural and organic”, I am in pursuit of finding natural ways to curing all sorts of health-related problems and concerns that I encounter in my life.  Some, I have already discovered and used, but for many, it looks like Mother Nature has so much gifts and wonders that I have yet to discover to find health cures.  Such an interesting journey to discover…

Well anyway, for a start, here’s one common concern I think any mother who has given birth would be interested in.  Well, it’s a personal concern of mine, especially when summer time comes…Would you believe I have been dreaming of wearing a two-piece bikini in the beach?!? (LOL)  But because of this problem, I feel so awkward to flaunting my body with these marks all over my tummy.  What are they?  STRETCH MARKS!

 

We all know that in pregnancy it is common to develop stretch marks because the skin stretches very rapidly that the fibers in the deep layers of the overstretched skin tear.  Unfortunately, once the marks appear, they are permanent, but they do become much less noticeable with time.  And I learned that the best way to avoid stretch marks is by preventing them.  How?  Here are how.

Natural Home Remedy for Sunburn

Summer is up and the heat is on!  A lot of people hit the beach or the swimming pool this summer to cool them down from the scorching heat of the sun.  But if you expose yourself too much from the sun, chances are you can get sunburn.

Sunburn is caused by too much exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays.  As most sunburns are considered first-degree burns, the skin becomes red, warm, and tender to the touch.  More serious sunburn can be a second-degree burn, causing severe reddening, swelling, pain, and even blisters.  I read in a health book that fair-skinned people (like me!) are more prone to sunburn than darker skinned individuals. Yay!  But no matter what your skin color is, you will still burn if you get too much exposure.  And if you do get sunburned, here are some natural home remedies that you can do to help ease the pain and aid in the body’s healing process:

Aloe Vera

Gently apply a thin layer of aloe vera gel to the sunburned area.  Reapply it every hour until the pain is gone.  Aloe vera gel is an amazingly effective treatment for any kind of burn.  It relieves discomfort, speeds healing, and also helps to moisturize the skin and relieve dryness.  Pulp (or the transparent gel) taken directly from inside the fresh aloe vera plant is the best.  If you use a commercial aloe product, make sure, though, to choose one that contains no mineral oil, paraffin wax, alcohol, or coloring.

Bee Propolis - Nature's Powerful Probiotic

I mentioned in my previous posts, Mama I Am Sick and Practical Home Remedy of Honey, that we have been using Bee Propolis as a natural health remedy and supplement at home.  Maybe it’s your first time to hear about it.  So what is it really, you may ask?  Read on and you’ll be surprised with its natural health wonders…

Propolis is a sticky resin that seeps from flowering buds and oozes from the bark of trees.  Propolis forms part of the tree’s immune system.  It fights bacteria, fungi and viruses that attack trees.  Honeybees collect propolis, sometimes called “bee glue”, and combine this resin with nectar, creating a mix of wax and pollen.  Propolis is used by bees to varnish the inside of their entire beehive including the inside of all the cells in their honeycomb to sanitize them.  Propolis is known to keep the hive disease-free by preventing bacteria and fungus from growing inside it.

Health Benefits & Practical Home Remedy of Honey

What do Winnie the Pooh and I both like? Hhmm, did you say "honey"?  Yup, you guessed it right!  If you are familiar with this cute and huggable bear from Hundred Acre Wood, Winnie the Pooh loves to eat honey.  And what's common between us is our fondness for honey.  We both love it!

We commonly know honey to be a natural sweetener.  It’s an excellent substitute for the common refined white sugar in our food and drinks.  But more than just a sweetener, honey gives us a wealth of health benefits that I really, really like.  Some of honey’s health benefits and uses are:

Mama, I Am Sick

Just an hour past midnight of Friday, I heard my 4-year old son crying and looking for me.  I thought he just had a bad dream, and so I just tried putting him back to sleep. While caressing him, I noticed that his forehead was a bit hot, and then when I touched his body, it was warm too.  I already hoped and prayed that he will not get sick.  But lo and behold, when we woke up Saturday morning, he was still hot and not in his usual active self.  Reality sank in that he was indeed sick when I checked his temperature in the thermometer.   And he told me, “Mama, sick si Gio” (“Gio is sick”).  I really cannot pin point what exactly may have caused his fever because there were no other symptoms except fever, but I hoped and prayed that it was just viral.

Nowadays, whenever my children get fever, the over-the-counter paracetamol is no longer the immediate solution for me.  If the fever is mild to moderate, I just let the fever run its course but I make sure to closely monitor my sick child for occurrence (or worsening) of other symptoms, if any, as well as checking the temperature of the fever (if it will go up very high) and the duration (if it will last for more than 3 days as it may not be a basic fever and a symptom for a more serious condition).  I learned, through personal research and from my children’s Natural Med Pediatrician, that it’s best to “support” the fever rather than going immediately to the medicine cabinet for a fever-reducing paracetamol (or acetaminophen) and administering it to the sick child.

Why "Natural"?

I mentioned in my “About” page that I am into natural medicine for several years now.  Although more and more are turning to this kind of alternative medicine, majority, of course, are still into the traditional one.  And you may wonder why I took another (unconventional) “road less traveled”?

First, let me give you a little background about myself.

As far as I can remember, I was a sickly child.  I was born "post-mature".  A few days after my mother and I were discharged, I was already back in the hospital due to fever.  I grew up going in and out of the hospital due to various illnesses, mostly in the upper respiratory system.   When I was young, I was always excused from P.E. (physical education class) due to asthma and bronchitis.  I grew up being bombarded with a lot of antibiotics, antihistamines and other drugs, and I have undergone 2 surgeries (both general anesthesia) at a young age.  Like most people, my family and I relied on conventional health and medical  professionals.  I obediently take whatever drug or medication prescribed to me to "get me well".  And this practice just went on and on, and did the same to my own family now.   I thought maybe, with all the drugs that I have taken ever since I was a baby and with my toxic lifestyle, even my reproductive system got affected.  But God has been good to me and my husband, after five years of marriage, He has blessed us with two little "angels", though after I surpassed 1 myomectomy and 2 series of pregnancy-induced hypertension.