Whew!

Honor woke up fever-free this morning. She had a sinus infection and double ear infection. I wish I had started treating these things sooner. The day I took her to the doctor, we began garlic and olive oil in the ears and within an hour, her earache was gone (but infection apparently still remained.) I also started a salt-water solution up her nose and within an hour her headache was gone (but infection apparently still remained.) Up until yesterday, I had just been treating her fever and cough. Had I started these things sooner, I'm confidant we would not be on antibiotics now.

For anyone that might be needing to avoid antibiotics, here is what I should have been doing much sooner:

For earache: Crush one clove of garlic in 1 Tb of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Stir together in a bowl or mug and heat gently in a pan of water. Cool to comfortably warm and drop the oil (not chunks of garlic) directly into the ear. Rest with ear pointed to the ceiling for 10 minutes. Veggie-Tales are handy for keeping kids in this position, though it's kind of hard for them to hear.

For stuffy head (and long before it's stuffy) : Mix 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 cups of filtered water. Using a netti pot or a bulb syringe, squirt up each nostril once or twice every two hours. This was recommended to me by our pediatrician and is perfectly safe.

I started these yesterday morning and by yesterday afternoon, her pain was all gone and fever was the only remaining symptom. I'm kicking myself for not starting them much sooner, but I am soooooo glad that she's feeling better now.

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